Sex and the City is one of the most enduring TV shows of all time, spawning two movies and making its star, Sarah Jessica Parker, a pop culture icon. The HBO series has taken on new life with the reboot And Just Like That…, drawing legions of new viewers to discover the adventures of sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw and her friends. Though Carrie is the central character of Sex and the City, the real-life Carrie Bradshaw is Candace Bushnell, the author who created the column and bestselling book of the same name. Over the years, Bushnell has opened up about Sex and the City, admitting the on-screen version deviated from the source material once Carrie married Mr. Big.
‘Sex and the City’ is based on Candace Bushnell’s life experiences
Bushnell’s 1996 book and newspaper column that preceded the anthology inspired HBO’s Sex and the City, which aired for six seasons from 1998 to 2004. In many ways, the TV series took great pains to stick closely to Bushnell’s books — and one of the show’s central storylines almost mirrors Bushnell’s real-life experiences.
Bushnell, who moved to New York City when she was 19 to pursue a degree in journalism, took up with an attractive man named Ron Galotti. That relationship provided the fodder for Carrie’s tumultuous romance with the unattainable financier Mr. Big.
Throughout the series, fans watched as Carrie and Big had their ups and downs, breaking up and reuniting multiple times until finally coming together at the series finale of Sex and the City.
What did Candace Bushnell say about ‘Sex and the City’ going in ‘its own direction’ when Carrie married Mr. Big?
Bushnell has expressed she’s happy overall with the series, but the author also admitted that by the time the 2008 Sex and the City movie came out, the storyline had diverged wildly from her book.
In a 2022 interview with The Globe and Mail, Bushnell admitted, “With the show, yes [it stayed true to her life], but with the movies, once Carrie marries Mr. Big, then I feel like it sort of went off in its own direction.”
Bushnell added, “The Mr. Big angst, that was definitely a part of my life. The funny thing is, I’m still friends with the real Mr. Big, and I’m supposed to see him in a week. Now I think he’s writing a book!”
The bestselling author also said, “When Sex and the City was bought to be a TV series, no one took it that seriously. HBO was just starting out; nobody knew what it would be like; there was no streaming.”
‘And Just Like That…’ killed Mr. Big in the season opener
The Sex and the City universe brought Mr. Big back in the 2022 revival series, And Just Like That…, only to kill him in the first episode after a heart attack following a Peloton bike workout.
Chris Noth, the actor behind Mr. Big, told The Guardian in December 2021 that he remembered Sex and the City as being “a lot of fun” and was happy to work alongside Sarah Jessica Parker again. But Noth wasn’t sure about returning for And Just Like That… because he felt he “had taken Big as far as he could.” He said he agreed to do the reboot after “a conversation with [the show’s writer and director] Michael Patrick King … he took in a lot of my ideas, and we came up with a way for me to work into it.”
However, sexual assault claims shortly afterward complicated the actor’s return.
After several women accused Noth of assaulting them, And Just Like That… cut Mr. Big from the season 1 finale and removed flashback scenes involving the character. In the months since the scandal broke, Noth has laid low, avoiding the spotlight and focusing on his family. No criminal charges or lawsuits have been filed against him regarding the allegations. Still, fans shouldn’t expect to see Noth in And Just Like That… Season 2.
How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.
