The 10 Best “Sex and the City” Episodes

Fans of Carrie Bradshaw know that this iconic character is always in the loop on the hottest spots in town — and now, she’s taking her adventures somewhere new.

All six seasons of Sex and the City are now streaming on Netflix, making it easier than ever for yet another comfort watch of this classic TV gem. This includes all 94 episodes of the original six-season run of the series on HBO, which lasted from 1998 to 2004.

Netflix’s deal doesn’t include And Just Like That, the spinoff series that premiered in 2021. That iteration of the Sex and the City universe will soon return for a third season (minus a few of the lead characters who have since left the show), but you’ll only be able to watch it on the streaming service Max.

If you’re a little surprised that Sex and the City‘s original episodes are suddenly popping up on Netflix, we don’t blame you. For many years, HBO original series like this one were exclusive to that premium cable network and its own streaming platforms. (Remember HBO Go?) But as the streaming wars have heated up, some studios have elected to license select marquee series to their competitors, which allows them to bring in additional revenue when that content is hosted elsewhere. Sex and the City is part of that deal between HBO and Netflix, which also includes shows like Six Feet Under, Insecure, and Band of Brothers. (And although Carrie and friends’ earlier adventures are headed to Netflix, you’ll still be able to watch them on Max if that’s your preferred streaming network.)

Wondering which installment to hit “play” on first? We’ve picked the 10 best Sex and the City episodes, presented here chronologically, that’ll take you on a delightful stroll down memory lane (while wearing Manolos, we hope) to look back on Carrie and company’s greatest and most unforgettable moments. There’s something from every season, so you can enjoy the characters’ full arcs at warp speed.

So without further ado, grab a Cosmo and let’s dive in!

The 10 Best Sex and the City Episodes

“Valley of the Twenty-Something Guys” (season 1, episode 4)

Sex and the City took a minute to find its footing. Much of the first season feels almost like a different show, featuring interviews with random New Yorkers and Carrie speaking directly to camera. But we get our first taste of the genius that was to come with a famous scene in this episode: The guy Charlotte’s dating wants to have anal sex, and the girls pile into a taxi to discuss. The blunt conversation perfectly sets up the four voices we would come to love (curious Carrie, power dynamic-obsessed Miranda, sexual egalitarian Samantha, and cautiously conservative Charlotte) and marked the first time — but certainly not the last — the show would delve into topics then considered taboo. And in true Sex and the City fashion, the scene ends with an absolutely perfect joke.

“They Shoot Single People, Don’t They?” (season 2, episode 4)

What should be a crowning moment for Carrie turns into a living nightmare when she pops up on the cover of New York magazine looking bedraggled, cigarette in hand, with the punishing headline: “Single and Fabulous?” The question mark at the end of it provokes an existential crisis for the woman who thought her independent life was just fine, thank you very much, and it’s an astute commentary on the condescending media depiction of single women in the 1990s. Plus, when Carrie’s hanging out with a hot younger man to make her feel a little better, we get an early look at a pre-fame Bradley Cooper!

“Ex and the City” (season 2, episode 18)

The show’s second season comes to a close with a timeless lesson in love, courtesy of Barbra Streisand. As Carrie copes with the fact that Mr. Big is having a lavish engagement party at the Plaza with his new fiancée, Miranda and Charlotte help her realize why he’s chosen someone else: Just like Streisand and Robert Redford in the final scene of The Way We Were, Big has stepped away from all the complexities and complications of being with Carrie, and instead he’s picked a woman who’s simpler, more easygoing, and much less remarkable. As her iconic blonde curls twist in the breeze, Carrie sends off her ex with a line from Barbra — one that Big doesn’t understand, and that’s the whole point. 

“Running with Scissors” (season 3, episode 11)

Carrie’s in the middle of a relationship with furniture designer Aidan Shaw, who should be a perfect match for her, and yet she’s spent the last few episodes descending into a shameful affair with Mr. Big. The drama comes to a head here, as Carrie’s secret is exposed. It’s hard enough when Charlotte discovers the cheating, but things get even more painful when Big’s wife Natasha catches Carrie sneaking out of their apartment. The confrontation that follows is a physical representation of the pain Carrie’s actions are causing, and it’s brutal. An added bonus: This episode is our introduction to Charlotte’s friend and wedding planner extraordinaire Anthony Marentino, who would become a classic fixture of the series. 

“My Motherboard, My Self” (season 4, episode 8)

Carrie’s technophobia has always been a little bit strange (an on-the-pulse writer who doesn’t understand her computer beyond its word processor?), but this was 2001, so we can buy the perplexed meltdown she has when her laptop gets fried — especially because of what the story illuminates about the walls she’s put up in her relationship with Aidan. But what really makes this episode unforgettable is Miranda, who attends her mother’s funeral and is forced to confront the kind of deep feelings she usually pushes away. The experience shows her how much Carrie, Charlotte, and Samantha really care, and it illustrates one of the show’s greatest strengths: its moving depiction of the ways close friends become your family.

“Change of a Dress” (season 4, episode 15)

After Carrie breaks out in literal hives while trying on wedding dresses, her relationship with Aidan comes to a gorgeously shot but heartbreaking end. And while she comes to terms with not fitting into the traditional box of what a relationship “should” be, Samantha redefines her own idea of what she’s looking for from men when she realizes that perhaps she wants to explore monogamy after all. Meanwhile, Miranda is forced to engage in the performative excitement about pregnancy that everyone expects from her, rounding out a meaningful episode that unpacks how our deepest understanding of ourselves can clash with what the world wants from us.

“I Heart NY” (season 4, episode 18)

Sex and the City is a quintessential New York show, and the fact that this beautiful tribute to the city aired just months after 9/11 adds special resonance. While Miranda’s preparing to give birth any minute, Carrie gets some shocking news from Mr. Big: After years of on-again-off-again romance in the Big Apple, he’s moving across the country. Before he departs, they enjoy a magical Manhattan night, complete with a romantic carriage ride and, of course, some truly fabulous shoes. But the best moment has to be when Carrie and Big slow-dance through his packed-up apartment to “Moon River,” marking a meaningful end (or so we thought) to the relationship that defined the series. 

“Anchors Away” (season 5, episode 1)

While the last episode we mentioned was read as a post-9/11 tribute because of its airdate, this one is the first that was actually shot after the terrorist attacks, and it’s clear the producers had the tragedy on their minds. The show never explicitly references Sept. 11, but “Anchors Away” is a love letter to New York in the truest sense. It takes place during Fleet Week, when boatloads of handsome Navy men dock in the city, and Carrie meets a sexy sailor who teaches her that if she has only one Great Love in life, it just might be the metropolis that made her who she is. 

“A Woman’s Right to Shoes” (season 6, episode 9)

Carrie’s love of shoes is a Sex and the City signature, but what began as fun fashion takes on new significance in this thought-provoking episode. A prized pair of Manolos go missing after Carrie is forced to take them off at a party, and the host balks at replacing them when she hears their sky-high price ($485!). And here’s the rub: while it is Carrie’s choice to splurge on such fancy footwear, she realizes she’s been surrendering herself to her friends’ choices for years, spending thousands on gifts for engagements, weddings, and baby showers. She makes the bold move of announcing she’s getting married to herself, and she registers at Manolo Blahnik, taking a stand that validates the experiences of millions of happily single ladies.  

“An American Girl in Paris” (season 6, episodes 19 and 20)

Though it wasn’t the end of the story, the 2004 series finale is a moving bookend to the first chapter of Sex and the City’s long cultural life. Lovers of Carrie’s one-of-a-kind fashion have lots to salivate over as she dons some of her most iconic looks ever in the City of Lights, and her escape to another country tells a significant story about trying to be someone you’re not — and realizing where you always belonged. Carrie finally gets resolution with Mr. Big (and we finally learn his actual name!), but the real love story in this episode — and the entire series — is best summed up with Carrie’s last line of narration: “The most exciting, challenging, and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you that you love, well, that’s just fabulous.”