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Think you know Sex and the City? These 11 facts will surprise you – and maybe prove you wrong
Put your SATC knowledge to the test – we bet you know know all these facts!
Photo Courtesy of HBO/Getty Images
- Minnie Wright
Published: Friday, 19 June 2026 at 8:00 am
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We can't be the only ones in a committed, long-term relationship with Sex and the City, eternally mid-rewatch.
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But, to paraphrase Charlotte, how well do we ever really know the TV shows we sleep with?
Here are 11 fascinating facts – including a number of revelations from the stars themselves – about one of the most beloved and iconic series of all time. How many did you already know?
1) Sex and the City nearly had a Kennedy in its first sex scene
Christopher Lawford. hoto by Greg Doherty/Getty Images
The first scene of the first episode of Sex and the City introduces us to (dubiously accented) English journalist Elizabeth (played by Australian actress Sarah Wynter), who moves to New York and falls swiftly in love with an investment banker. Cue the show's first sex scene as well. Played by Scott Bryce in the series, this role was, however, originally destined for someone very different: JFK's nephew, Christopher Lawford.
In fact, Lawford (All My Children), the son of British actor Peter Lawford and JFK's sister Patricia Kennedy, was at the read-through before later being replaced.
Wynter revealed the juicy tidbit during an appearance on Kristin Davis's Are You A Charlotte? podcast, remembering: "He was at the read-through and I remember thinking, 'That’s perfect.' To have, like, this Kennedy — not Kennedy-esque, Kennedy!"
2) Justin Theroux isn't the only actor to play two completely different characters on SATC
Author Candace Bushnell, on whose original column Sex and the City is based, somewhat awkwardly made light of the "lack of eligible bachelors in New York" when another male actor made his second appearance in the franchise as a totally different love interest.
Carrie's (albeit short-lived) app designer boyfriend in And Just Like That was played by Peter Hermann, who was set up with Charlotte on a date during her brief split from Harry back in SATC season six. Déjà vu!
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Want to go further down memory lane? Here are the 25 Sex and the City cameos you probably forgot about.
3) Cynthia Nixon spent years believing a completely different actress had been cast as Charlotte
Sex and the City. SKY
Reuniting with Davis on the Are You A Charlotte? podcast, Miranda star Cynthia Nixon came clean: she actually thought she'd be starring alongside award-winning British actress Kristin Scott Thomas in SATC.
Having never met Davis before the show (although she did know Samantha star Kim Cattrall and SJP), Nixon admitted: "I didn't know who you were, but I looked at the way you spelled your first name with an I, which is unusual – with two Is. And I basically... I decided you were Kristin Scott Thomas.
"I was like, it must be Kristin – that must be Kristin Scott Thomas," she added.
"You must have been really disappointed,” Davis laughed.
Somewhere in an alternative timeline, we're seeing Scott Thomas freak out about Trey not being able to get it up before she walks down the aisle.
4) Sarah Jessica Parker nearly walked away after filming the pilot
Back in 2016, Sarah Jessica Parker stunned Jimmy Kimmel Live viewers when she revealed she thought about leaving SATC before it even properly began.
The pilot was filmed before HBO picked up the series, and while SJP said she "loved" the script, she admitted to "completely" forgetting about it after filming.
When the pilot aired and HBO decided to move forward with Sex and the City, she told Kimmel she was unsure. "I don't know, I don’t know. I feel like the moment passed. Maybe I’m not so keen to commit…" she recalled.
"But I was foolish," she added – of course! "The people wisely talked me out of it. And I went to the set the first day and never looked back."
5) A real-life Bushnell experience inspired Charlotte's infamous "crabs" storyline
Bushnell actually had a real-life experience that inspired Charlotte's infamous crabs storyline in season 2.
Speaking to Davis on the Are You A Charlotte? podcast, Bushnell confirmed the unfortunate incident, which sees Charlotte contract public lice from a younger man when the SATC women take a trip to a Hamptons beach house, was based on a true story.
"I had this, whatever, crazy roommate," the author said. "And she was always having sex. And she got crabs, and we shared an apartment. And guess what?"
"Did you get crabs from your roommate?" Davis asked.
"I did," Bushnell said. "Because they go on the towel! Nobody tells you that!"
6) A whole Charlotte romance got cut
Kristin Davis and Evan Handler in And Just Like That. James Devaney/GC Images
Okay, it might not be a vital one when we consider Charlotte's ultimate soulmate match with Harry is her defining romantic relationship, but somewhere out there on the cutting room floor is an entire flirtation we never got to see!
Appearing on her podcast, actor Jason McDonald revealed he played a brief beau of Charlotte's in a storyline that got "fully cut out".
McDonald said that he was cast as a man named Emerson in season 2, episode Games People Play, thinking this first "big booking" of his career would be a breakthrough for him. So much so, he said he even hosted a watch party with friends when the episode aired – only to discover then that he'd been cut.
The romantic entanglement saw Charlotte and Emerson flirting at a bridge party, then winding up as partners. "Then someone accused us of cheating and then we went around the corner, and you put me up against the bookshelf and kissed me," he said on the podcast, which Davis thought sounded "bold" for her character.
Ultimately, the episode might have ditched the Emerson scenes in favour of giving more airtime to its high-profile guest star: Jon Bon Jovi.
7) Steve Brady was created specifically for David Eigenberg
Steve and Miranda get married in Sex and the City. HBO
The wonderful Steve was written specifically for actor David Eigenberg, who actually auditioned for a number of other roles before joining as Miranda's future husband in season 2.
In Amy Sohn's book Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell, executive producer Jenny Bicks said she created the role with him in mind, saying: "[David] was embarrassed by doing sex scenes – in our audition room it's a bunch of women sitting in front of a guy who has to come for them. David couldn't do it because he's shy, but we knew when he walked in we wanted him to play something."
8) Darren Star used the "up the butt" taxi conversation to test HBO
How far the creator and writers could take SATC hinged on execs' reactions to one of the series' most hilarious and iconic scenes: when Charlotte gets advice from all three of her best friends as she grapples with a crisis when the man she's dating wants to have anal sex.
Star called the scene a "litmus" test for how HBO would ultimately react and where the boundaries would be for the show.
"When I went to talk to Chris Albrecht [then-president of HBO programming] about what we were doing, I mentioned this scene – and for me it was like a litmus [test] of how he was going to react and what their attitude would be toward the show," he told Entertainment Tonight.
"I thought, 'OK, I'm going to tell him the scene where Charlotte meets a guy who wants her to have anal sex, and she freaks out and talks to her friends about it, and either he's going to think it's really funny or throw me out of the room.'"
9) Candace Bushnell personally influenced Carrie Bradshaw's hair
Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City. HBO
Bushnell was heavily involved in the series in the early days – working in the writers' room for the first two seasons.
So entwined with the creation of the character of Carrie was she that our leading lady's globally famous hairdo was recreated in her image. Sort of.
In a 2022 interview with The New Yorker, the author said she took SJP to her personal stylist to get the same blonde dye job she was sporting at the time.
10) Candace Bushnell sold the rights to her column surprisingly cheaply
For a franchise that's gone on to make more than a pretty penny (okay, hundreds of millions of dollars), Candace Bushnell didn't get all that much for the rights to her columns when the deal was brokered.
Busnhell has said she got just $60,000 for the initial rights, and has criticised the lack of royalties, saying: "I did not get the royalties I deserved."
"I knew it wasn’t a good deal. I was really pushed into it for a variety of reasons," she told The Mirror in 2023.
11) The iconic Carrie tutu almost never happened
In her book Pat in the City: My Life of Fashion, Style, and Breaking All the Rules, Sex and the City's original and monumentally influential costume designer Patricia Field revealed the real story behind the tutu that's now synonymous with Carrie Bradshaw.
First off, she found it while rummaging through a $5 bin in Midtown. $5 to make history? Not bad.
"I imagined pairing the short, tiered tulle skirt with a small tee or tank for a look that was both contemporary and cool," she wrote. "I also thought Sarah Jessica would be able to relate to this crazy skirt because of her background as a ballet dancer.
"Just as important, though, the tutu-style skirt was whimsical, adventurous, and unexpected – kind of like this show, Sex and the City."
SJP instantly loved the piece, but it didn't get the immediate thumbs-up from creator Darren Star, who also had to like it for it to make the cut.
In her book, Field remembers Star asking, "Who’s going to understand this girl, in New York, in a tutu?"
"'It isn’t a tutu. It’s a tulle skirt,' I said. 'It’s the princess syndrome.'"
Star remained skeptical, but Parker fought for the tutu – sorry, tulle skirt. In the end, he compromised, and they were permitted to shoot the opening sequence with the tutu, provided they also shot an alternative version in a blue sheath dress.
When he saw the final product, SJP being splashed by the bus bearing the ad for Carrie's column, Star loved it.
Sex and the City is available to stream on Sky Comedy and NOW.
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Authors
Minnie WrightDigital Growth and Acquisitions Lead
Minnie Wright is the digital growth and acquisitions lead of Radio Times. She has a background in TV, film, showbiz and music at a major national publication and a degree in Popular Music Journalism.
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