new fans and critics sex and the city It is born every day. The series, which first aired on HBO in 1998, spawned six seasons, two movies and two reboot seasons. And that's exactly what it is. When the show was added to Netflix in April, it gained a whole new audience. Now, younger generations are realizing this for the first time and weighing whether they're Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, or Samantha.
The introduction of the popular show to a new, younger audience sparked strong emotions among its existing fan base online. Some expressed fear that first-time viewers would “cancel” the series because it was outdated. Aside from an essay Gen Z called “disgusting” and a few new memes about Carrie Bradshaw's selfishness, most people saw it as it was. That means he's 25 years old.
As someone who learned of the show through a streaming service, I wanted to hear from longtime fans and reaffirm the magic of the show's quartet of friends. Carrie once walked 48 blocks in $400 shoes, but she's a stronger woman than I am, so I hopped in the On Location Tour van to see the show's iconic set locations. went to. After all, New York City is her fifth main character on the show.
This tour, like the series, was intended for adult audiences only. There were some vulgar jokes from the group's self-proclaimed Samantha, as well as references to gang sexual exploitation. Of the 15 people on the tour, there were at least three chaotic Carries, four nervous Mirandas, and zero traditional Charlottes. In case you're wondering, yes, I'm Carrie.
A longtime fan (and fellow Carrey), Primo saw the series on VHS and DVD shortly after it aired in 2004. He introduced her soon-to-be husband, Frank, to the show, and he, too, fell in love. (For privacy reasons, my fellow tour participants asked that I not use their last names in the story.)
“The only reason I wanted to visit New York was for the show,” Primo told me. “I looked at these hotspots and thought, 'Oh my god, I want to live there.'”
He didn't make the jump to New York right away, but after spending 14 years with Frank, he decided to leave his family in Texas and come to New York. sex and the city-A wedding inspired by their dreams. They wanted to get married on the steps of the New York Public Library, just a few meters away from where Carrie had tried and failed to have her first wedding, but she chose Central Park instead. I settled on. The day before the ceremony, a small group of wedding guests went on a tour.
Our tour rode right next to the park with the fountain at the Plaza Hotel, where Carrie once confronted Mr. Big over his engagement to another woman. Our guide, Amanda, shared behind-the-scenes facts and pointed out the tour's location on Fifth Avenue. There, there's a hot dog stand similar to where Carrie stands in her tutu when she gets hit by a bus in the show's opening credits, and a restaurant that used to be another restaurant where her friends hung out. , the weather was bad – there Samantha met one of the few men who wouldn't sleep with her because he was a priest.
Our first stop is the West Village brownstone where Carrie lived throughout the original series. We took pictures quietly, but the hustle and bustle of passersby and the excitement of the place overwhelmed some tourists. A neighbor came out the door and said flatly: “For you this is her five minutes of fun, but for us it's all day. Be quiet.” We limped back to the van.
Tour guide Amanda said this trail never ceases to amaze me. sex and the city bring people together. She likes to “prescribe” people certain episodes. They share their problems and she recommends: sex and the city The episode that featured it. For example, she said, if a guy doesn't text back, watch Season 3, Episode 11.
“Then they come to me and say, 'Oh, now it's so clear,'” she explained. “That’s the power of the show.”
She says the tour will bring back a lot of people who watched the show on TV when it first aired, including people who watched it in their college dorm rooms when it first aired on Netflix a few years ago. ) He said that when people say, “I was too young to see it.'' . It just gives her another chance to share her appreciation for it.
“It's really timeless,” she said.
During rewatches, I often cringe at the offensive lines and clichéd scenarios while reminding friends that this show was groundbreaking for its time. Now it's a time capsule. It reminds us of a moment in our city and culture that was unattainable for most, but very powerful. The show's underlying messages about friendship and true love still resonate today, even though its language and technology are often outdated.
Their next stop was Buddakan, a popular spot in the Meatpacking District, where Carrie and Big had a rehearsal dinner, but Miranda revealed to Big that she wanted to remarry, which ended in a shock. ended unlucky. As I looked around the ornate rooms, I couldn't help but wonder how expensive the rent would be for such a vast space.
We then drove back through the cobblestone streets to the West Village. Our guide learned that Sarah Jessica Parker, the actress who played Carrie, is a very smart businesswoman and that she has her own shoe store a few blocks from her home in Carrie. It reminded me. Discounts available for group trips! The shoes were beautiful, but no one bought anything.
Our guide gave us cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. According to her, even though she only appeared briefly on the show, that was enough to skyrocket the store's fame.
For most of the trip I felt a bit like a fake fan. I've watched the show many times, but I never knew there was a legend behind the restaurant where the bird landed on Carrie's date, the club where Samantha disguised herself, and the playground where Miranda fell. The places I casually passed by every day had great meaning to my fellow travelers.
Two friends found themselves answering every trivia question correctly and knowing every reference. Brittany, a lawyer, said she was in New York to celebrate his 37th birthday with friends. She said that when she first saw the series as a teenager (she admitted she was too young), it had a huge impact on her life, and her fan base hasn't gone away ever since. she said. Her friend became a publicist thanks to Samantha. Although Miranda didn't inspire Brittany to become her lawyer, she was her favorite character.
All tour participants had: sex and the city An origin story — they remembered how they found it, where they saw it, how it felt, and when they fell in love with it. Angela went on tour with her friends to celebrate her 40th “Friends Hate”. They are just a few years younger than the cast and watched the show on HBO when it first aired. Angela had never visited New York before, but she knew the name of every street we turned. Another traveler said he watched the entire TBS series, which featured edited sexual scenarios.
“So the show was about six minutes long for you, right?” Angela joked.
Our final official stop was O'Niere's Grand Street Bar, which fans know as Scout. The bar was run by Carrie's boyfriend, Aidan, and Miranda's husband, Steve. We were put through the assembly line and bought a $15 Cosmopolitan. Unfortunately this bar did not adhere to her early 80's cocktail prices.
After passing the alley where Carrie was robbed and another favorite brunch spot, now a bank, the tour disembarked outside Bryant Park. I was recommended to visit the carousel that was introduced in . and just like that scene.
Much of New York City that fans want to see no longer exists. Even the most memorable restaurants and bars have closed and been replaced over time, but the joy of seeing a show is enough to transport fans to the Big Apple just by walking a few blocks to Carey's Manolos. It's very persuasive.
“If anyone asks about the tour, just tell them we got off four times,” Amanda joked as we all left. She wasn't technically wrong.