Whether you’re old enough to remember watching Sex and the City on HBO week to week or merely caught up on reruns over the years, the show holds a very special place in so many peoples’ TV-loving hearts. As everyone anxiously awaits the reboot to come on HBO Max (sans Kim Cattrall’s Samantha and, sadly, the beloved late Willie Garson), it’s only natural to want to rewatch and relive all of the ups and downs of Carrie Bradshaw and her tight crew’s NYC dating lives. But by this time, we can likely all recite punch line after punch line from the show, which is why these shows like Sex and the City will be a refreshing break from rewatching the same old reruns.
Not that there’s anything wrong with reruns, of course. The reboot And Just Like That is giving fans everything that they’ve been waiting for since the original series’ run. While we’re waiting for season two of the show, we think the following shows like Sex and the City will more than fill the Carrie-shaped hole in your Cosmo-sipping, Manolo-coveting soul.
Shows Like Sex and the City to Watch With Your Crew
1. Girlfriends (2000-2008)
Don’t let anyone tell you this series is a network knockoff of SATC — it’s way, way more! Set in Los Angeles, Girlfriends tracks the highs and lows of four strong Black women. You’ll likely start referring to yourself as either a Toni (Jill Marie Jones), Maya (Golden Brooks), Lynn (Persia White), and Joan (forever favorite Tracee Ellis Ross) in the same way fans consider themselves a Carrie, Miranda, Samantha or a Charlotte. And for that reason alone, you know it gets the dynamics of a girl gang right.
2. Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce (2014-2018)
When a self-help author who built her career on writing about having healthy relationships gets divorced, she has to turn to her friends for support. Also set in Los Angeles, this show is glossy, sexy, and funny. Unlike SATC, most of the women in the show are also moms, albeit with designer clothes and homes that look straight out of Million Dollar Listing. If you want relatable and aspirational, check this show out on Netflix.
3. The Bold Type (2017-2021)
This Freeform show is based on a younger set of characters living and working in New York City’s cutthroat media industry. While it might not be as adult as SATC, the show is adorable and funny, offering an earnest look at how, sometimes, you just need to lean on your girlfriends to make it through. Unlike SATC, though, the show tackles contemporary issues like sexual harassment, racial identity, LGBTQ+ issues, dealing with breast cancer, gun rights, and so much more. If you hated how white-washed and heteronormative SATC was (even though you still adore it), this show will feel refreshing.
4. The Carrie Diaries (2013-2014)
The Carrie Diaries is literally a prequel show to SATC, tracking Carrie Bradshaw’s younger life before she was ever the Carrie that we know. It portrays Carrie as a rebellious teen dealing with her mother’s death and her father’s grief — something we never learn about in the original HBO series. She takes an internship at a Manhattan law firm and eventually starts working at Interview magazine, and, well, we all know what happens next.
5. Younger (2015-2021)
Once you can get past the premise of a 40-year-old passing as a twenty-something to get a publishing job in NYC post-divorce, this show is just delightful. The unlikely friendships between the women — played by Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff, Debi Mazar, and Miriam Shor — will make your heart happy. And the on-again, off-again love triangle that Foster’s character finds herself in absolutely rival the Big or Aidan debate from SATC.
More Shows Like Sex and the City
- Sweetbitter (2018-2019)
- Girls (2012-2017)
- Being Mary Jane (2013-2019)
- Gossip Girl (2007-2012 — or the 2021 reboot)
- The Golden Girls (1985-1992)
- The L Word (2004-2009)
- Dead to Me (2019- )
- Grace and Frankie (2015-2022)
- Divorce (2016-2019)
- High Fidelity (2020)
- Desperate Housewives (2004-2012)
- Private Practice (2007-2013)
- The Good Wife (2009-2016)
- Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019)
- Emily In Paris (2020- )
- The Mindy Project (2012-2017)
- Lipstick Jungle (2008-2009)
- Cashmere Mafia (2008)
- Devious Maids (2013-2016)
- Pulling (2006-2009)
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This article was originally published on 9.25.2021
