Darren Star Shares the One Topic That Was Too Taboo for ‘Sex and the City’
Sex and the City was one of the first series where absolutely no topic was seemingly off-limits. That might not be the case, though. Darren Star, the famed creator of the series, admitted that one topic was considered too taboo even for Sex and the City.
How long did Sex and the City air for?
Sex and the City was a massive hit for HBO and can be considered the show that helped the premium cable network establish itself as a frontrunner in original content. On June 6, 1998, the series debuted and aired its final episode on February 22, 2004.
During its six-season run, 94 episodes were aired. Initially, the show was expected to reach 100 episodes, but Sarah Jessica Parker’s real-life pregnancy forced a shortened fifth season. If you were to binge-watch the series, it would take just one day and 23 hours.
Sex and the City was hailed, at the time, for its honest exploration of sex and friendship
The title of the series would suggest it’s all about sex, but at its core, Sex and the City was so much more than that. It was a show about women who leaned on each other when their romantic relationships left them feeling cold. While discussing friendships, it also took a deep dive into sexuality.
It has been years since the series went off the air. In the intervening years, it has become clear that the show didn’t approach some topics with the sensitivity and open-mindedness that they deserve. While Sex and the City helped open up some dialogues, Indy 100 notes that subtle slut-shaming and gay-bashing occurred rather frequently in the show. While the series discussed everything from impotence to bisexuality, one topic was deemed too obscene to discuss.
One scene involving one of Charlotte’s beaus was considered to obscene for TV
While the series generally didn’t shy away from much, one particular scene had to be cut from the script because it was considered too taboo for television. Star told MTV that the scene in question took place during the first season of the show. He said, “There was a scene in the first season when Charlotte walked in on a guy she was dating, and his golden retriever was [performing a sexual favor on] him…That was the only thing deemed too inappropriate for ‘Sex and the City’ — and that was a deal-breaker for Charlotte.”
The scenario played out in the seventh episode of the first season. The episode focused more intently on Carrie and her budding relationship with Mr. Big, but Charlotte was dating a man named Michael. In fact, Carrie claimed that Charlotte was “practically engaged” in a narration. The relationship ended abruptly, though, but not for the reasons that Star revealed. Instead, Charlotte’s relationship with Michael ended because she refused to perform a sex act on him. Michael’s dog was featured in the episode but in a far more innocuous way.
