The Carrie Dairies TV Show Review

Adopted from The Carrie Dairies by Candace Burshnell.

Before Sex and The City, Carrie Bradshow was a small town girl who knew she wanted more. She’s ready for real life to start, but first she must navigate her senior year of high school. Up until now, Carrie and her friends have been inseparable. Then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture, and a friend’s betrayal makes her question everything. - Blurb from book

You know that friend’s betrayal that the book blurb mentions. Yeah, that friend isn't even in the TV show. That’s just one of the many gripes I have with the adaptation. This betrayal is huge to the character of Carrie and who she ultimately becomes and the TV makers totally eliminated that betrayal by eliminating the friend who did it. Now what?

Let’s start with the fact that the TV show brought Carrie into NY way before the book did. I understand  making Carrie a bit younger and therefore allowing for more seasons to run, but NY was meant as a dream Carrie worked hard to come true, not a present that was just given to her. And let’s talk about Carrie’s dream of NY and her aspirations of writing. Oh, wait, they’re not in the TV show. The whole point of NY is that Carrie wanted to be a writer there. In the book, she applies to a summer writing program in NY. The TV show doesn't even mention her desire to be a writer, the one identity that Carrie grows up to be. Huh?


The last issue is the fact that the makers are trying to make this series Sex and The City: The Younger Years instead of just The Carrie Diaries. This series is supposed to be based on the book Burshnell wrote not on the show HBO created. Let The Carrie Diaries be what it’s supposed to be, a book adaptation and while you’re at it, stick to the main plot points, please.