CANDACE BUSHNELL: THE REAL CARRIE BRADSHAW

before, TV shows have their own logic and And Just Like That… is finding and defining its world. It’s entertaining, and people like to talk about it.

You’ve mentioned being happy that Samantha Jones is coming back. Why do you think it was so important to the fans for her to return?

I hear this from fans of the original SATC; they want that feeling they had when they were watching the original show. Plus, I love Kim doing the Netflix show Glamorous and appearing in the reboot. As a sixtysomething woman, I relish seeing another sixtysomething woman on the screen in two shows.

Candace, when you originally created Sex and the City (SATC), did you ever think it would become as huge a sensation as it did?

As a child, I always felt I had a purpose in life that would somehow be related to women and breaking through the barriers of the patriarchy, which is something that I did even back when I was a little girl. So, the short answer is yes, but I didn’t know what it would be.

Tell us about your one-woman show, True Tales of Sex, Success and Sex and the City. It’s exactly what it says it is—an origin story on how I created Sex and the City, how hard I worked to get there, why I invented Carrie Bradshaw, and what happened to me afterward, combined with my life story, my aspirations as a writer, how I came to New York, my struggles, and how I became successful. And, of course, there’s the sex. Why did you decide to bring your show to the Hamptons?

I wrote it during COVID and developed it at the legendary Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and then brought it to off-Broadway at the Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City. Now I’ve done it at various regional theaters and twice at Café Carlyle in The Carlyle hotel in the city. When I was performing the show there the owner of Canoe Place Inn saw it and asked me to perform there this summer. I visited the Canoe Place Inn and loved it. It has a great bar and restaurant, plus it’s one of the oldest inns in America. Apparently, Frank Sinatra performed there in the ’60s. If you get a chance to perform in the same venue Frank Sinatra did, you absolutely say yes!

BY SYDNEY SADICK

What can fans expect at your Hamptons show?

Hopefully a lot of laughs. We play a game called Real or Not Real, using video clips from the show and comparing it to my real life, because so much of what happened on the TV show was just a bit better or a bit worse and fans have to guess what’s real and what isn’t. Who from the SATC cast do you still keep in touch with?

I’m in touch with Kim Cattrall and tend to run into Cynthia Nixon every now and again. The last time was on the street in front of my apartment building next to the Apple Store, where she was directing an episode of And Just Like That…. I love when something like that happens. What are your thoughts on Season 2 of And Just Like That… so far?

I’m enjoying it. I’ve said this

How does the Hamptons inspire your writing process? For the past 30 years, I’ve pretty much only lived in Manhattan and the Hamptons. I write about the society that I live in, so I always write about my environment. In SATC the book, the Hamptons is featured as a stomping ground for Carrie and Mr. Big. They have lots of adventures here. It’s one of the “true tales” I tell in my show— the real story of the real Mr. Big. What has been your proudest career moment?

Having a No. 1 best-selling novel, The Carrie Diaries. Getting on the best-seller list. Getting Lipstick Jungle on the air on NBC. Getting the column “Sex and the City.” What would fans be surprised to learn about you?

How incredibly hard I’ve worked; how I came to New York wanting to win the Pulitzer Prize; and the hard moments, the dark times that no one likes to talk about.

Is there anything still on your career bucket list?

Yes, I’d like to make a lot more money so I can rent a yacht for a week and bring all my friends. Just like on a reality show! T

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