NEW YORK – Kristin Davis never expected viewers to still be watching "Sex and the City," much less continuing to identify with the characters.
But nearly 30 years after "Sex and the City" first aired, the show is still finding its way onto Gen Zers' screens and confessional TikTok posts. The show’s resurgence speaks to how deeply its themes still connect with young viewers: love, ambition, friendship and navigating relationships against an ever-evolving dating scene. But a lot has changed in the way society views single women since the show’s inception, according to Davis.
Davis, 61, known for her role in the series as hopeless romantic Charlotte York, visited New York for GSK’s "Shingles, actually" campaign. (The actress has long been outspoken
about her painful experience with the infection, and "tells all her friends" to talk to their doctors about shingles). While in town, she also talked with USA TODAY about the lasting impact of "Sex and the City," and how the show was ahead of the curve on prioritizing female friendships.
"When we first started doing this show in 1998, it was shocking that we were just celebrating female friendships, spending time together on the show and talking about found family," she said. "Now … it’s normal."
Davis attributes this cultural shift, in part, to social media and younger generations’ outspokenness. There’s also been a greater acceptance of people being single later in life, with trends like going "boysober" leading the way when it comes to de-centering romance.
"When we started the show, there were no other shows about single women going through their 30s and 40s," she said. "It was kind of provocative and surprising that we were so openly discussing and celebrating it." Davis still has a copy of the cast’s Time magazine cover from 2000 with the headline: "Who Needs a Husband?"
She said that "Sex and the City" continues to fill a gap in women’s representation in TV and pop culture. She gives credit to the writers who gave the relationships between the women such depth – viewers see them not only navigate romantic struggles, but dynamics and conflict within their friend group, interpersonal relationships and careers.
"It’s so rare," she shared. "You don’t see shows like this anymore, where women are allowed to make mistakes, and then debate. We always had this really healthy debate amongst us."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kristin Davis on 'Sex and the City' and female friendships
