The fourth season of the American television romantic comedy-drama Sex and the City aired in the United States on HBO. The show was created by Darren Star while Star, Michael Patrick King, John P. Melfi, series lead actress Sarah Jessica Parker, Cindy Chupack, and Jenny Bicks served as executive producers. The series was produced by Darren Star Productions, HBO Original Programming, and Warner Bros. Television. Sarah Jessica Parker portrays the lead character Carrie Bradshaw, while Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon played her best friends Samantha Jones, Charlotte York, and Miranda Hobbes.
Season four marks dramatic changes in the ladies' lives. Carrie gets back together with Aidan (John Corbett), eventually gets engaged and has him move in with her. Miranda, while maintaining her single life, supports Steve (David Eigenberg) through cancer and, after a one-night stand with him, becomes pregnant. Samantha dates a Brazilian lesbian artist Maria (Sônia Braga) and starts a serious relationship with her client and hotelier Richard (James Remar). Charlotte gets back together with Trey (Kyle MacLachlan) after their separation and after deciding to have a baby, struggle to get pregnant and ultimately separate for good.
The 4th season, comprising 18 episodes, continued airing on Sunday nights at 9:00 PM during the summer months, but unlike the previous seasons, the first twelve episodes aired during the summer, starting from June 3, 2001 and the remaining six aired during January and February 2002, ending on February 10, 2002. In the United Kingdom, the season was broadcast on Wednesday nights at 10:00 PM, two episodes a night, between January 9 and March 6, 2002. The season continued the series' critical and award success, with the series winning 3 Emmy awards, 2 Golden Globe awards, and a SAG award. Season four also achieved high ratings in the United States and United Kingdom.
The fourth season was released on DVD as a three-disc boxed set titled Sex and the City: The Complete Season 4 on May 20, 2003 by HBO Home Video.
Production
The fourth season of Sex and the City was produced by Darren Star Productions and Warner Bros. Television, in association with HBO Original Programming. The series is based on the book of the same name, written by Candice Bushnell, which contains stories from her column with the New York Observer. 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 return for the fourth season included Bicks, Chupack, Allan Heinberg, King, Julie Rottenberg, and Elisa Zuritsky. New writers enlisted for the season included Nicole Avril, Jessica Bendinger, and Amy B. Harris. The season was directed by returning directors Allen Coulter, King, Charles McDougall, Michael Spiller, and Alan Taylor. Directors new to the series included Martha Coolidge, Michael Engler, and David Frankel.
Cast and characters
Like the previous seasons, season four features the same principal cast and characters. Sarah Jessica Parker portrays Carrie Bradshaw, a fashionable thirty-something woman who writes about sex and life in New York City in her column, "Sex and the City", with the fictional New York Star. Kim Cattrall played the promiscuous public relations agent Samantha Jones. Kristin Davis portrayed Charlotte York MacDougal, an optimistic, strait-laced former art curator who remains the most traditional amongst her friends in terms of relationships and public decorum. Cynthia Nixon acted as the acerbic and sarcastic lawyer Miranda Hobbes, who holds a pessimistic view on relationships and men.