The Most Iconic Show of the Early 2000s Coming to Netflix for the First Time

Summary

• For many years HBO resisted licensing shows to their biggest competitor.
• However, Sex and the City is part of a new deal with Netflix.
• The move will help pay for new HBO programming and drive viewers to Max.

It makes sense that HBO spent years not licensing their shows to Netflix: after all, the two are competitors in the streaming wars.

But recently, HBO Max has reversed that decision, raking in the big bucks to 'rent out' popular shows like Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Six Feet Under, Ballers, Insecure and True Blood to the rival streaming giant. The biggest show in that deal? The one and only Sex and the City.

That's right: Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha will be on your Netflix menu starting in April. You'll be able to binge all six seasons of the Emmy-award winning show, but not the movies or the new series And Just Like That. For those titles, you'll have to head over to HBO Max.

The deal is non-exclusive, so Sex and the City will remain available to HBO Max subscribers.

Giving In

This isn't the first time HBO has allowed other channels or streamers to license SATC. It's been broadcast on cable as well as on Amazon Prime. However, HBO has been resistant to letting their biggest competitor, Netflix, have their most iconic titles. The reversal has been a strategic decision.

Netflix has 260 million viewers worldwide, and has proven that it can revive interest in older series (like the USA Network's Suits ). On top of the hefty paycheque coming their way, HBO Max can expect new viewers being driven to their platform in search of the sequels.

According to The New York Times, media analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich says the act of licensing SATC to Netflix was a 'tacit acknowledgement that not all media companies will be able to achieve Netflix's global reach and scale in streaming.'

HBO chief Casey Bloys pointed out:

'We have to be protective of the shows that we have and are successful…But, you know, I've worked in television long enough that syndication used to be, that was the pot of gold. That was the brass ring that meant that your show was gonna go on and have a life after its initial run and live for decades. So the idea of selling a show outside of your ecosystem wasn't an unusual idea, obviously at HBO we did it a lot with Band of Brothers, which was on, I think, History network, and Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sex and the City. We basically sold everything, so it's not a new concept.'

What's It About?

Sex and the City follows four women living in New York and struggling with work, friendships, and – most importantly – romance. Carrie is a fashionista and newspaper columnist; Miranda is a direct and ambitious corporate lawyer; Charlotte is a sweet-natured gallerist; and Samantha is a brash and highly sexual PR worker.

Although the four women have very different lives, they always have each other's backs through bad dates, missed opportunities, and hilarious sexcapades.

Along with The Sopranos ( also from HBO), Sex and the City was credited with ushering a new era of mature, well-written television. It featured women who were highly relatable, in spite of their insane wardrobes – they were flawed, made mistakes, got horny, dated the wrong people, and had sex that was sometimes liberated and sometimes messy (or just plain bad).

In spite of being over twenty years old, SATC still holds up as a show that champions female friendship and cheers on female sexuality.

You can catch SATC on Netflix starting in April.

Source: The New York Times.