If you've ever wondered why — nay, how — Sex and the City has retained its relevance in the 20 years between the pilot episode's premiere and today, you don't have to look far.
Speaking to ELLE UK, Cynthia Nixon (who plays inimitable lawyer Miranda Hobbes), attributes the show's longstanding resonance with the fact that each and every one of its storylines are drawn from real-life events. Yes, every single one.
'Our writers have always based our plot lines on things that have actually happened to them or happened to someone that they directly know, so they can quiz them about it,' Nixon says. 'So these crazy, outrageous things, particularly back in the day [during Sex and the City], that happened to these characters were always rooted in truth, and an audience can smell that a mile away.'
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Sex and the City, which was based on Candace Bushnell's New York Observer column of the same name, premiered in 1998 and spawned six series, two feature films and a currently-airing lightning rod sequel, And Just Like That. The series has caused contestation among fans of the original series for tarnishing its lasting legacy. Miranda, in particular, was criticised for becoming out-of-touch in the 20 years since audiences last saw her.
Nixon claims that she doesn't read reviews of the show, but the viewing figures speak for themselves: when And Just Like That debuted in December 2021, 1.1 million households were reported to have tuned in during the live-plus-three-day viewership window. For the third season's premiere on May 29, that number stood at just 429,000.
As for potential seasons of And Just Like That (that have yet to be greenlit by HBO), Nixon is clear that as long as the series' creator Michael Patrick King will keep on writing Miranda's world, she'll be there. 'I'd love a season four and I'd love a season five,' she says. 'I love this world and it's so lovely to be a part of it. I mean, who gets to do this? To play a character for 30 years? It's really, really special.'
And Just Like That... season three streams weekly on HBO/NOW TV.
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Naomi May is a seasoned culture journalist and editor with over ten years’ worth of experience in shaping stories and building digital communities. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard, where she worked across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Digital Editor at ELLE Magazine and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others. Naomi is also the host of the ELLE Collective book club.
