Where to Watch All ‘Sex and the City’ Shows & Movies: Your Complete Guide
Sex and the City was never just a TV show — it was a guidebook for modern women. It gave us permission to ask for what we wanted in bed, use a vibrator, choose our own paths, prioritize friendships over romance, and so much more.
Twenty-seven years after the pilot aired, Sex and the City is still woven into everyday conversations, popping up as memes on our algorithms, and shaping the way we think about sex, dating, and relationships.
Whether you’re new to the wonderful, self-obsessed musings of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) or a longtime fan looking to revisit the series properly, we’ve compiled the ultimate Sex and the City watch guide.
We’re taking things chronologically, and, in a shocking twist of events, we’re not starting with the OG Sex and the City. What is this blasphemy? We know, we know, it feels wrong. But this definitive guide to the Sex and the City universe is designed to take you from start to finish — from baby Carrie to widowed Carrie. We’re going for her timeline this time.
So we’ll begin with the prequel, move into the iconic original series, and finish with the spinoff. What a time to be a SATC fan!
The Carrie Diaries (2013-2014)
Acting as a prequel series to the original, The Carrie Diaries follows a teenage Carrie navigating friendships, relationships, and her burgeoning creativity. AnnaSophia Robb stepped into Carrie Bradshaw’s iconic shoes, joined by her family, friends, and first loves. We watched her ditch a law internship in the city for a job at a magazine, kickstarting her lifelong love affair with fashion and publishing.
The real highlight? Austin Butler as her love interest. The man had us swooning.
Patrick Harbron / The CW Network / Everett Collection
Unfortunately, the series didn’t receive the warmest reviews and was canceled after just two seasons. A major criticism was the number of changes it made to Carrie’s established history in Sex and the City. This included how she met Samantha (Lindsey Gort), her supposedly deadbeat dad being very present, her estranged mother actually being dead, the addition of a sister, and much more. Then there’s the timeline, which raises a few eyebrows. The series is set in 1984, when Carrie is supposedly 16, but Sex and the City begins in 1998 with the women in their mid-to-late thirties. The math isn’t exactly mathing. And while we’re at it, where are all the outrageous ’80s outfits? Why is everyone dressed like it’s the 2010s?
Criticisms aside, The Carrie Diaries is a silly, goofy watch with a fantastic cast and plenty of charm.
Where to watch The Carrie Diaries: You can watch The Carrie Diaries for free The CW’s own app. The series is also available for purchase on Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, and Fandango at Home.
Sex and the City (1998-2004)
Now for the main event, the reason we’re all here. Sex and the City ran for six glorious seasons from 1998 to 2004. It was created by Darren Star and adapted from a book by Candace Bushnell, which was largely based on her own experiences as a columnist for The New York Observer.
Sex and the City follows the lives of four female friends living in New York City: the streetwise newspaper columnist Carrie Bradshaw, the sexually liberated PR professional Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), the more traditional art dealer Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), and the cynical lawyer Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon).
Funnily enough, Parker was initially super hesitant to take on the role that would later define her career. She even tried to get out of her contract by offering to do three unpaid films instead. Thankfully, the producers refused, and Parker has since said she’s incredibly grateful they did.
HBO / Everett Collection
While Carrie’s main romance was with Mr. Big (Chris Noth), we also watched her embark on romantic dalliances with Aidan Shaw (John Corbett), Aleksandr Petrovsky (Mikhail Baryshnikov), Jack Berger (Ron Livingston), and more. Yet some of the fan-favorite relationships weren’t Carrie’s at all. Miranda and Steve (David Eigenberg) remain one of television’s most beloved couples, while Charlotte and Harry (Evan Handler) gave us a masterclass in soulmates finding each other. We don’t talk about Trey (Kyle MacLachlan) and the mallard. And, of course, there’s Samantha and Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis), the latecomers who somehow became one of the franchise’s most beloved romances.
For a show centered on Carrie, she was rarely the viewers’ favorite character, and her romances weren’t always the most popular either. But as a foursome, these women were magic. We loved them enough to keep watching, and we were genuinely heartbroken when it all came to an end.
Where to watch Sex and the City: The series was recently removed from Netflix, but you can watch it on HBO Max. Sex and the City is also available for purchase on Apple TV and Fandango at Home.
Sex and the City: The Movie (2008)
Four years. That’s how long we lasted without Carrie and her iconic monologues before the first Sex and the City movie arrived. Now, die-hard fans will tell you the two films aren’t canon, but the rest of us are just grateful for more time with our favorite foursome.
A few years after Big followed Carrie to Paris, the pair are settling into a glamorous New York penthouse when he finally proposes. What starts as a small, intimate wedding quickly spirals into a lavish extravaganza, and Big gets cold feet for a moment. Carrie thinks he’s not going to show, and the wedding falls apart, prompting the girls to whisk her away to Mexico for the honeymoon that never was.
Meanwhile, Miranda discovers that Steve has been unfaithful, Charlotte is finally pregnant after years of fertility struggles, and Samantha is finding herself increasingly unhappy in Los Angeles with Smith.
It’s definitely not a film that will make you like Big any more than you already do, and many fans were furious over what felt like an attack on Steve’s character. Still, it’s a fun movie packed with fashion, friendship, and plenty of hilarious moments. Many critics described it as an extended episode of the series, and while reviews were mixed, it was a major commercial success — successful enough, in fact, to earn a second movie.
Where to watch Sex and the City: The Movie: The film isn’t available to stream anywhere in the U.S. at the moment, but you can purchase it on YouTube, Apple TV, Prime Video, and Fandango at Home.
Sex and the City 2 (2010)
Back again for a second film! This time, we’re taking a trip to Abu Dhabi because, apparently, we’ve grown tired of New York.
Thanks to Smith Jerrod landing a major movie role, Samantha scores the gang an all-expenses-paid trip to a luxurious resort in Abu Dhabi. As always, each woman arrives with her own set of problems. Samantha is struggling with menopause, Miranda is dealing with disrespect at her law firm, and Charlotte is convinced Harry has the hots for the nanny. Meanwhile, Carrie and Big are still married (shocker), but they’re struggling to reconcile their different approaches to marriage. Carrie is particularly taken aback when Big suggests they spend some time apart every week. Naturally, their trip to Abu Dhabi descends into chaos, complete with the unexpected return of Aidan, Carrie’s ex-boyfriend.
Upon release, the sequel was a commercial success, grossing more than $294 million worldwide. However, it received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics. Like the first film, it will never hold the same place in fans’ hearts as the original Sex and the City series. Still, if you don’t take it too seriously, it’s an entertaining watch with plenty of ridiculous moments along the way. Just maybe don’t use it as your guide to Abu Dhabi.
Where to watch Sex and the City 2: The sequel film isn’t available to stream in the U.S. right now, but you can purchase it on YouTube, Apple TV, Prime Video, and Fandango at Home.
And Just Like That…
So, a third Sex and the City film was actually planned, but it was ultimately canceled in 2020. Instead, development began on a new series. Every closed door opens a window — or whatever the saying is!
And Just Like That… received a straight-to-series order from HBO Max in January 2021 and premiered later that December.
Craig Blankenhorn / HBO Max
Set 11 years after the events of Sex and the City 2, And Just Like That… follows the women as they transition from the freedom and friendship of their 30s into the more complicated realities of life in their 50s. Miranda is figuring out her sexuality, Carrie is learning how to navigate life after Big, and Charlotte is dealing with the challenges of raising teenage daughters. Sadly, there’s no Samantha, although she does make a brief appearance via a phone call that absolutely rocked the fandom.
The first season was originally billed as a one-off limited series, with its finale airing on February 3, 2022. However, a second season was announced the following month and premiered on June 22, 2023. Then came a third season, continuing the next chapter of the Sex and the City universe.
The series received mixed-to-negative reviews, with many critics arguing that it was unnecessary and failed to capture the magic of the original Sex and the City. However, it attracted enough viewers to earn multiple seasons, spawned countless memes, and even gave us that unforgettable Peloton moment. It also deserves credit for centering older women and their experiences, something television still doesn’t do nearly enough.
Where to watch And Just Like That…: You can stream all three seasons of the show on HBO Max.
