How To Make Sex And The City Appeal To A Younger Audience

If there is one show that makes me think of older Millennials and younger Gen X'ers, it's Sex and the City. It's the first time since The Golden Girls where four female characters talked openly about their sex lives.

Unlike The Golden Girls, Sex and the City could talk openly about sex without innuendo. It wasn't shocking to hear the words penis, vagina, or fuck on HBO, so the show could get away with more. There weren't as many censors on HBO to tell them they couldn't do what they wanted.

I call myself a Middle-Child Millennial. I don't see myself as an Elder Millennial, but I know I'm not young enough to be one of the Younger Millennials. I was about ten years old when Sex and the City premiered on TV, but I had no access to HBO.

The first time I watched an episode of Sex and the City, I was twenty-six-years old, teaching English in China. I mentioned to my friends I never watched an episode. One of them invited me to her apartment, and we shared a bottle of wine while watching the series. By the end of the night, I walked out debating whether I was more Charlotte or Miranda. I eventually settled on Miranda.

If a younger audience watched Sex and the City, I don't think it'd be as successful

A third Sex and the City movie is being made, but no one knows much about it. The only things we know for sure is that Mr. Big and Samantha won't be returning in the movie.

Personally, I don't think they need to make a third movie. Sure it'll have the nostalgic quality for audiences my age and older, but if they want to attract a new crowd it's not going to happen. There are some episodes of the series the show wouldn't be able to get away with if they premiered today.

Why wouldn't Sex and the City work today?

The show is a very white-washed New York City. The main cast are four white upper-middle class straight women. In a time that demands more inclusion, this wouldn't work.

Issues from the 90s and early 2000s aren't the same as issues from the 20s. It's also a more politically correct time, so some of the dialogue from the original show wouldn't fly today. There are whole episodes that wouldn't fly if they went on TV today.

My friends and I in China would often have conversations about how to make the show more relevant to a younger audience if it got rebooted today. It would take a lot of work and a lot of patience, but if everything was done right, it could have the potential to be one of the greatest reboots of all time.

Step 1: Diversify the cast

Younger audiences demand representation and inclusion. A show about four straight white women looking for white straight boyfriends isn't going to be as interesting.

The show needs to have diversity. Not just racial diversity, but LGBT and fat inclusion would be a fantastic change for the new show.

In casting, it won't matter who you pick to play Samantha. The character is always going to have controversy behind her. It doesn't matter if you change her sexuality, her race, or even make her trans. Because of her actual character, there will be a group that complains about her. Whoever you pick to play Samantha, pick carefully.

It's going to be hard, but no matter how much someone complains, you don't want to get rid of Samantha. She is a kind of woman you don't see of much on TV. Her character should not be erased.

Step 2: Stay away from the temptation to make a frame by frame remake

Keep Sex and the City a comedy. That's what made the show so entertaining. It wasn't the sex the main cast had in the series. It was the comedy behind all of their situations.

It's fine to be inspired by older episodes, but it's not fine to remake them. There's no guarantee the situations from the past would fly today.

And for all that is good and holy, please don't remake Carrie's affair with Big. It was unnecessary.

Step 3: Don't shy away from getting expert help

With a diversified cast, writers are going to need help making sure situations they write about with the cast are accurate. Not every writer you hire is going to know all of the experiences of such a diverse cast.

Get focus groups, do some surveys, or hire some writers who have experience with what you want the episodes to be. To attract a diverse audience means making an authentic experience for everyone. The younger crowds want a show they can relate to, and getting expert help will help draw in a new audience.

Step 4: Change the scenery

We don't have to do New York if we don't wan to. Trying a different city would make for a refreshing change.

I'm aware at this point, it might be Sex and the City only by name. And that's a risk you'll have to take if you want to keep the older audiences watching the reboot.

Mix all of these together and you could have a conversation piece for a reboot

Older, open-minded audiences will watch with curiosity to see how things change with the new Sex and the City. Younger audiences can have an introduction to a new show celebrating female sexuality for all.

The original Sex and the City was a great show, and it changed television for the better. However, in today's world, it's not inclusive enough. For the show to be successful, it needs to be more inclusive, relatable, and original than its predecessor. Make all of these changes, and it could become one of the most successful reboots in TV history.