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Sex and the City wasn’t big on stunts. The show, centered around a sex columnist and her friends looking for love in New York City, wasn’t exactly action-packed. Still, there were moments when things didn’t go as planned, and the actors did get a few scares, scraps, and bumps along the way. One season 3 episode resulted in what showrunner Michael Patrick King labeled a “near-death experience” for three of the show’s four stars.  

A season 3 scene in ‘Sex and the City’ went wrong, according to Michael Patrick King 

During a bonus episode of And Just Like That… The Writers Room, Michael Patrick King, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, and Sarah Jessica Parker all recalled one of the original series’ scenes that didn’t go as planned. The foursome revealed that in season 3, when Carrie and her pals headed to Los Angeles, one of the show’s few car scenes almost turned tragic. 

According to King, the convertible Carrie rented for her moment in Hollywood was rigged to jerk like a manual transmission, but something went wrong, and the brake line broke. While Parker, who was driving, slammed on the brakes, the car rolled backward down the hill. Parker recalled Nixon yelling at her to hit the brakes. While she mashed the brake to the ground, nothing happened. The car eventually came to a stop, and no one was truly injured. 

When it finally stopped, according to King, the three actors had different reactions. He recalled Parker being whisked off by security, with Cattrall not far behind after “collapsing” outside of the car. King, laughing, remembered Nixon hopping out of the vehicle nonchalantly, handing a prop to the crew, and walking off the set alone. Davis, whose character, Charlotte York, had just married Trey MacDougal, was not in the scene. 

Sarah Jessica Parker was injured later in season 3

That wasn’t the only Sex and the City scene that didn’t go as planned. In the season 3 finale, Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big fell into a lake after an awkward reunion. While the scene called for the duo to fall into the water, a real-life injury wasn’t supposed to occur, but it did. 

When Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth fell into the water, Parker cut her foot on something. According to Insider, Parker hopped out of the lake and headed directly to a doctor for a tetanus shot. There were no lasting effects of the injury. The infamous scene was shot at the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park. 

Chris Noth as Mr. Big and Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw fall in a pond during season 4 of 'Sex and the City'
Carrie and Mr. Big | Lawrence Schwartzwald/Sygma via Getty Images
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The Loeb Boathouse is one of the most iconic attractions in Central Park. It closed in 2022 following a drop in tourism amid the pandemic. While the venue has remained shuttered for many months, it is expected to reopen this summer, according to Greenward Group. Carrie probably won’t be visiting it again, though. 

Season 2 of And Just Like That…, the Max reboot of Sex and the City, is set to premiere on June 22. Season 2 will feature Carrie reconnecting with her old love, Aidan Shaw. 

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