The XXX Files

Meanwhile, back at the raunch... The Sex and the City crew has finished capturing the posteriors for posterity, and has moved on to a shot of Kristin Davis — who plays upper-crusty Charlotte — frolicking in the Hamptons surf (well, actually, we're on a beach in Queens, but this is showbiz, y'know). ''Frolic! Frolic! Frolic!'' shouts a crew member as a shivering Davis splashes water and giggles and scampers away from her hunky beau du jour. Meanwhile, off camera, a couple of Sex writers talk about — here's a shocker — mating rituals (does sex get better when a relationship is on the rocks?).

Another question arises: Is there anything that's too hot for pay-TV? ''Last year, we cut just one scene,'' says Sex exec producer King. Suffice it to say, the offending naughty bit involved prudish Charlotte, her sexually frustrated boyfriend, and his golden retriever. ''All you saw was a tasteful dog head on the [boyfriend's] lap,'' laughs King. Not tasteful enough for HBO, though; the normally hands-off net said the shot stepped over the increasingly thin blue line.

Puppy love aside, there's something else you won't see on Sex and the City: soft-focus, cheesy sweating and writhing. ''There's never a full-on sex scene that's there'' merely to get people aroused, says King. In fact, as the cast is at pains to point out, Sex isn't all about sex. Star says he almost regrets having the three-letter word in the title. ''The sex is a by-product,'' concurs Parker. ''But they're not looking to have sex. They're looking to find somebody who's as fulfilling as their female friendships are.'' The show, especially in its second season, has gone beyond the skin-deep — exploring loyalty, faith, and vulnerability. Many a scene — such as one with Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) getting flak for buying an apartment without a husband — manages to be shockingly hormone-free.

And these poignant moments are also striking a chord. Cattrall recalls her recent backstage visit with an oft-maligned single gal named Cher: ''Cher was relating to the characters and quoting lines,'' says Cattrall. ''There was a scene where I say, 'What do you want me to say, do you want me to admit that I sleep around, you want me to say that I'm a whore?' [Cher] said, 'I really felt for you.'''

In fact, it's those loud-and-proud libidos that give the series its quasi-feminist edge. Sex treats guys the way Seinfeld treated Jerry's girls: as so much eye candy. ''Can you take off your top? Okay, thanks. Buh-bye,'' is how Nixon sums up the roles of her boy costars. ''I feel like it's the girls' show. I'm just a guest,'' demurs Chris Noth, who plays Carrie's on-again, off-again love, Mr. Big. At least he doesn't have to go through the other fellows' humiliating audition process: ''The actors come in and say, 'I'm here to orgasm again,''' says King.

That's probably not how the casting will play out, say, on the next season of Frasier, but don't be surprised if the networks try to reproduce the joy of Sex. ''We've made many jokes about how there'll be versions of Sex and the City,'' says King. ''Like Hugs in the Park, or Love Downtown.'' Perhaps HBO could trump any knockoffs with a brand-new series — Sex and the Country. ''I'm not that well acquainted with it,'' says Star of rural carnality. ''But I imagine they have a lot of it. Especially if they don't have cable.'' — Additional reporting by Joe Flint and Brian M. Raftery