In 2019, it's widely accepted that Sex and the City is both iconic and dated in a way that's kind of problematic. A couple of years ago, the genius #WokeCharlotte meme went viral after rewriting some of the show's racist, transphobic and biphobic moments. Even Kristin Davis, who played Actual Charlotte, declared herself a fan of the meme.
"It was a show that was simultaneously progressive and regressive, where people of colour were either stereotypes or punchlines," Refinery29's Hunter Harris wrote as the show's 20th anniversary approached last year.
In a new interview, the show's creator Darren Star has admitted that regrets how few minority characters made it into Sex and the City's 94 episodes, an especially glaring omission for a series set in New York, one of the most diverse cities in the world.
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"That's the one thing I probably would have liked to have done differently," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "Hopefully it transcended that, but looking back, wow, that would have been another way to make it feel more groundbreaking."
Star also described the show as "very much a product of its time" and a "time capsule", adding: "You can only think about shows as representing the time that they are being made. TV has evolved in being much more inclusive and I think that people do now think about series that way."
The show's lead Sarah Jessica Parker spoke rather more critically about Sex and the City's lack of minority characters last year, saying: "You couldn't make it today because of the lack of diversity on screen. I personally think it would feel bizarre."