The CW Never Should’ve Cancelled This Show

The Big Picture

• The CW’s The Carrie Diaries served as a prequel to Sex and the City, with a fresh and endearing take on the iconic character of Carrie Bradshaw.
• The show had a strong ensemble cast, including well-developed supporting characters who brought depth and diversity to the story.
• The Carrie Diaries had its own unique identity, balancing suburban life with Carrie’s dreams of a city life, and exploring themes of loss, identity, and growing up, making it a standout on the network.

If you take addictive soap opera tropes, mix in some teenage drama, and space it out on a weekly basis, you have the formula for a show on The CW. We can find these traits on One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, and Reign, among many others that premiered during the golden age of the network. One little show that checked all the boxes — while implementing some innovations on the formula — came in the form of a Sex and the City prequel: The Carrie Diaries. Developed by Amy B. Harris and based on the book of the same name by Candace Bushnell, this series chronicled the early years of Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb).

Beginning in 1984, the prequel series had fun with its portrayal of the decade, while still feeling fresh and belonging to current times. Given the original series’ adult-oriented themes, the choice to have the show be part of The CW’s lineup seemed questionable at the moment but it ended up being a truly endearing product with a personality of its own. True, at times it was inconsistent with the lore from Sex and the City. However, that somehow played in its favor, as it allowed the prequel to explore stories in its own way — becoming a Sex and the City multiverse situation, if you will. While there are some CW shows that overstayed their welcome (looking at you, Riverdale), The Carrie Diaries should’ve had the shot to truly realize its full potential.

Before There Was Sex and the City, There Was Just Carrie Bradshaw

The Carrie Diaries begins at the precise moment a 16-year-old Carrie from Castlebury, Connecticut, begins having grand New York ambitions. She enrolls in an internship at a law firm in Manhattan, where she meets Larissa (Freema Agyeman) after a slight mishap with one of Carrie’s mother’s purses awakens Larissa’s fashion senses. Carrie doesn’t hesitate when Larissa offers her a job at Interview Magazine, and having this brush with her true calling is what defines Carrie’s future. This Carrie is a force. She’s strong, likable, determined, and centered. (It makes you wonder where exactly things went awry for the Carrie we came to know in Sex and the City.) While Sarah Jessica Parker made the role an instantly recognizable icon, Robb made Carrie totally her own in The Carrie Diaries. Had the series not been cancelled, Robb would’ve risen to the same iconic status as Parker.

‘The Carrie Diaries’ Has a Strong Ensemble Cast Around Carrie

Even though The Carrie Diaries boasts a strong Carrie, not everything revolves around her. A powerful set of characters supports the series, too, such as Carrie’s group of friends. In the same way Carrie is determined to live a big city life, Mouse (Ellen Wong) is thoroughly determined to achieve her college dreams. Maggie (Katie Findlay) is a lost soul seeking love and approval in the wrong places. The group is rounded out by Walt (Brendan Dooling), who begins the series as Maggie’s boyfriend and goes through a journey of self-discovery to accept his identity as a gay man.

We also have Carrie’s family, her father Tom (Matt Letscher) and her sister Dorrit (Stefania LaVie Owen), who are all coming to terms with Carrie’s mother’s death while finding and supporting each other throughout their grief process. Of course, the ensemble wouldn’t be complete without Donna (Chloe Bridges), Castlebury’s queen bee with a soul, and a pre-Elvis Austin Butler as Sebastian, a bad boy with surprising depth (who is also Carrie’s love interest).

The New Characters in ‘The Carrie Diaries’ Mesh Perfectly with Carrie’s Unique Personality

Although Sex and the City has no mention of most (if not all) of these characters, the way the characters develop throughout The Carrie Diaries makes you long to know where they end up in the present. Dorrit, Carrie’s previously unknown little sister, deals with her mother’s death by constantly rebelling, but the sisters eventually come together again (even if it’s to threaten a spoiled brat). Dooling’s Walt is a great LGBTQ+ character who thrives, thanks to his support net, in a time when stigma outweighs acceptance. His first boyfriend Bennet (Jake Robinson) not only helps Walt with coming to terms with being gay but also helps shine a light on the AIDS crisis and the panic and misinformation that permeated the times.

Even with these new characters offering a fresh look at Carrie Bradshaw and her life, more connection to her future life in Sex and the City was needed. That’s why Samantha (Lindsey Gort) enters the scene in Season 2, to depict the early stages of Carrie and Samantha’s friendship. This spot-on casting is one of the best aspects of the show, as it seems like they plucked a young Kim Cattrall from the past to insert her into the show. Gort’s Samantha is careless, free, and just as sex-driven. Although she doesn’t interact much with Mouse and Maggie, these young women are a direct contrast of what Carrie has back home and what’s awaiting her in the city. Conversely, Samantha does clash with Larissa and — while both are flawed mentor figures and “the most confident and perverted women” Carrie has ever met — the former reflects the realness and rawness of the city, with the latter standing for flair and the superficiality of fashion world.

‘The Carrie Diaries’ Deserved To Live Longer

If AnnaSophia Robb’s Carrie feels jarringly different from the not-so-empathetic adult version, it’s because of her ties to her hometown in The Carrie Diaries. The duality of her suburban life and the transition into her urban dreams make for an exceptional story about balance that keeps her human. Carrie and her friends deal with several losses that end up defining their growth: a parent, innocence, virginity, and even identity. All of the characters grow (and become better) as episodes go by, making this a rare case of a show having a stellar first season and an even superior second season.

The Carrie Diaries takes full advantage of each character and dynamic possible, bringing them together in pairs that make for very special interactions. Sebastian proves his depth when he takes care of Mouse and Maggie separately. While the former was because of an accidental high, the latter faces a pregnancy scare. Donna also shakes off the mean girl stigma when giving love life counsel to Dorrit and revealing she’s a smart girl to Mouse. Larissa makes Carrie’s father Tom come to his senses about Carrie growing up and her work at Interview Magazine. Donna stands up for Walt and stands by him as a true friend as he comes out on his own terms, while Sebastian reaffirms that there’s nothing wrong with being gay, and Tom even welcomes Walt into the Bradshaw home after Walt’s parents shun him. These little moments make The Carrie Diaries a special show that stands out from The CW’s regular (and, admittedly, iconic) formula and should’ve guaranteed the show a longer life.

Sadly, The Carrie Diaries was released at a transitional time for The CW. Gossip Girl had just ended and Arrow was in the middle of its first season, marking the beginning of the end for the network’s teen drama era and the start of the superhero-focused age. With ratings dwindling in sophomore season, it was eventually cancelled to make way for new ventures; nonetheless, The Carrie Diaries stands as proof that a spin-off can have a soul of its own. While still touching upon sexual topics through the lens of teenagers, it never felt like it was leading to Sex and the City, so it was never overshadowed by expectation. Despite being cancelled, the finale is satisfying enough. However, with the prospect of having Miranda introduced in the third season, at least one more outing of Carrie in the city was needed. For what it’s worth, The Carrie Diaries was given a shot and now stands out as one of the best teen dramas the network has ever produced.

The Carrie Diaries is streaming exclusively on The CW in the U.S.

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