The fifth season of the American television romantic

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...

'' aired in the United States on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

. The show was created by

Darren Star Darren Star (born July 25, 1961) is an American writer, director and producer of film and television. He is best known for creating the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–2000), ''Melrose Place'' (1992–1999), ''Sex and the City' ...

while Star,

Michael Patrick King Michael Patrick King (born September 14, 1954) is an American director, writer, and producer. He is best known for directing and writing for ''Sex and the City'' and its film adaptations, and for co-creating the television comedies '' The Comeb ...

, John P. Melfi, series lead actress

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...

Cindy Chupack Cindy Chupack is a screenwriter and film director who has won three Golden Globes and two Emmys for her work as a writer/executive producer of HBO's ''Sex and the City'' and writer/co-executive producer of ABC's ''Modern Family''. Early year ...

, and

Jenny Bicks Jenny Bicks is an American television producer and screenwriter, most notable for her work as a television writer on the HBO series, ''Sex and the City'' and the creator and writer of the ABC series, ''Men in Trees''. Her production company is Pe ...

served as executive producers. The series was produced by Darren Star Productions, HBO Original Programming, and Warner Bros. Television. Parker portrays the lead character

Carrie Bradshaw Caroline Marie "Carrie" Bradshaw is a fictional character from the HBO franchise ''Sex and the City'', portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker. Candace Bushnell created Carrie as a semi-autobiographical character for her column "Sex and the City" in ...

, while

Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British-Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe A ...

Kristin Davis Kristin Landen Davis (also listed as Kristin Lee Davis; born February 23, 1965) is an American actress and producer. She is known for playing Charlotte York Goldenblatt in the HBO romantic comedy series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004). She ...

and

Cynthia Nixon Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supp ...

played her best friends Samantha Jones,

Charlotte York Charlotte York (formerly Charlotte York MacDougal, later Charlotte York Goldenblatt) is a fictional character on the HBO-produced television series ''Sex and the City''. She is portrayed by actress Kristin Davis, who received two Screen Actors G ...

, and

Miranda Hobbes Miranda Hobbes is a fictional character on the American HBO television series ''Sex and the City'', its subsequent film spinoffs, and HBO Max revival '' And Just Like That...''. She is played by actress Cynthia Nixon. Nixon received an Emmy Awar ...

. In season five, Carrie, in the midst of a dating hiatus, lands a publishing deal for her column and begins a relationship with a fellow writer. Miranda becomes a mother with Steve and struggles to manage a job, dating life and her friendships with the other girls. Samantha dates Richard again, but battles with trust issues stemming from his infidelity. A recently divorced Charlotte gets into a legal battle with Trey's mother over their apartment and during the legal proceedings, falls in love with her lawyer. The fifth season aired on Sunday nights at 9:00 PM from to and comprised eight episodes, as opposed to the original 18 episode order, due to Parker's pregnancy at the time of filming. In the United Kingdom, the season was broadcast on Wednesday nights between January 1 and February 19, 2003. The season received mixed to positive critical responses while receiving several awards and nominations, including winning the

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film is an award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It is the Golden Globe Award given in honor of an actress who has deli ...

for Cattrall. The season averaged over 7 million viewers.

Production

The fifth season of ''Sex and the City'' was produced by Darren Star Productions and

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

, in association with

HBO Original Programming Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

. The series is based on the book of the same name, written by

Candice Bushnell Candace Bushnell (born December 1, 1958) is an American author, journalist, and television producer. She wrote a column for ''The New York Observer'' (1994–96) that was adapted into the bestselling ''Sex and the City'' anthology. The book was ...

, which contains stories from her column with the ''

New York Observer New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

''. The show featured production from Antonia Ellis, Jane Raab and series star Sarah Jessica Parker, also an executive producer alongside Michael Patrick King, John Melfi, Cindy Chupack, and Jenny Bicks. Episodic writers returning for the fifth season included Bicks, Chupack, King, Julie Rottenberg, and Elisa Zuritsky. New writers enlisted for the season included

Alexa Junge Alexa Junge is an American television writer, producer and screenwriter. Her work on ''Friends'', from 1994 to 1999, earned her nominations for three Emmy Awards. Personal life Junge grew up in Los Angeles and attended Barnard College, where she ...

and Judy Toll. The season was directed by returning directors King,

Charles McDougall Charles McDougall is a Great Britain, British Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning television director, director. Biography McDougall has directed for popular television series which include the pilot episode of American Broadcasting Company, ABC's ''De ...

John David Coles John David Coles is an American director and producer. Coles was nominated in 2015 for an Emmy and PGA Award for his work as an Executive Producer and Director on the Netflix phenomenon, ''House of Cards (American TV series), House of Cards. '' ...

, and

Michael Engler Michael Engler is an American theater director, and a Directors Guild of America and Emmy nominated television director and producer. Theater His Broadway credits include ''Eastern Standard'', starring Dylan Baker, Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Conr ...

Cast and characters

Like the previous seasons, season five features the same principal cast and characters.

portrays

, a fashionable middle aged woman who writes about sex and life in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in her column, "Sex and the City", with the fictional ''New York Star''.

played the promiscuous public relations agent Samantha Jones.

portrayed Charlotte York MacDougal, an optimistic, straight laced former art curator navigating being newly single while moving on from her failed marriage.

acted as the acerbic and sarcastic lawyer

, who faces struggles as a working mother. The fifth season featured a number of recurring and guest actors whose characters contributed significantly to the series plotlines.

Chris Noth Christopher David Noth ( ; born November 13, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Mike Logan on ''Law & Order'' (1990–95), Big on ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), and Peter Florrick on ''The ...

reprised his role as Mr. Big for one episode this season.

David Eigenberg David Eigenberg (born May 17, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Steve Brady on the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' and its revival series '' And Just Like That...'' and as Lieutenant Christopher Herrmann on NBC's '' Chicag ...

portrayed Miranda's on-off boyfriend, bar owner and father of her child

Steve Brady ''Sex and the City'' is an American cable television program based on the book of the same name by Candace Bushnell. It was originally broadcast on the HBO network from 1998 until 2004. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the sex lives of ...

Willie Garson William Garson Paszamant (February 20, 1964September 21, 2021) was an American actor. He appeared in over 75 films and more than 300 TV episodes. He was known for playing Stanford Blatch on the HBO series ''Sex and the City'', in the related fi ...

played entertainment manager and Carrie's gay friend

Stanford Blatch ''Sex and the City'' is an American cable television program based on the Sex and the City (book), book of the same name by Candace Bushnell. It was originally broadcast on the HBO network from 1998 until 2004. Set in New York City, the show focu ...

Mario Cantone Mario Cantone (born December 9, 1959) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and singer with numerous appearances on Comedy Central including ''Chappelle's Show''. He also played Anthony Marentino in ''Sex and the City'' and Terri in ''Men In T ...

returns to the series as a recurring guest actor, portraying Charlotte's gay friend and former wedding planner Anthony Marantino.

Frances Sternhagen Frances Hussey Sternhagen (born January 13, 1930) is an American actress; she has appeared on- and off-Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.Joy, Car"Frances Sternhagen in Talks to Join Company of Broadway Magnolias" Broadway.com, Nov ...

reprised her role as Trey's overbearing and intrusive mother Bunny MacDougal.

James Remar William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 40 year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in '' 48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (198 ...

reprised his role as hotelier and Samantha's boyfriend Richard Wright.

Lynn Cohen Lynn Harriette Cohen (née Kay; August 10, 1933 – February 14, 2020) was an American actress known for her roles in film, television and theater. She was especially known for her role as Magda in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'', which she ...

reprises her role as Magda, Miranda's foreign housekeeper. Comedienne

Molly Shannon Molly Helen Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ...

recurs as Lily Martin while

Ron Livingston Ronald Joseph Livingston (born June 5, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for playing Peter Gibbons in the 1999 film ''Office Space'' and Captain Lewis Nixon III in the 2001 miniseries '' Band of Brothers.'' Livingston's other roles include ...

appears as Jack Berger, a professional writer.

Reception

Viewership and ratings

Season five of ''Sex and the City'' debuted on July 21, 2002 at 9:00 p.m.

Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...

with the episode "Anchors Away". The episode was viewed by 7.93 million people, becoming the most watched episode of the series at the time. It earned a 4.8 Nielsen household rating, indicative of 5.07 million households in which the episode was viewed. Viewership for the season fluctuated up and down between 5.95 million and 7.93 million viewers, but ranked number one among pay cable program every week. The season finale, "I Love a Charade", premiered on September 8, 2002 to an audience of 7.33 million viewers. Earning a 4.7 household rating, the episode was viewed by 5.04 million households. The fifth season averaged over 7 million viewers per 8 episodes. In the United Kingdom, the season aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, garnering high ratings and landing among the top 30 programs of the week.

Critical reviews

Mike Long of

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

gave the season 4.5 out of 5 stars, highlight the season's plotlines and dialogue despite its shortened length. Bryan Buyn of DVD Verdict found the series at this point to be pandering to the public, criticizing the continued focus on the four girls "chasing "cute boys" and blathering endlessly over breakfast about sex, relationships, and sex." Buyn, however, stated that the criticism "stems from the fact that the show is just good enough to make me wish it were better", and offered praise to the leading actresses' performance. Dan Jewel, writing for ''

Media Life Magazine ''Media Life Magazine'' was an online publication that was started in May 1999 by Gene Ely. The publication covered all aspects of the media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or da ...

'', praised the series for portraying Miranda's motherhood honestly and for giving the characters more depth, noting that the show walks a "fine line" between poignancy and mawkishness.

Awards and nominations

At the 60th Golden Globe Awards,

won the award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. Co-star

also received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film while Sarah Jessica Parker received a nomination for a Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. The series was nominated for the award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy for the fifth consecutive year, but lost out to ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televisio ...

''. At the

55th Primetime Emmy Awards The 55th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 21, 2003. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox. The Sci Fi channel received its first major nomination this year for Outstanding Miniseries for '' Taken''; the series won the award. With ...

, ''Sex and the City'' received twelve nominations and won the award for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series. Sarah Jessica Parker was nominated for the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the fifth time. Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon were both nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy for their respective portrayals of Samantha Jones and Miranda Hobbes, being Cattrall's fourth nomination and Nixon's second. "Plus One is the Loneliest Number" received two nominations: Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series and Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Non-Prosthetic). The episode "I Love a Charade" was nominated for awards for Outstanding Costumes for a Series,

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series is presented to the best directing of a television comedy series. Winners and nominations 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Total awards by netwo ...

and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

and Nixon received nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Actress – Television Series at the

7th Golden Satellite Awards The 7th Golden Satellite Awards, honoring the best in film and television of 2002, were presented by the International Press Academy on January 12, 2003. Special achievement awards Mary Pickford Award (for outstanding contribution to the enter ...

. At the 2003

American Cinema Editors Awards Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editing, film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the ...

Wendey Stanzler Wendey Stanzler is an American film editor and television director. She was co-editor and associate producer of Michael Moore's documentary ''Roger & Me'', in 1989. She also co-edited Moore's only fiction film, ''Canadian Bacon'' (1993). Stanzle ...

won the award for Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television.

Patricia Field Patricia Field (born February 12, 1942) is an American costume designer, stylist and fashion designer. Early life Field was born in 1942 in New York City to an Armenian father and a Greek mother, who emigrated from Plomari, Lesbos, Greece. Fi ...

was nominated for award for Best Costume Design – Contemporary TV Series at the 2003 Costume Designers Guild Awards. At the 55th Directors Guild of America Awards,

was nominated for the award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series for "Plus is the Loneliest Number". At the 2002 Writers Guild of America Awards, three episodes from the fifth season were nominated for Best Episodic Comedy. Series producers

, King, John P. Melfi, and Parker were nominated for the award for

Producers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Comedy The Producers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Comedy, also known as the Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy, is an annual award given by the Producers Guild of America since 2000. Previous PGA telev ...

. At the

9th Screen Actors Guild Awards The 9th Screen Actors Guild Awards, honoring the best achievements in film and television performances for the year 2002, took place on March 9, 2003. The ceremony was held at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles, California, and was tele ...

, Cattrall was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series while the cast was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Episodes

Ratings

United States

United Kingdom

All viewing figures and ranks are sourced from

BARB Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

Home release

References

{{Sex and the City 2002 American television seasons Sex and the City