The third season of Sex and the City, an American television romantic sitcom, aired in the United States on HBO from June 4 to October 15, 2000. Based on the eponymous book written by Candace Bushnell, the series was created by Darren Star and produced by Darren Star Productions, HBO Original Programming, and Warner Bros. Television. Star, Barry Josen and Michael Patrick King served as the series' executive producers. The show follows the relationships and sexual escapades of Carrie Bradshaw, a sex columnist for the fictional New York Star, and her friends Samantha Jones, Charlotte York and Miranda Hobbes. Season three saw a more serialized approach to the series. Carrie begins dating Aidan Shaw, a furniture craftsman who stands as a polar opposite to Mr. Big, who struggles in his marriage to Natasha as well as seeing Carrie with someone else. Miranda and Steve move in with each other but find themselves going in different directions in terms of maturity. Charlotte dates and later marries Trey McDougal, who turns out to be impotent. Season three, comprising 18 episodes, aired on Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone. The third season saw a rise in ratings from the previous season, averaging a total of nine million viewers. The show garnered acclaim in its third season, winning the Best Comedy Series awards at the Primetime Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Season three featured four actors receiving star billing. Sarah Jessica Parker played the lead character Carrie Bradshaw, a writer of a sex column, "Sex and the City", for a fictional magazine and the narrator of the series. Kim Cattrall portrayed Samantha Jones, a sexually confident public relations agent who follows the same relationship rules that men do. Kristin Davis played Charlotte York, an optimistic art museum curator who holds traditional views on relationships. Cynthia Nixon portrayed Miranda Hobbes, an acerbic lawyer with a pessimistic outlook on relationships and a distrust of men. The season featured a number of recurring guest appearances. Chris Noth reprises his role as Mr. Big, who is currently married to Natasha Naginsky. Willie Garson portrayed Carrie's gay best friend and talent manager Stanford Blatch. David Eigenberg appears as Steve Brady, a bartender and Miranda's love interest. John Corbett played Aidan Shaw, a laid-back furniture designer who becomes Carrie's long term boyfriend. Kyle MacLachlan of Twin Peaks fame joined the series portraying Charlotte's boyfriend and later husband Trey MacDougal, a cardiologist from a wealthy family whose marriage to Charlotte is plagued by his impotence and his intruding mother. Frances Sternhagen recurred during the season as Trey's mother Bunny.
