[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sex_and_the_city.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[-From left to right: Samantha, Miranda, Carrie, Charlotte.-]]]


->'''Johnny Gomez''': What have their characters got that makes this show so hot?
->'''Nick Diamond''': Ravenous libidos, nutty outfits, and an appetite for the bone!
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'', "Slaughter and the City"

A FourGirlEnsemble series running on {{Creator/HBO}} for six seasons, from 1998 to 2004. Single thirtysomething (or fortysomething) ladies date lots and lots of men (and one woman) and go through every possible dating foible out there. While earlier seasons had a GuyOfTheWeek set-up and dating drove the plots, the later ones were considerably more character-based and focused on their respective long-term relationships. While mostly episodic, there were several story arcs.

The series is an adaptation of Creator/CandaceBushnell's tell-all ''New York Observer'' column (and subsequent book) of the same name.

After the series conclusion, [[Film/SexAndTheCity two feature film adaptations]] followed in 2008 and 2010, with Creator/SarahJessicaParker, Creator/KimCattrall, Creator/KristinDavis, and Creator/CynthiaNixon all reprising their roles.

From 2013 to 2014, Creator/TheCW aired a prequel series, ''Series/TheCarrieDiaries'', which focuses on Carrie Bradshaw as a high school student (played by Creator/AnnaSophiaRobb). It only lasted two seasons before being canceled.

In December 2020, [[https://tvline.com/2020/12/22/sex-and-the-city-reboot-season-7-revival-kim-cattrall/ it was reported]] that a revival of the series was in development for Creator/HBOMax. The new series, titled ''Series/AndJustLikeThat'', [[https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/sex-and-the-city-reboot-hbo-max-1234882219/ was confirmed]] a month later. The series ultimately premiered in December 2021, with most of the original cast returning except for the notable absence of Cattrall as Samantha.

----
!!"Tropes and the City":
* FiveFiveFive:
** Averted with the phone numbers. The producers signed up for phone numbers expressly so they could use them on the show and not have to do this. However, Carrie's address for the first few seasons, 265 East 73rd Street, doesn't exist (it's right where Second Avenue crosses).
** Played straight though in some episodes in earlier seasons such as the episode "Valley of the Twentysomething Guys".
* AdamWesting:
** Creator/MatthewMcConaughey in "Escape from New York".
** Creator/LucyLiu appears as a client of Samantha's in "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda".
** Creator/HeatherGraham makes an appearance in "Critical Condition".
* AgeGapRomance:
** Samantha (in her forties) dates Smith (28). Which made for some episodes of her being self-conscious. When she starts finding gray hairs (and not on her head), she worries that he'll stop thinking of her as an "older" woman and start thinking of her as an "old" woman.
** Big and Natasha have a similar age difference, but thanks to DoubleStandard Natasha's youth is played against ''Carrie's'' (who is herself good ten years younger than Big) age. Although Carrie still snarks about "Big marrying a teenager" (she was a twenty-something).
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Carrie's LoveInterest Big is an inconsiderate jerk to her most of the time. Miranda starts dating a guy who is a verbally abusive, bossy asshole in public, which she hates, but also a bossy asshole in the bedroom, which she loves.
* AllGuysWantCheerleaders: Miranda worries Robert is more interested in a cheerleader for the Knicks. He isn't.
* AllWomenLoveShoes: One can't help but notice that the shoes they are wearing in the page image have a prominent focus. This is intentional. Pretty much the modern TropeCodifier.
** Deconstructed in an episode where Carrie needs money for a mortgage but has spent so much on her shoe collection that she doesn't have enough left.
* AmbiguouslyBi
** Discussed in one episode, in which Samantha announces, out of the blue, that she is in a relationship with a woman (played by Brazilian actress Sonia Braga) though the girls, who have apparently [[NoBisexuals never heard of bisexuals]], take it as more of a sudden sexual preference switch:
-->'''Carrie:''' How does that work? You go to bed one night, wake up the next morning and poof, you're a lesbian?\\
'''Miranda:''' Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm a fire hydrant!\\
'''Carrie:''' Yeah, I'm a shoe! I always wanted to be one and poof, now I am!
** A younger fling of Carrie's called Sean. He and his friends (one of them being Alanis Morisette) make up a nice little bisexual community. After meeting them, she becomes wonderfully [=anvilicious=] and declares their lifestyle as a form of not growing up.
%%* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Miranda to Steve in the series finale.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: After catching Carrie with her married ex at a hotel, a horrified Charlotte confronts Carrie on her affair, and more than that, forces her to think about how it will affect Natasha, Big's wife.
-->'''Charlotte''': This isn't a joke Carrie! They took vows. I'm getting married in three weeks, what if someone did this to ''me''?!?\\
'''Carrie''':...I would kill them.\\
'''Charlotte''': How could you do this?
* ArtisticLicenseMedicine: After Miranda contracts chlamydia, she tells Steve he needs to be tested, but assures him, "men are just carriers". This is completely false, as men can also have symptoms from chlamydia, though it's often asymptomatic in both sexes (and Miranda didn't know she had it either until after she went for a checkup).
* ArtisticLicenseSports: Charlotte's King Charles Cavalier Spaniel is purchased because it has "one leg shorter than the others" and shown at a Westminster-like dog show in that episode, without training, while in heat. It is impossible that an unevenly hocked dog with no prior experience, an amateur handler and a disqualifying (as well as obvious and terribly disruptive to the other dogs) medical condition could win any sort of legitimate major dog show. The only thing remotely justifying about it is that the judge was enamored with the handler -- but even that wouldn't have helped her get all the way to the show ring. (Although, from what her previous owner said, she'd had extensive training and been entered in dog shows before, but never managed to win.)
%%* AtTheOperaTonight
* AuthorAvatar: Carrie Bradshaw, for Candace Bushnell.
* BabyTalk: In one episode Samantha meets a great guy... who speaks in baby talk while they're in bed. It [=squicked=] her out to no end.
%%* BackhandedApology: Big's wife to Carrie.
* BaldnessMockery: Charlotte attempts to [[PairTheSpares pair-up her two gay friends]] Stanford and Anthony, with her describing the former as having an Creator/EdHarris-like look to the latter. However, when he first meets him, he rebuffs him, snarking, "Ed Harris? Ed Harris?! More like "Ed-I-Have-No-Harris!" Oddly enough, they did eventually end up getting together, and by ''Sex and the City 2'', they were married.
%%* TheBeautifulElite: As far as middle aged single Manhattan women go, they're pretty good finds to say the least.
* BigApplesauce: And how. To make it more interesting, nearly every one of the stores, clubs, and restaurants they hit is real. In interviews with some of the creators, they mention one of their goals for the series was to show that New York City is more than just the crime-ridden alleys and full of scary homeless men you see on TV.
* BiggerIsBetterInBed: Several episodes mention this, but it's notably subverted in one where Samantha thinks she's going to have the best sex of her life with a well-hung man, and finds out she actually doesn't enjoy it.
** Played straight (with an inversion) on another occasion, also with Samantha. She dates a guy who is ''not'' well endowed, and has trouble enjoying sex with him as well. Apparently, Samantha needs her guys to be right at the top of the bell curve in terms of size.
** Funny enough, once she realizes the guy she is dating is too big, she mentions that she misses the guy who was too small, much to Carrie's surprise.
* BiWildered: One infamous episode revolves around the topic of bisexuality. Carrie meets a group of bisexuals at a party. One of them is played by Music/AlanisMorissette, and the two kiss while playing SpinTheBottle. Carrie still can't fathom bisexuality, especially among males, and thinks bisexual men are just gay men in denial.
%%* BlindDate
* BlondeBrunetteRedHead: Carrie's friends are the blonde Samantha, brunette Charlotte, and redhead Miranda (and Carrie's caramel curls making her the designated Other One).
* BodySushi: The movie has a scene in which Samantha does this as a Valentine's Day present for her lover.
* {{Bowdlerize}}:
** The syndicated version. ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' referred to it as ''The View II''. Some of the censoring of lines were not quite subtle.
---> "Get the frig out of my friggin suit, lady! There's a friggin fire!"
** When the show was initially edited for TBS, common sexual euphemisms were considered acceptable, as well as words like "shit" and "asshole". When reshown on local television stations (as well as the E! network), these words were edited out with a complete mute of the audio, causing an abrupt stop in the soundtrack.
** Upon finding out Miranda doesn't have a hotel room reserved for her: "Great. Great. Great." Carrie, embarrassed: "I'm sorry about her, sir, she's from New York."
** Consequently, TheMovie. Though it did feature a near-shot of a male member, and had one of the most revealing sex scenes.
* BracesOfOrthodonticOverKill: Miranda wore braces in "Hot Child in the City", after learning she was a tongue thruster. She had her braces removed by the end of the episode once she decided that being a tongue thruster was the lesser of two evils. Although the braces she wore looked normal, it's worth mentioning because she was in her mid-thirties, making her older than the usual children/teenagers you normally see wearing braces on tv.
* BreakTheMotivationalSpeaker: When Charlotte takes Carrie to a relationship motivational speaker, Charlotte's almost tragically unsuccessful attempts at trying to find Mr. Right ends up stumping the speaker, who ends up suggesting she might just not be trying hard enough. Much to Carrie's frustration.
* BrokenAesop: Samantha flips out when Richard rebuffs her advances, accusing him of wanting to break up and of seeing someone else. He calmly and reasonably points out that he's in the middle of work and also answers the questions she posed to him during her rant--"Where were you this afternoon?", etc. It seems like a great moment for her to learn not to be jealous and suspicious, except it turns out that she didn't believe a word he said and upon following him, learns that he IS cheating on her, thus making her supposed overreaction completely justified.
** All of the girls had moments like this. Carrie realizes she needs to stop being a spendthrift... but then Charlotte gives her the money for a down payment and she goes right back to the spending habits that got her into this mess.
* BrooklynRage: When the foursome goes to L.A., Miranda goes out to meet an old friend from New York -- who has become much happier, skinnier, and abandoned all his "toxic rage" since leaving. [[spoiler:It's an act.]]
%%* CampGay: Stanford and Anthony. They get married in TheMovie.
* CampStraight: Charlotte dates an incredibly flamboyant straight guy, and thinks she's found the best of both worlds when it comes to men. But in the end she realized she wanted to be with a guy who's willing to step on a spider for her, and not stand on a chair screaming like a girl.
* CandyStriper: The "sexier" application of the trope is deliberately {{Invoked}} by Carrie in Season 6, Episode 11, "The Domino Effect." With Big in New York for "minor heart surgery," Carrie tracks him down at his hotel and drops by for a visit the day he's released from the hospital. When she arrives, she's wearing a Candy Striper's [[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/232920611951659726/ matching cap and pinafore over a tight, skimpy camisole]]. When Big tells her they can't engage in any activities that would raise his heart rate, Carrie produces a set of dominoes for them to play with, stating they can have lots of PG-rated fun.
* CaptainsLog: OncePerEpisode finds Carrie at her computer summarizing the things she "couldn't help but wonder" about. Played with when in one episode as she is typing on her computer, the narration suddenly is interrupted when the computer malfunctions.
* TheCasanova: Too many to count. Heck, there are even ''female'' examples -- such as Samantha who loves hot, steamy, casual sex.
* CaughtWithYourPantsDown: Miranda had a brief encounter with a guy who actually called his parents over specifically for them to accidentally walk in on them in bed, much to Miranda's horror.
* CerebusSyndrome: In the final season, Charlotte struggles with infertility and a miscarriage, Samantha develops breast cancer.
%%* TheCharmer
%%* CheckPlease
%%* ChildrenAreAWaste
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: At first Charlotte thought it would be romantic dating a guy willing to punch out sleazy men who harass her. Until she realized he wouldn't ''stop'' picking fights with people over the smallest reason.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Carrie's friend Skipper, who dates Miranda in the first season, pops up once in the second season, then is never seen or mentioned again.
* ChurchLady: Three different Synagogue Ladies forcefully set up Charlotte with their sons just before she gets back together with Harry. One of these ladies takes a moment to correct Charlotte on her cookie platter arrangement.
* CityMouse:
** Carrie in Aidan's cabin. She can't cope with being so close to nature at first and never feels very comfortable there.
** Miranda and Steve on their honeymoon, in a beautiful rural spot where there's nothing to do but have sex. The lack of other entertainment options soon drives Miranda crazy.
* CoolestClubEver: Usually one shows up at least once an episode. Samantha is a PR agent and always knows about the latest hotspots.
* CommutingOnABus: Big moves to Napa at the end of Season 4, but reappears a few times in Seasons 5 and 6 before reuniting with Carrie for good in the last couple of episodes.
%%* ConvenientlyCommonKink
* ConvertingForLove: Charlotte couldn't marry Harry unless she converted to Judaism for him. She takes the classes and ceremonies, and becomes a proud genuine Jewish believer, and was willing to put away her treasured Christmas decorations to be "authentic", even when Harry says she doesn't need to. Even when they briefly break up, she stays with the religion because it's what she truly identifies with.
%%* CostumePorn
* DeadpanSnarker: They are late 1990s New Yorkers, it comes with the territory. Probably summed up by this line by Carrie to Miranda in "Ghost Town":
-->"Don't worry, I checked the rarely-invoked HauntedHouse clause in the Best Friend Contract, you're completely covered."
* DerailingLoveInterests: Steve was a nice charming guy when dating Miranda the first time. But when the writers decided they needed to have her be single again, Steve suddenly became obsessed with the topic of babies and watching cartoons all day. This happens frequently with any TemporaryLoveInterest the girls pick up who only lasts an episode or two.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Carrie moves to Paris with Aleksandr despite only having been with him for a few months, not speaking the language, and not having a job. She ends up bored with nothing to do and neglected by him as he's consumed with his work.
* DigitalBikini: In the censored versions of the episodes they give the characters digitally added lingerie over their topless/nude bodies. If you didn't know otherwise you probably wouldn't even notice. Especially since Sarah Jessica Parker always wore a bra in her sex scenes anyway.
* DiscriminateAndSwitch: Samantha announces, with some trepidation, that she's in a committed relationship with a woman. Carrie's aghast response: "You're in a ''relationship''?"
%%* TheDitz: Charlotte
%%* DoggedNiceGuy: Skipper
* DontDoAnythingIWouldntDo: Samantha's boyfriend Smith is about to leave for a work-related venture. Samantha tells him not to do anything she wouldn't, to which he wryly responds "What things don't you do?" Samantha: "There are some things... Karaoke. I don't do that."
* DoomedNewClothes: Carrie's pink tutu, which gets splashed by a passing bus. Her fluffy pink shoes which get drenched when Miranda is in labor and her water breaks. And the dress she wears when she falls in the river with Big.
* DoubleStandard:
** Had the show been about four men who have countless one-night stands and dump their partners afterwards for the same, sometimes nitpicky, reasons the women in this show do, it would have caused an outrage among feminists. Also, for a show that is praised for talking about sexual taboos, it does enforce a lot of stereotypes about gender too, especially that all men should be strong, fearless and [[BiggerIsBetterInBed well-endowed]].
** Throughout their on-again, off-again relationship, any pursuit of Big by Carrie--leaving a few things at his apartment, wanting to meet his mother, saying, "I love you"--was made out to be pathetic, clingy, etc., and was always "punished" somehow, by Big pulling away from her or outright breaking off the relationship. But after Big married Natasha, he flat-out stalked Carrie for several weeks--calling her constantly, lurking outside her building waiting for her to come home, continuing to lurk until her boyfriend left, sneaking into the building and trying to push his way into her apartment, only stopping when she warned him that her boyfriend was coming back, following her to the hotel she was staying at, following her into the elevator, then grabbing and kissing her repeatedly. Throughout all this, she repeatedly tells him to leave her alone, and in the elevator, continually pushes him away, telling him "Fuck you" (essentially, "''no''"), before finally succumbing to his advances. Carrie's behavior was always portrayed negatively and typically resulted in her being dumped, whereas Big's harassment and virtually forcing himself on her was made out to be sexy and romantic and resulted in him getting her back.
** To a lesser extent with Steve and Miranda. From the moment their one-night stand is over, she makes it clear that this is all she wants. He responds by constantly calling her, showing up at her place--at one point, threatening to make a scene if she doesn't let him in--and overall, ignoring her numerous requests that he leave her alone. This is never made out to be bad, despite Miranda's annoyance with his persistence, just a case of the "Wild" guy trying to win over the "Uptight" woman.
* DragQueen:
** Charlotte goes drag king in "Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl."
** Samantha once dated a man who is now a drag queen using the stage name "Samantha".
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** Early episodes feature on-the-street "interviews" discussing the issues raised in the story, characters BreakingTheFourthWall and some even pass an inverted UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest with men talking about something other than women.
** Early episodes would also occasionally feature vignettes about random characters.
** In the pilot, Carrie's apartment looks completely different. The interior is much smaller with white stucco walls and has a fireplace. The exterior is a nondescript building with no stoop and a large neon coffee sign outside her window. There was [[http://www.iamnotastalker.com/2017/11/17/the-many-apartments-of-carrie-bradshaw-on-sex-and-the-city/ a lot of inconsistency]] with her apartment's exterior in the first two seasons, which bounced around a few different brownstones.
** Carrie works on a desktop computer with a large [=CRT=] monitor in the pilot (she has a [[EveryoneOwnsAMac Mac laptop]] in every subsequent episode).
* {{Escapism}}: The biggest reason for the show's success. Materialism is bad and the girls' OneHourWorkWeek is hardly realistic, but millions of viewers tuned in just to see the four ladies live glamorous lives and screw hot guys in New York.
%%* EroticEating
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Samantha's plan for making Smith a star starts by making him appealing to gay men.
-->'''Samantha:''' First the gays. Then the girls. '''Then''' the industry.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: It takes Miranda a long time to realize her feelings for Steve, and even longer to confess them. After they admit their feelings to each other and reconcile, their nanny indicates she's known about it for a while.
* EverybodyHasLotsOfSex: They all get around a lot. Except Charlotte's first husband Trey, who almost waits until marriage for sex, and then can't get it up.
* EverybodyIsSingle: For most of the series. But by the last season, everyone had either gotten married or started up serious relationships. When Carrie mentions to someone that none of her friends are looking for a date right now, it caught her off-guard because she'd never said that before.
* EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench: Carrie dates a Russian artist who is based in Paris.
%%* EverythingsSparklyWithJewelry
* FagHag: Carrie's close friend Stanford is a recurring character. She once referred to him as "my gay husband" when she was hanging out in clubs with another gay guy. Charlotte has a similar sort of relationship with her friend Anthony.
%% * FairytaleWeddingDress: Any wedding on the show is more than likely to have one. Except for Miranda's spur-of-the-minute ceremony, which was small and simple to the extreme.
* FakeOrgasm: In the episode "They Shoot Single People, Don't They?", Miranda reconnects with an ex-lover that she describes as an ophthalmologist who she "once faked orgasms with." However, history repeats itself, and she continues faking it with him. When Miranda tells him this, the man's confidence is shaken, so he gets her to coach him, which, in turn, makes sex feel more like an exam subject.
* FashionShow: Carrie walks the runway in "Models And Mortals."
%%* FateDrivesUsTogether
* FemaleGaze: One of the first things Samantha says about Smith is "Will you look at that ass?"
* {{Fetish}}: Entire episodes revolved around them, including ones which were [=Squick=] to some of the girls, such as [[spoiler:a guy who wanted to be peed on.]]
* FiremenAreHot: Played straight and later averted (i.e. a calendar full of dancing mounds of muscle juxtaposed with a bunch of fat, hairy dudes eating chips). "Where There's Smoke" starts with the girls at a firefighter strip show.
* FirstGrayHair: Samantha, and not on her head. Leading to a horribly botched dye job. At the end of the episode, [[spoiler:she solves the problem by shaving it all off]].
* {{Flanderization}}: With the exception of Carrie, all the female protagonists get this, particularly Charlotte, who goes from being the most innocent person (VERY relatively speaking) in her peer group to just being a complete moron.
* FluffyFashionFeathers: Feather coats occasionally show up. The series also became more a fashion commercial as the episodes marched on.
* FoodSlap: In the first season, having been ghosted by a guy she genuinely liked and was having a great time with, Samantha is seen throwing a drink in his face during the closing sequence. Several years later, she heads off to meet Richard, who's sitting at a table in very nice restaurant, waiting for her. As Samantha approaches him, he smiles and tells her how great she looks. She gives him a big smile back, tosses a drink in his face, turns on a dime, and triumphantly walks away.
* [[FormallyNamedPet Formally-Named Guest Dog]]: Carrie's book reading is interrupted by the appearance of one Mr. Winkle, a real celebrity dog, who has a book of his own which he's signing (by putting his paw print on it).
%%* FourTemperamentEnsemble
* FriendsRentControl: [[spoiler:Carrie]] can afford to buy her apartment back after she sold it. Miranda and Samantha have the money to live the lifestyle depicted, but not the free time. And averted with Charlotte, who came from money and got her large apartment in her divorce settlement.
* FriendsWithBenefits: Dissected by Carrie, who distinguishes between "FriendsWithBenefits" and "fuck buddies".
%%* FurAndLoathing: Just the movie.
* GayParee: Where Aleksandr takes Carrie in the finale.
-->'''Aleksandr:''' ''(to his dinner guests)'' I think Paris is the greatest city in the world.\\
'''Steve:''' Easy, buddy. You're talking to New Yorkers here.
* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Miranda got pregnant and went for an abortion, but decided to keep the baby at the last minute, though it is mentioned in the same episode that Carrie and Samantha have both had abortions in the past (and Carrie, while shown not to regret her decision, says she still doesn't feel "normal" about it even years later). (Of course, the Doylist explanation is that Cynthia Nixon [[WrittenInInfirmity was actually pregnant and her getting an abortion would have defeated the point of writing it in.]])
* GoodLookingPrivates: "Anchors Away" is set during Fleet Week, and Carrie, Samantha and Charlotte attend a party with lots of attractive young naval officers.
* GrandRomanticGesture: Carrie ponders the [[DoubleStandard Double Standard]] of this trope only applying to men, in the episode where she gives a dramatic love confession outside Aidan's window (what's considered "romantic" behaviour for men is often considered "desperate or psycho" for women) - it ultimately works for her though, as Aidan gets back together with her at the episode's end.
* HappyEndingMassage: In one episode, the group learn a new sex technique, called tantric massage. The guy in their class ejaculates in Miranda's face and hair. Ew. In another episode, a woman at the gym informs Samantha that the masseuse went down on her. When Samantha books an appointment with him in the hopes of receiving the same treatment, ''she'' gets in trouble for trying to initiate sex, then gets ''him'' in trouble when she reports his behavior to the club owner. A few days later, she runs into the other woman and she and several others blast her for getting the guy fired, with one of them angrily asking, "Who's gonna fuck me now?", shocking the first woman, who didn't know that his actions had gone beyond providing oral sex.
* HeartIsWhereTheHomeIs: Carrie's main love interest has always been Mr. Big, who is American like her but with whom she struggles to get emotionally close. In the last season, we are introduced to Aleksandr Petrovsky, a Russian artist who sweeps her off with grand romantic gestures. Once he secures a romantic relationship with Carrie by convincing her to move to Paris with him, he neglects her in favor of his work and becomes so toxic that he slaps her. Because Big has traveled to Paris chasing after her, he's conveniently present to comfort her. Their mutual feelings reignite and Big makes up for previous slights earlier in their not-so-platonic relationship, so they end up happily together.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: The women always drive home the point that they are each other's soulmates, rather than the men in their lives.
** In "An American Girl In Paris," Big tells Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha, "You three are the loves of her life. A guy is lucky to come in fourth."
%%* HollywoodCalifornia: Not nearly as cool as BigApplesauce.
* HollywoodHealing: In Season 4, Charlotte says she's been diagnosed with vulvodynia, which she describes as "your vagina is depressed". It's played for laughs, and the matter is essentially dropped after a few episodes. In real life, vulvodynia is a chronic, painful condition that can last for years, and definitely not a laughing matter. (It can also make sex excruciating for sufferers, so if Charlotte did have it, let's just say her lifestyle would likely have been very different than what we saw.)
* {{Housewife}}: Charlotte quits her job to keep house after her first wedding.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Carrie's reaction to Aidan buying her a new computer, when most of what she buys could easily cost double.
-->'''Aidan:''' It's like a little purse.\\
'''Carrie:''' That's a very expensive "purse".
** Charlotte shares her and Trey's infertility struggles with ''complete strangers'', but flips out because he discussed it with his mother (who, to be fair, is an overbearing control freak).
** Samantha has knowingly slept with married men several times, yet is outraged whenever SHE is cheated on.
** Miranda thinks there's something wrong with a 30-something guy who's never been married, but champions women in the same position "We're just choosy".
* TheILoveYouStigma:
** Carrie once dates a recovering alcoholic who is extremely excited to experience sex without beer and loves it to bits. He says he loves her way too early and Carrie wants to slow down. He doesn't take it too well and relapses.
** Samantha once states this to Richard while high on Ecstasy and freaks out about it afterwards. He thankfully understands.
* InfallibleNarrator: Not only does Carrie seem to know every intimate detail in the lives of her three best friends, it looks like she describes it all in her popular magazine column. And her friends are never bothered by this!
* InformedAttractiveness: Many men are described as exceptionally attractive and charming in-series, in a world of attractive, charming men. The girls get this treatment, too, particularly Sex Goddess Samantha, who is hot, but exists in a world of model-class women.
* InnocentSwearing: A variation: in the first movie, Lily (then three years old) repeats the word "sex" because she heard Miranda say it. [[BrickJoke Later]], the phone rings at Carrie's bachelorette party and Lily picks it up and says, "Sex." Although this doesn't fall under most people's definition of a swear word, Charlotte treats it like one because of Lily's age.
* InherentlyAttractiveProfession: When Miranda tries speed-dating, she pretends to be a stewardess because she's too intimidating as a lawyer. She decides to date a doctor... but it turns out he's not a doctor. He only pretends to be a doctor because women dig it and he wants to have sex with a flight attendant. Miranda decides not to reveal that she's not a flight attendant because that way, that particular fantasy was fulfilled.
* InsatiableNewlyweds: Charlotte and Trey can't keep their hands off each other once he gets over his impotency issues.
* InterracialAdoptionStruggles: Charlotte and her husband Trey are both white New Yorkers. Charlotte struggles to get pregnant and she begins researching other options. She puts her and Trey's names down to adopt a baby girl from China. She even tries to learn Mandarin for "her" (= the hypothetical baby's) sake. Charlotte says it's good they're both dark-haired so people won't notice immediately she's adopted and that they'll look fairly alike. Trey's insufferable mother Bunny is appalled.
-->'''Bunny''': [=MacDougal=] is one of the oldest Highland clans in existence. We have a very proud lineage, one I hope you and Trey will be able to perpetuate. Now, I know some things can't be helped, but I must tell you right now: I don't enjoy Mandarin food, and I don't enjoy a Mandarin child.
* IronicEcho: Carrie chews out Miranda in the movie using almost the exact same lines that Miranda used to hammer Steve earlier on.
%%-->''"I'm sorry. I can't. Don't hate me."''
* ItIsAlwaysSpring: For the first few seasons, thrown out entirely by the time of season 6.
* ItsAllAboutMe: ''Carrie'', who frequently redirects conversations back to herself and in the movie, whines that Big isn't taking the wedding seriously when he's trying to work.
* IWasQuiteALooker: Samantha plans ahead and decides to have professional nude pictures taken now, so when she's "...80 and my tits are on the floor..." she can look back and remember.
* IvyLeagueForEveryone: Miranda went to Harvard Law, Charlotte went to Smith (a Seven Sisters college, which was essentially the Ivy League for women until the Ivies went co-ed). Samantha mentions having gone to college but never said which one. Carrie's education is a bit nebulous and she's mentioned attending college a few times. A tie-in novel states she went to Brown, though this apparently isn't canon as the sequel series ''The Carrie Diaries'' contradicts this by having Carrie plan to attend [=NYU=], but later turn this down for a job.
* LamePunReaction: In one episode, Carrie tries to write an article for Vogue and the editor hates it, saying her cheap puns are terrible.
* {{Jerkass}}: Too many to count, but the guy who gave Miranda an STD particularly stands out.
** Carrie has a few moments where she could be considered a horrible friend. She kicks Samantha out of her room ''while she's taking a bath'' and shoves her off into another room down the hall just she can have sex with Big. When Samantha gets a chemical peel and ends up burning off a layer of her face, she still attends Carrie's book release party and Carrie makes fun of how she looks. Carrie also yells at Charlotte for not giving her money after she spent all her own money on shoes, never listens to her friends when they talk about their personal lives, and can come off a bit stalker-ish when it comes to Big, spying on him and his mother when they go to church. Not to mention breaking Aidan's heart ''twice.'' Carrie is also judgmental of Samantha's sex life on several occasions.
** Also, in the second movie, she starts a fight with Big because ''he bought her a television.''
** Miranda treats Skipper badly before dumping him, then decides she wants him back the second that she sees that he's happy with someone else. After they sleep together, she decides this is the perfect time to tell him she doesn't want to be monogamous. When he then tells her he's sick of her jerking him around, she tells him he's overreacting. She blasted Carrie for constantly letting Big do this to her, yet is oblivious to the fact that she's done it to someone else.
* JizzedInMyPants: Carrie dates a guy (whose family she adores) who always finishes even before they get it on.
%%* LadyInRed: Samantha wears tight red dresses very often.
%%* LadyKillerInLove: On the sparse times where Samantha pursues a serious relationship.
* LawOfInverseFertility: Charlotte is dying to get pregnant, while Miranda manages to get accidentally knocked up with one working ovary and testicle. Also, Charlotte finally does get pregnant the "old-fashioned way" after giving up following a miscarriage and a successful adoption.
* LikeParentLikeSpouse: Carrie wonders if her problems with men have to do with her father walking out on the family when she was 5, though Miranda assures her that she has the exact same problems and her dad was home every day at 7.
* LikesOlderWomen: Smith, and that college freshman Samantha slept with who promptly fell in love with her. In fact, nearly all of Samantha's boyfriends fall into this character, as most of them appear to be much younger than her.
* LingerieScene: Notably with Carrie. Because Sarah Jessica Parker was a producer on the show, she never had to do her sex scenes topless, while the other women did [[note]](though not exclusively--especially as the series went on)[[/note]]. Especially noticeable during the episode set during Fleet Week. Through the course of the episode, Carrie ends up, unintentionally and uncomfortably, seeing the breasts of all three of the other ladies (Miranda when she was nursing her baby, Charlotte when a sailor convinces her to flash him, and Samantha because why the hell not?) Carrie was the only one who got off scot-free.
* LipstickLesbian:
** Charlotte wants to get in with a posse of them in one episode.
** Maria, Samantha's Portuguese lover from season 4 (and therefore Samantha, for a time).
%% * LittleBlackDress: One of the more common dresses.
%% * LivingMacGuffin: Big. He may as well be a briefcase!
%% * TheLoinsSleepTonight: Trey in particular.
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: See {{Fetish}} above. One reason why they are usually single is because the men they are involved with usually have ''something'' wrong with them.
* LousyLoversAreLosers:
** ''Many'' of the GuyOfTheWeek turn out to be rather lousy lovers who fail to give the girls orgasms and the cast talk about it rather often.
--->'''Samantha:''' Is he really that bad in bed?\\
'''Miranda:''' No, he's just, he's a guy. They can re-build a jet engine but when it comes to a woman, what's the big mystery? It's my clitoris, not the Sphinx.\\
'''Samantha:''' It's not really their fault you know, they don't come with a manual. If I had a son I'd teach him all about the vagina.
** The episode "Was It Good for You?" is about Charlotte becoming insecure about her sexual prowess when the GuyOfTheWeek ends up falling asleep on top of her during sex. He claims he's just overworked (he's a doctor) but the damage is done and Charlotte is convinced she's terrible in bed and even takes up [[FlexibilityEqualsSexAbility tantric yoga lessons]] to 'improve'. When Carrie discusses this with Samantha (who's a LoveableSexManiac and a SexGoddess) she's surprised to learn that Samantha thinks that being good in bed is ''incredibly'' important and that it defines a person's character, Samantha is also convinced that Charlotte is in fact bad in bed, just by the way she moves.
--->'''Samantha:''' ''[about Charlotte's sexual prowess]'' Of course it's her. I have to say, I'm not surprised. Ever seen her on a Stairmaster? Nothing happening below the waist. Nada. No sale.\\
'''Carrie:''' How can you say that? Even if she was bad in bed, which she isn't, is it really that important?\\
'''Samantha:''' Absolutely. Who we are in bed is who we are in life. I never met a man who was bad in bed who was good at life.
* LoveFreak: Charlotte is a true and passionate advocate of true love, and one season was determined to get married by the end of the year. This was mostly used as a foil to Miranda's jaded views on relationships, and Samantha's very casual outlook on love.
* LowerDeckEpisode: Stanford is the only character outside the four leads who ever got his own subplots now and then.
* ManInAKilt: Trey's wedding and during other formal occasions in his social setting, which is an old-money New York family of Scottish descent.
%% * MagicalNegro: Louise in the movie.
* ManChild: One of Steve's key flaws is this, as he watches ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' and talks with a vaguely-childish rhotacism [[ElmuhFuddSyndwome (his "r" nearly becomes "w")]]. Miranda gets over it after a while. The actor who played Steve later gave an interview in which he good-naturedly complained about going from a guy who read Chekhov in bars to someone who was addicted to ''Scooby Doo''.
* MarsAndVenusGenderContrast: A driving trope for the whole series.
* MaternallyChallenged: Carrie spends an episode now and then questioning if she's cut out for motherhood, and Miranda had next to no idea how to care for a kid, which is why her maid became so useful.
* MeaningfulName: Throwaway characters will often have names that either set up {{Incredibly Lame Pun}}s or comment on their relation to the story.
-->'''Carrie Voiceover:''' As soon as Samantha met Dante, she knew she was in Hell.
--> Adam '''Ball''', the guy with the "funky spunk."
* MeetCute: Charlotte first met Trey when she tripped while crossing the street and was nearly run over by the cab he was riding.
* MinorFlawMajorBreakup: Charlotte broke it off with a guy over differing China pattern preferences.
* MistakenForGay: In TheMovie, Carrie and Miranda are both alone on Valentine's Day, so they go out to dinner together, and the waitress thinks they're girlfriends.
** Miranda's boss thinks this about her in a first-season episode.
* ModestyBedsheet: Used a lot.
* MonochromeCasting: All white. None of the lead or their close friends were black, Hispanic or Asian.
* TheMovie: The first was released in 2008, the second in 2010.
** A third was discussed, complete with plot synopsis, but will likely never happen now.
%%* MrViceGuy
* MyBiologicalClockIsTicking: Mostly Charlotte, with occasional freakouts from Miranda or Carrie.
* MySisterIsOffLimits: Gender switched, when Samantha hooks up with Charlotte's brother.
* MysteriousPast:
** After six seasons, two movies and a sequel series, viewers know surprisingly little about Carrie's past. It's never mentioned where she's from[[note]](her high school boyfriend mentions he's visiting Connecticut with the implication they grew up there, which is where Creator/CandaceBushnell grew up)[[/note]], where she went to college[[note]](she mentions once that she was "caught in the boy's dorm sophomore year" and that she "did the 'date the bisexual guy' thing in college")[[/note]], if she has any family[[note]](if she does, none came to her wedding in the movie)[[/note]], or how she became a writer. It took 24 years before viewers knew her name is [[https://www.today.com/popculture/tv/-just-now-know-carries-full-name-rcna9897 short for Caroline]]. One episode reveals she hasn't seen her father since she was a small child and was raised by a single mother, and that's about it. ''Series/TheCarrieDiaries'' answered a few of these questions (she's from Connecticut), but contradicts major details of her past established in ''Sex and the City'', like having her raised by a single father with her never-before-mentioned sister[[note]](In ''Sex and the City'', Carrie once jokes about being mistaken for her sister but the joke has the implication she doesn't actually have one, and in another episode she mentions her father left her and her mother, with no mention of a sister)[[/note]] after her mother died, so it probably isn't canon to the main series.
** All we know about Samantha is that she was raised by a single mother and has two siblings, and indirectly mentions she went to college when she says she was living in a dorm when she had an abortion. In the movie, Carrie mentions Samantha used to work as a bartender at [=CBGB=], and the (probably non-canon) ''Carrie Diaries'' states she's from the Florida Everglades.
* NakedPeopleTrappedOutside: Samantha decides to spice things up with her firefighter boyfriend by [[MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces having sex in the fire engine bay]]. Mid-coitus, the company responds to a call, leaving Samantha exposed with the bay door open and the inside doors locked.
* {{Narrator}}: Carrie does voiceovers throughout each episode.
* NeverLendToAFriend: Carrie needs to get a mortgage on her apartment, but has apparently managed to spend all her money on shoes (no, really, over $40 thousand on shoes) so she doesn't have it. Miranda and Samantha offer to loan her the cash (she refuses) but Charlotte doesn't, because of this trope. Carrie whines about it, and Charlotte eventually changes her mind and lends the money to Carrie, who promises to pay it back with interest. It's never mentioned or brought up again.
%% * NiceToTheWaiter
* NoBisexuals: Samantha refers to herself as a lesbian when she becomes involved with a lesbian artist, despite the fact she significantly enjoys sex with men as well. In a couple of episodes, they break up and she's back to dating men, without ever expressing interest in a woman again.
** Inverted in an episode where Carrie dates a bisexual man. She ends up playing SpinTheBottle at a party and kissing a girl (played by Music/AlanisMorissette), but feels uncomfortable about it and never really questions her own sexuality. In a conversation about sexual orientation with the girls, Charlotte admits that she only believes people are gay or straight, with no in-between.
* NoGuyWantsAnAmazon: Miranda had to deal with this constantly. When Carrie dated a struggling writer, he resented her rising popularity and eventually couldn't handle her unintentionally overshadowing him.
%%* NoNameGiven: Big, until the end of the series/TheMovie.
%%* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted.
* OldPeopleAreNonsexual: Samantha, a woman in her forties dating a man in her twenties, alludes to this mentality when she starts finding gray hairs, and worries that he'll stop seeing her as older and start seeing her as old.
* OldMaid: All the girls except for Samantha face thoughts of becoming one or already being one, but they still get laid a lot and find guys all the time. The main overriding concern is whether they'll find someone to stay with (or whether this is something they even want). Charlotte is especially worried about this label, even when she technically is a divorced woman.
%%* OneHourWorkWeek
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Big, up until the end.
* PeripheryDemographic: InUniverse: Samantha wants to make Smith a famous actor, so she knows how to get their attention:
-->'''Samantha:''' First the gays, then the girls, '''then''' the Industry.
%% * [[GayBestFriend Pet Homosexual]]: Stanford and Anthony. Stanford does have his own occasional subplot though.
* PrenupBlowup: Trey springs a prenup on Charlotte late in the wedding process, which is considered pretty bad form. The agreement contains an unusual clause that, in the event they divorce, Charlotte will receive an increasing percentage of $500,000 for every year that she and Trey were married. Charlotte negotiates with Trey's mother to increase the payout to $1 million. ("I'm worth a million", she says.)
** Considering how quickly that marriage went down the drain it was actually VERY smart on the mother's part to demand it. Though the couple split pretty amicably and it's doubtful Charlotte would have done anything.
*** It's mostly Trey's mother who is determined to leave Charlotte with nothing from the marriage. Trey is happy to let Charlotte have what she wants, while all she wants is to keep their apartment.
* PrettyInMink: So many furs. And in keeping with the "Everything's Better With" spirit of this trope, the furs are some of the few outfits worn more than once.
* ProductPlacement: Absolut asked them to create an entire subplot involving Samantha getting her boyfriend on an enormous advertising poster in Times Square, labeled as the "Absolut Hunk". Not to mention the obvious fashion show that the series became during the final seasons and the movie spin-offs.
* PronouncingMyNameForYou: Aleksandr Petrovsky fails to teach Carrie the difference in pronunciation between his name and "Alexander". She gets around this by always referring to him as "My Russian".
* RacistGrandma: Bunny's (Trey's mother) response to Charlotte's plans to adopt a Mandarin baby?
--> "The [=McDougal=] name will be carried on by ''sons of your own''. ''Not'' daughters of the South Pacific."
%% * ReadyForLovemaking
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Shortened fifth season due to Sarah Jessica Parker's pregnancy. Also, the length of time between the series and TheMovie due to negotiations falling through with Kim Cattrall in the first go-round.
* ReallyGetsAround: Most notably Samantha, although many other characters qualify. One of the episodes ''was'' titled "Are We Sluts?," after all.
%% * RetailTherapy: They love going shopping.
* RightThroughHisPants: The show airing on HBO means the characters will actually take their clothes off for sex scenes... with one exception: Carrie, who was notorious for ''never'' removing her bra.
* RightThroughTheWall: Samantha's neighbors who always have loud sex after the late news. She joins in one night, and they invite her over for a threesome. Unfortunately, they're not the sexy young couple Samantha had been imagining.
* RomanticSpoonfeeding: Harry buys Charlotte some low-fat ice cream dessert and she eats it while they walk on the street. She offers him a bit on a spoon and he later takes another bite from the cup.
* RoommateCom: The four women from New York are not room-mates and in their thirties (older than the classic version), but otherwise the pattern fits very well -- they date a lot and sleep around a lot, and most of the time they are seen at parties, shopping for shoes or having brunch together.
%%* RuleOfGlamorous
* RunawayBride:
** Charlotte has cold feet in "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and seriously contemplates cancelling her wedding with Trey. Subverted as she decides to marry him.
%% ** Carrie.
** Big, in The Movie. He came back after 2 minutes, but Carrie was too pissed to listen to his apology, and was in the middle of doing '''her''' runaway bride moment.
%% * SceneryCensor: When Sarah Jessica Parker was pregnant in the fifth season
* SeinfeldianConversation: Frequently over lunch, while discussing problems such as whether or not it is awkward to talk to your boyfriend while he is peeing with the bathroom door open.
* SequelGoesForeign: Second movie goes to Abu Dhabi.
* SeriousBusiness: The episode where Charlotte's latest catch wants to try having anal sex with her. She and her friends have a group meeting and discuss the pros and cons of whether or not she should go through with this as if it was a serious personal crisis. For a woman like Charlotte who's dating a guy she really likes, [[JustifiedTrope it kind of is]].
* SettledForGay: Carrie once seriously contemplated marrying her gay friend to help him access his inheritance. She decided against it after realizing she would be unable to convince Stanford's grandmother of his heterosexuality.
* SexWithTheEx: Discussed frequently throughout the series. Carrie, Samantha and Miranda all hook up with ex-boyfriends, with varying degrees of success.
* ShiksaGoddess:
** Charlotte converts to Judaism so that Harry will marry her, leading to some frustration on her part when she ends up being more traditional and religious than ''he'' is.
** Before Harry, she was this to a Hasidic artist she slept with in the first season.
* ShirtlessScene: Happens a lot, but Smith is probably the most naked man on this show.
* ShoutOut:
** Carrie liked comparing her romances with various classic romance films. Including quoting lines and singing the theme to ''Film/TheWayWeWere''. Plus an episode between her and Big had the theme to ''Film/BreakfastAtTiffanys'' playing throughout.
** More subtle in one of the early fifth-season episodes where they go out to the Hamptons. Miranda says a sarcastic "Fabulous..." in response to something, followed immediately by Samantha shouting "[[Series/AbsolutelyFabulous Absolutely]]!" into her cellphone behind her.
* ShroudedInMyth: One of the earlier episodes involves a man [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep known only as "Mr Pussy"]], who is a cunning linguist of legend amongst Manhattan women. When Charlotte tries to date him, Samantha is aghast that she's "bogarting Mr. Pussy!"
* SilverVixen: The end of the first movie has Samantha turning ''50'', and she's still got much hotness left in her. Additionally, throughout the series, despite being the oldest of the group, she is also the most experienced and [[ReallyGetsAround promiscuous]] and [[HeadTurningBeauty never has any trouble attracting men]].
* SlutShaming: To all the women at various times. In particular in the aptly titled "Are We Sluts?", when Samantha's promiscuity catches up to her--her latest fling lets a burglar into her apartment building, prompting one of her neighbors to irritably snap, "Every time I see you in this elevator, you're with a different man." Samantha cringes upon realizing that she's right and actually seems to have a HeelRealization about her behavior. When complaining to Carrie, she compares the treatment she's receiving to "being chased with Main/TorchesAndPitchforks like I'm [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} Fuckenstein]]!" It gets so bad that she has to move out.
* SmokingIsCool: Carrie is seen smoking A LOT, especially in the first few seasons (she quits a few times, but it's never permanent). And given how many fans idolize her, everything she does looks so cool.
** Inverted in an episode where she appears on the cover of New York magazine, using a picture of her holding a cigarette that makes the normally beautiful Carrie Bradshaw look like utter trailer trash. The cover reads, "[[https://michaelsunsolicitedadvice.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/cbnewyorkmag2.jpg Single & Fabulous?]]"
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: A rare inversion: the show had no male characters at all in the main cast; even Big and Steve (the two most frequently recurring characters) appeared in rather less than half the episodes of the series. Carrie's friend Stanford, the next most frequent, showed up in less than a third of the episodes.
* SouthOfTheBorder: Charlotte screws up on her "don't drink the water" plan and gets a horrible case of diarrhea.
* SportsWidow: One of Samantha's Guys of the Week refuses to have sex while his basketball team is playing. Sam tries to indulge his fandom, but when he turns out to have a team for every season, she walks away.
* STDImmunity: Rarely addressed, though Samantha does take an HIV test in one episode, at which point, Miranda and Carrie mention having been tested at least once also.
** Averted when Miranda contracts chlamydia and when Charlotte catches crabs.
* TheStoner: Samantha's often shown lighting and smoking a joint. The other girls happily smoke pot too, though none of them resemble the stereotypical unglamorous example of a marijuana smoker.
* StalkingIsLove: Big's behavior towards Carrie after he's gotten married--calling her frequently, hanging around outside her apartment waiting for her to come home, all over her repeated requests to leave her alone. It culminates in him outright telling her he loves her as he's grabbing her and kissing her and she's clearly trying her hardest to push him away.
** Steve to Miranda after their one-night-stand, where he keeps hounding her over ''her'' demands that he leave her alone.
* StressVomit: Carrie throws up in the sink when she discovers Aidan's engagement ring. She finds it ugly and she's not very certain about their relationship. A reaction this strong surprises her though.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Instead of Carrie's constant shoe-buying being just part of the background of the series, it suddenly becomes a problem when it turns out she has tens of thousands of dollars worth of shoes... and not enough money to get a mortgage.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Miranda's recurring love interest in season one was Skipper. But the rest of the series he's replaced by the similar but slightly more attractive Steve.
* TakeThat: After discovering Carrie and Big's affair, Charlotte doesn't mince words on her feelings towards Carrie's feeble attempts to defend herself and her assault on a marriage.
-->'''Carrie''': It was a force bigger than me, like Niagara Falls or something, you know.\\
'''Charlotte''': ''(silently seething)'' No. I don't know. He's married.\\
'''Carrie''': I know he's married.\\
'''Charlotte''': That makes you the other woman. ''You're'' the other woman!\\
'''Carrie''': I'm not the other woman! I'm not...I mean I know I am, but...I am not that woman! Please Charlotte, I feel bad enough already!\\
'''Charlotte''': '''Good!''' ''You'' should feel bad!
* TantrumThrowing:
** Maria does one of these half-deliberately towards the end of her relationship with Samantha, after Samantha says she wants more passion out of the relationship.
%% ** Carrie.
* TeenyWeenie: An arc during one season dealt with Samantha's frustrations that an otherwise ideal partner was underendowed (three inches while erect), and how she couldn't tell him. It ended (along with the relationship) when she blurted it out during couples counseling.
%% * TerribleIntervieweesMontage: In TheMovie.
* ThatCameOutWrong: In "A Woman's Right To Shoes," Charlotte says she's having a "teabag situation" with Harry. Samantha thinks she's referring to a particular sex act, but Charlotte just meant that Harry kept leaving used teabags around and staining her furniture.
%% * ThreeWaySex: Usually with Samantha.
* ThrowingOutTheScript: Samantha does this at a breast cancer charity dinner, leading to the women in the audience cheering her for her BrutalHonesty.
* TokenMinority:
** Louise in TheMovie
** The rap artist Samantha dated until his sister objected.
*** Oddly so since Samantha dating a black man was considered so controversial, especially given all the other kinky and unorthodox things she has done.
** In season six, Miranda's boyfriend Robert (played by [[Creator/BlairUnderwood Blair]] [[MrFanservice freakin' Underwood]]!)
* TokenShipping:
** Subverted when one of the girls sets Carrie's gay friend Stanford and Charlotte's gay friend Anthony up on a date. Both men are insulted and annoyed because they have nothing in common apart from their sexual orientation.
** And then un-subverted in TheMovie when the two end up getting married.
* TheTopicOfCancer: Samantha learns she has breast cancer. She luckily found out quite early, when she wanted to get bigger boobs.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Or more to the point, DVD menus always spoil. If you have never watched the series before and are watching them on DVD, a lot of plot items are given away on the seasons 2-6 DVD menus.
** Sometimes, particularly later in the show's run, a surprise return of Big or Aidan after a multi-episode absence is prematurely revealed to anyone who knows the names of the actors playing those characters. Presumably a contractual condition, their names appear in those episodes' "Guest Starring" credits immediately after the opening titles instead of during the end credits.
* {{Transvestite}}: Samantha deals with some noisy ones outside her apartment by pouring a bucket of water on one of them.
* TrueLoveIsExceptional: Charlotte first married Trey, a handsome, charming WASP doctor who was everything she'd ever thought she wanted in a husband. But they weren't happy together and ended up divorcing. She ends up finding true love with Harry, who's bald, hairy, chubby, socially awkward, and Jewish.
* TwentyFourHourPartyPeople: Anytime the girls hosted a birthday party, baby shower, wedding etc.; most of their guests were a bunch of random characters that were never seen before and would never be seen again for the rest of the series. Carrie frequently had pals she'd known for years who only appeared for one episode, but this can't explain all of them.
* TwoTimerDate: Charlotte, who in one episode sets up dates with two men on the same night. It [[{{Outgambitted}} backfires]] on her when the first guy brings some chicken soup to her apartment since she said she was sick ... only to run into Charlotte and the other guy.
* UglyGuyHotWife:
** Charlotte only sleeps with short, pudgy, hairy Harry on a whim, but ends up falling for him, and he's by far the nicest guy in the entire series, and they're by far the happiest couple together. Since Kristin "Charlotte" Davis has frequently topped "Most Beautiful Woman Alive" lists, it's a particular stand-out.
** A less extreme version is Miranda (slightly more attractive than normal) and Steve (slightly less attractive than normal).
* UndignifiedDeath: Lexi Featherston trips on her Manolo and falls out a window to her death in "Splat!"
* TheUnfairSex:
** Averted when Carrie cheats on Aidan with Big, as she and everyone else on the show agree that she was not in any way justified in doing it.
** Played straight in TheMovie when Carrie reacts to Big's temporary cold feet like he left her at the altar (even after he had changed his mind to go through with it), going so far as to chew him out in the middle of the street and have a HeroicBSOD over it. Her reaction may seem over-the-top to some, but considering all the things Big put her through over the course of the TV series, him almost standing her up was probably the straw that broke the camel's back. Carrie could have seen the situation as a panic attack, and stayed on the line to calm him down. Instead she saw the situation as an abandonment -- an instant confirmation of all of her worst fears. She dropped the entire relationship instantly and cut off all communication. It seems unfair to many viewers, when you compare it to Big's "abandonment", which lasted for 60 seconds and consisted of calling Carrie and trying to talk.
%% * UnlimitedWardrobe
* TheUnReveal: Big's real name, until the final episode. ([[spoiler:John James Preston.]])
* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Unintended by the writers, but arguably Carrie Bradshaw -- juvenile, shallow, whiny, and self-absorbed. Yet, we're supposed to root for her because of her great sense of style. She does occasionally get LaserGuidedKarma, such as the episode where she realizes she has "spent $40,000 on shoes and has no place to live".
* UnusualEuphemism: Invoked in the movie when Miranda asks her friends how often they have sex and Charlotte tells her not to use the word "sex" because Lily is sitting with them and coloring. So the girls end up discussing how often they "color."
* VacationEpisode: The girls go to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles for a couple of episodes in season 3, and the series finale takes place with Carrie in Paris. The second movie is one as well, with most of the action taking place in Abu Dhabi.
* WatchItStoned: One of Samantha's boyfriends got her to indulge in his vice of taking Viagra recreationally.
* WhatTheHellHero:
** When Charlotte finds out about Carrie's affair with a married man, she is ''pissed''. Especially because she herself is married, and wanted Carrie to imagine how Charlotte would feel if she found out her husband was cheating on her.
*** Carrie eventually gets called out by Natasha, the wife of her affair partner Big, in 'What-Goes-Around, Comes-Around'. When she tries to apologise to Natasha over lunch, Natasha won't accept her apology and instead hammers home the point that she ruined her marriage.
*** Even Miranda doesn't take news of the affair well. Her first instinct is to [[INeedAFreakingDrink ask for a cigarette]], [[FalseReassurance then re-assure Carrie she doesn't hate her]].
** Also when Carrie is low on money and needs some assistance, Miranda and Samantha offer some money to lend, but Charlotte instead points out that Carrie is almost 40 and maybe should be more focused on her responsibilities first before shoes and parties.
** Miranda also gives Carrie one when she hints she's meeting up with Big again after the Natasha debacle.
** Stanford calls Carrie out for going on about Aidan for "Ten blocks and, what, two years?" and giving him the minimum of replies when he asks her how his boyfriend is doing.
** Skipper finally blasts Miranda for jerking him around --acting annoyed with him throughout their whole relationship and finally dumping him, deciding she wants him back the minute she sees him with someone else, then telling him that she doesn't want to be monogamous right after they've had sex.
* WhamLine:
** Samantha at Miranda's wedding: "Thanks. I have cancer."
** Samantha about her new relationship to her friends: "Well, I'm dating someone. Someone I actually like. Maria."
* WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame
* {{Workaholic}}: More of an InformedAttribute of Miranda's. She's trying to make partner at her Law Firm (which can be a grueling prospect in real life), while getting into adventures with the girls and raising her son alone for periods. At one point she tries to shorten her work week to ''55 billable hours'' and the other attorneys are aghast (Which is a little bit RealityIsUnrealistic because that's still right on Partner track levels of billing). Lawyers who understand the importance of sleep ask for 6-8 a day, which still translates to a good 9 hours spent at work a day.
* WritersCannotDoMath: Carrie and Aidan break up shortly before Miranda gives birth to Brady, and Carrie bumps into Aidan and his new baby in Season 6, a few months shy of Brady's first birthday - which means that in less than a year, Aidan managed to spend a month depressed in bed, date at least two women (Nina Katz and his wife-to-be), marry one, and have a roughly six-month-old child.
** Miranda goes through a full-term pregnancy in about two months, as she gets pregnant in the summer and gives birth in early fall.
** Charlotte is still married to Trey when Brady is born. In the year following, she divorces Trey, gets together with Harry, converts to Judaism, marries Harry, and they have already started the process of trying to conceive together by Brady's first birthday. It's not impossible that could happen, but that's a lot of relationship changes to stuff into a one-year timeframe.
* WrongBathroomIncident: Samantha is dating a man with a small penis, so when she attends a baseball match with her friends, she sneaks a long look through the door of the changing room.
----