The Staggering Money HBO Dropped to Film ‘Sex and The City’ Pilot Isn’t Baffling When You Realize the Real Reason Behind It
Not a single fan has gone through Sex and the City without wondering if they were a Carrie or a Samantha. The cultural impact of the HBO romantic drama was far-reaching and it still makes it into pop cultural references in other media. The Sarah Jessica Parker-starrer may be dated now, but it acts as a perfect time capsule to the early to late 2000s.
While it became a global phenomenon, it was reportedly a task to get Sex and the City made and producer Darren Star had to give the tough sell to everyone due to the edgy subject matter at the time. A lot of delays and creative decisions reportedly led to the pilot costing a whopping $2.5 million.
Sex and the City’s pilot episode reportedly cost a bomb due to one reason
In the late ‘90s, HBO became the premium cable network where innovative ideas were being produced. Shows like The Wire, Six Feet Under, and The Sopranos paved the way for future artistic TV shows that did not just focus on being on air forever but also incredible storytelling and exploring worlds that were seldom depicted on TV.
Based on a column of the same name, Sex and the City was reportedly courted by multiple networks but producer Darren Star decided to go for HBO due to the freedom the network offered. According to E! News, he was not even sure if cable would allow the series to be named Sex and the City.
However, making the pilot was reportedly not easy and the cost for the first episode ran way too high. Kristin Davis, who played Charlotte, mentioned that though she was initially set to only be a recurring character, she was aware of how stressed the network was due to the costs.
Davis spoke about being paid only $5000 for her role in the first season and why it cost more for the production because they filmed it in New York. She said during her new podcast Are You A Charlotte,
I know that the pilot’s costing a lot and that they’re stressed at HBO about it. I think the pilot cost like $2.5 million roughly, which at the time was a lot because no one really filmed in Manhattan.
The rates for renting sound stages, crew, and equipment are generally high in cities like LA and New York. Other cities and states in the USA have provided tax incentives for studios and productions to film in those cities, leading many to shift filming there. Since the series is set in NYC, the production seemed to have no choice but to shell out the cash for the pilot.
Sarah Jessica Parker reportedly wanted to quit the show after the pilot
Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw is the protagonist of Sex and the City. The actress became a household name and a fashion icon when she led the series and most fans wanted to be Carrie in their identifications of various characters of the show. However, Parker was reportedly in two minds about the series after filming the pilot.
The $2.5 million pilot was reportedly filmed and was in the editing room for months before finally getting picked up. However, Sarah Jessica Parker had reportedly already done a lot more work and was not willing to be held down by a series. She said to People,
I was like, ‘I don’t know if I think I want to do that. Is there a way to not do that?’ I met my agent in L.A.—Kevin Huvane—and I was like, ‘Do you think maybe I could not do this now?’ Because I wanted to keep doing a play and doing a movie and doing a play. So, the way I thought it was going to change my life was that it was going to like hold me hostage to a commitment.
She reportedly even offered to do three films for HBO without any pay to get out of the contract but she eventually relented and got back on board. After that, she never looked back.
Sex and the City is available to stream on Max.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
