And just like that … Sex and the City is now on Netflix.
The beloved HBO comedy, which originally aired from 1998 to 2004, debuted on the streaming platform Monday, April 1, after years of streaming exclusively on Max. Last year, the two services agreed to a licensing deal that allows some of HBO’s biggest (and completed) series to stream simultaneously on both platforms.
“We have to be protective of the shows that we have and are successful,” HBO chairman and CEO Casey Bloys said in November 2023. “But, you know, I’ve worked in television long enough that syndication used to be, that was the pot of gold. … Obviously, streaming and companies kind of reorienting themselves has impacted that. But I think the way that we’re doing it somewhat cautiously, doing it co-exclusively, we’re never giving anybody an exclusive right to a show. What we’ve seen so far … with Ballers and any show that we’re putting on, we’re seeing an uptick on that. So, it has been helpful.”
And in the meantime, fans get to watch all six seasons of Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte’s adventures in the big city. Keep scrolling for Us Weekly’s guide to the top 10 most unmissable episodes of SATC:
1. “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” (Season 2, Episode 1)
After her first split from Mr. Big, Carrie rebounds with an athlete who happens to play for her ex’s favorite baseball team. Come for the relatable gut punch of realizing you’re not ready to move on; stay for the sight of Carrie bedecked in fur, smoking in the nosebleeds of Yankee Stadium.
2. “Hot Child in the City” (Season 3, Episode 15)
This episode doesn’t offer much progress with any of the show’s larger story lines, but it does have some of the funniest one-off plots. Carrie dates a comic book enthusiast who lives with his parents, Miranda relives the horrors of her youth with adult braces and Samantha plans a bat mitzvah for an unbelievably spoiled teen played by a young Kat Dennings.
3. “The Real Me” (Season 4, Episode 2)
Carrie gets the chance to walk the runway for Dolce & Gabbana … alongside former NYC Mayor Ed Koch. With cameos from Alan Cumming and Heidi Klum, it’s SATC at its best: hilarious, glamorous and grounded in the knowledge that even supermodels among us have crises of confidence.
4. “My Motherboard, My Self” (Season 4, Episode 8)
Some of SATC’s best episodes are the ones where the core four get in touch with real, difficult emotions. In this season 4 classic, Carrie confronts her desire for independence in a relationship as Aidan tries to help her with a crashed computer, while Miranda grieves the mother she has complicated feelings about. The connection between the two plotlines is thin at best, but watching the women come together to support Miranda at the funeral is one of the most tear-jerking moments in SATC history.
5. “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda” (Season 4, Episode 11)
Season 4 is full of stellar, emotional episodes, but this one stands out for its unflinching discussion of abortion in an era when that was still a rarity on TV. As Miranda weighs her options after getting pregnant, her friends come together to support her while sharing their own stories.
6. “I Heart NY” (Season 4, Episode 18)
In the season 4 finale, Carrie tries to convince Mr. Big to stay in NYC after he announces he’s moving to Napa Valley. She fails, but in the process, viewers get to see a love letter to the city interrupted by the birth of Miranda’s son. The men on the show come and go, but the friendships between the women are forever.
7. “Anchors Away” (Season 5, Episode 1)
SATC’s fifth central character, Manhattan, shines in the season 5 premiere, which finds Carrie and the gals letting loose during Fleet Week. The episode, which originally aired less than a year after 9/11, is a poignant love letter to the Big Apple that still manages to pack in the laughs.
8. “A Woman’s Right to Shoes” (Season 6, Episode 9)
Carrie strikes a blow for single women everywhere when she refuses to let it slide when her beautiful Manolo Blahnik pumps are stolen from a baby shower hosted at a friend’s shoes-off apartment. It’s a farcical premise, yes, but it was also an ahead-of-its-time reminder that childless women are people too.
9. “One” (Season 6, Episode 12)
And Just Like That crushed the dreams of Miranda and Steve shippers everywhere, but before that, this episode found the duo realizing they were meant to be as they celebrated their son’s first birthday. “One” also marks the first appearance of the hated Aleksandr Petrovsky, but the date where he and Carrie take in a knockoff Marina Abramović performance artwork is pretty classic.
10. “Splat!” (Season 6, Episode 18)
While the series saw tons of guest stars come and go over its six seasons, absolutely no one stole the show as much as Kristen Johnston did as aging It Girl Lexi Featherston. New York may be O-V-E-R, but Lexi and her majestic party exit will live forever.
Sex and the City is now streaming on Netflix.
