Sex and the City didn’t exactly represent “the city” aspect of its title very well — at least when it came to race.
And its creator, Darren Star, told The
Hollywood Reporter he recognises that.
In recent years, the groundbreaking
HBO hit, which premiered in 1998, has weathered criticism from fans — and even from its star Sarah Jessica Parker — for not featuring more people of colour.It occurs to me that Napoleon Dynamite, a film set in rural Idaho, may have had more racial diversity in it than Sex and the City, a movie set in NYC.— Jack-O'-Larntern (@Larndromat) August 17, 2019The cast’s homogeneity seems particularly odd given that the show took place
New York City, which is ethnically diverse.Ahhh the 90s - when diversity meant adding a redhead to a blonde-blonde-brunette trio #SATC— joakes (@joakess) April 12, 2012Star, who created the series, told THR in a profile published Tuesday that the lack of diversity is something he would change in retrospect.“That’s the one thing I probably would have liked to have done differently,” he told the magazine. “Hopefully it transcended that, but looking back, wow, that would have been another way to make it feel more groundbreaking.”
Star went on to gently defend the mistake, explaining that the lack of diversity is especially glaring when we watch the show now, from a more modern perspective.“The show is very much a product of its time and I think the show is a time capsule. You can only think about shows as representing the time that they are being made,” he said. “TV has evolved in being much more inclusive.”
Though it’s easy to point to Sex and the City for its lack of diversity, it’s certainly not the only show from that time period to have a predominantly white cast, despite being set in New York City.The beloved — and still insanely popular —
NBC sitcom Friends has also been criticised for not reflecting New York as the melting pot that it is.
And though Star — who also created hits like Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place — now expresses regret for the lack of diversity on Sex and the City, the cast of his newer show Younger, which premiered in 2015 and is also set in
New York City, is predominately white. READ MORE: Sex And The City’ Star Recounts ‘Horrifying’ Racism Her Black Daughter Has Experienced Sarah Jessica Parker Called Her Agent About 'Big Movie Star' Sexually Harassing Her 'Sex And The City': 15 Celebs Who Guest Starred Before They Were Famous Cynthia Nixon Explains Why She Was Disappointed By The First 'Sex And The City' Film's Ending