The Carrie Diaries (TV series)

The Carrie Diaries is an American teen comedy-drama television series that aired for two seasons on The CW from January 14, 2013, to January 31, 2014. It is a prequel to the HBO television series "Sex and the City" and based on the 2010 book of the same name by Candace Bushnell. The first season focuses on Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb) during her junior year of high school in 1984 as she explores life in New York City while interning at a law firm office, and also secretly working at a magazine company, while the second season focuses more on her expanding life in the city as well as the lives of her friends and boyfriend.
The pilot was picked up by The CW to a series order of 13 episodes in May 2012. Four months into the first season, the network renewed "The Carrie Diaries" for a second season, which premiered in October 2013. In May 2014, The CW canceled the series after two seasons.
Production.
Development.
In September 2011, it was officially announced that The CW was moving forward with a television series as a prequel to the original series, based on "The Carrie Diaries". The project is produced by "Gossip Girl" producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. Former "Sex and the City" writer Amy B. Harris penned the adaptation.
On January 18, 2012, The CW ordered a pilot of "The Carrie Diaries". The project will continue to be helmed by executive producers Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage, Len Goldstein and Candace Bushnell. On May 11, 2012, the pilot was picked up to series. On May 9, 2013, The CW renewed "The Carrie Diaries" for a second season. It received an order for 13 episodes.
Casting.
On February 15, 2012, the series' first role was cast. Stefania Owen has landed the part of Carrie Bradshaw's 14-year-old sister Dorrit. She's described as rebelling in the most obvious of ways: dyeing her hair, getting arrested, acting out. Dorrit is desperate for attention and willing to get it any way she can. On February 27, 2012, it was announced that AnnaSophia Robb had won the role of the young Carrie Bradshaw. On February 28, Katie Findlay and Ellen Wong joined her. Wong will play Carrie's best friend in high school, Jill Chen. Also known as 'The Mouse', Jill is said to be intelligent and loyal. Findlay will star in the project as Carrie's oldest friend Maggie Landers, the police chief's daughter. Whereas Carrie is beginning to explore Manhattan, Maggie has no desire to leave her town. On March 2, 2012, Deadline reported that Austin Butler has been cast as the male lead. Butler will play Sebastian Kydd, a brooding heartthrob and ultimate insider who always plays the outsider. His presence at Carrie's school will shake things up in a big way. On March 4, 2012, Deadline announced that Freema Agyeman has been cast in the pilot as Larissa, a hip, cutting-edge editor and party girl who works at "Interview" magazine and is Carrie's mentor. On the same day, Brendan Dooling, who originally auditioned for the role of Sebastian, joined the cast as Walt, Carrie's gay friend. On March 9, 2012, Deadline reported that Matt Letscher had been cast as Carrie's father. On March 14, 2012, it was announced that Chloe Bridges had been cast as Carrie's nemesis Donna LaDonna.
On July 20, 2013, E! News reported that actress Lindsey Gort was cast as Samantha Jones for the second season. English model Poppy Delevingne also auditioned for the role.
After the show's cancellation, showrunner Amy B. Harris revealed that had the show been renewed for a third season, Miranda Hobbes would have been introduced as Mouse's roommate at Harvard.
Reception.
Critical response.
"The Carrie Diaries" has received mixed reviews. Metacritic gave the first season a score of 57% based on 23 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews," based on 23 critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave season 1 an approval rating of 66% based on 38 reviews, with an average score of 6.2/10. The site's consensus reads: "AnnaSophia Robb is charming as the lead in "The Carrie Diaries", even if this "Sex and the City" spinoff sometimes suffers from overwrought narration and so-so writing.
Gail Pennington of the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" said "The CW's attempt to capture the magic of "Sex and the City" in a prequel, set in 1984, could have gone very wrong. But "The Carrie Diaries" is surprisingly right." Marisa LaScala of PopMatters says "The rest of the show goes on to prize sweetness over superficiality." Alan Sepinwall of Hitfix describes "The new series succeeds on its own nostalgic terms."
The second season opened with generally more favorable reviews. "Rotten Tomatoes" gave it a score of 100%, based on 7 reviews, and praised the introduction of Lindsey Gort as iconic "Sex and the City" character Samantha Jones.
Broadcasts.
In the United States, on its first season, "The Carrie Diaries" aired on The CW on Mondays at 8:00 pm as a lead-in for "90210" and then streamed on The CW's website. The show moved to Fridays for its second season and it premiered on October 25, having been paired with "America's Next Top Model". In Canada, the series airs on Citytv, and premiered January 14, 2013. In Latin America, the series premiered on Boomerang on May 20, 2013.
In Asia-Pacific, "The Carrie Diaries" started airing in Australia on January 15, 2013, on FOX8. In Malaysia, the series premiered on March 5, 2013 on 8TV, in New Zealand, the show aired on TV2 and in the Philippines, the series premiered on ETC on January 21, 2013. In Bulgaria the series aired for the first time from July 1 to August 5, 2015 on bTV Lady. 