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Sex and the City watch order: How to watch the romantic comedy-drama series, movies, spinoffs, and more

More than 25 years later, the Sex and the City franchise is still going strong, and we're here to tell you how to better watch the entire story.

A still of the cast of Sex and the City — Image credit: HBO

Guides by Fran Ruiz,

Published on Mon Apr 01 2024

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It's been more than 25 years since Sex and the City premiered on HBO and rapidly became a hit comedy-drama TV series. The road for Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her friends has been long and difficult, yet they're still around, and it appears that their shared story won't be ending anytime soon...

After a long break following the second Sex and the City movie and the short-lived prequel series The Carrie Diaries at The CW, it seemed like Sex and the City was done for good, yet the sequel (originally limited) series And Just Like That... came to life in 2021. Now, we're expecting a third season set to premiere in 2025. Ahead of the return of Carrie, Miranda, and more, it might the perfect moment to catch up with the entire franchise, and we've put together an easy-to-follow watch order right here.

Sex and the City in release date order

Sex and the City 2 — Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Sex and the City (1998-2004) – 6 Seasons – The series that started it all. Set in New York City, it follows the unpredictable lives of four women in their mid-30s and early 40s as they navigate romantic relationships and ever-changing sex lives.
Sex and the City (2008) – A feature film based on Sex and the City that happens four years after the series finale. The four lead actresses returned to reprise their roles alongside several supporting actors. Despite mixed reviews, it was a commercial success.
Sex and the City 2 (2010) – The film is set two years after the events of the first one. While it was critically panned, it retained the previous installment's appeal and was another box office success.
The Carrie Diaries (2013-2014) – 2 Seasons – A prequel series that was set up at The CW and explored Carrie Bradshaw's early life in New York in the 1980s through high school and internships.
And Just Like That... (2021-2023) – 2 Seasons (ongoing) – A sequel series that picks up the story 11 years after the events of Sex and the City 2. It was initially billed as a one-off miniseries, but it soon became a regular series after the success of season 1. The stars of Sex and the City transition into the more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s.

Sex and the City in chronological order

The Carrie Diaries — Image credit: The CW

The Sex and the City franchise is quite straightforward to follow, and the only difference between the release date and chronological orders is watching The Carrie Diaries before the other entries. While it doesn't work as well without prior knowledge from Sex and the City, it's an interesting experiment to start with it during a rewatch. Thus, the entire order would look like this:

The Carrie Diaries (2013-2014) – 2 Seasons
Sex and the City (1998-2004) – 6 Seasons
Sex and the City (2008)
Sex and the City 2 (2010)
And Just Like That... (2021-2023) – 2 Seasons (ongoing)

How many seasons of Sex and the City are there?

While for some of us, the Sex and the City watchaton all blurred together into some binge sessions that all blurs together, HBO's Sex and the City ran for six seasons. After that, there was two movies, then two seasons of the prequel The Carrie Dairies. The sequel TV series And Just Like That... has two seasons so far, and is working on a third.