The Last of the Red Hot Mamas

IX: The End of the Affair

In early 2002, after much deliberation, Parker and King (who became the main show runner when Star assumed an executive consultant position following season 3) informed HBO that the sixth season would be the final one. Though Parker already hints at an eventual reunion -- ''What's exciting about this is that it leaves the door open. Who knows how we might revisit the show?'' -- it's Breakup City for now.

KING Have you ever stayed too late at a party? Yeah, we don't want to do that. We want to be the first ones out.

CATTRALL Oh, I think it should go longer.

NIXON They want us to go out while we're still high and great, but I feel like we've got far to fall. We could get a little worse before it went out, you know?

DAVIS We work until February. There's so much that's going to happen between now and then, I don't feel done at all.

PARKER It's time. It's a really rich, dense thing that we try to do, and I don't want mediocrity to be the car that we're driving. It'll be awful to walk away, but it'll be thrilling. And I think you must do what is thrilling, even if it's painful sometimes.

X: One Final Fling

Season 6 brings big changes for Miss Bradshaw.

PARKER Carrie thinks her world is fabulous and big, and all of a sudden she meets somebody and it's revealed that her world is little and this whole new world has opened up to her. And I mean world, culturally and artistically.

KING It's not going to end with a four-wedding ceremony in Central Park. I would shoot myself. And single women would find us and kill us.

PARKER When Carrie walks out her door, there's just potential everywhere. The potential for great disappointment and great victory and love and loss and literature and poverty and overindulgence and insanity and beauty and architecture and art and dirt and shit, literally shit, and drugs and flowers -- that feels hopeful to me, and the show has always felt like that to me. And if it's the ending I think it's going to be, I feel like that will never be lost.

''When people meet me they say, 'Oh, you're so soft-spoken' and

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''When people meet me they say, 'Oh, you're so soft-spoken' and 'You're SUCH A NICE GIRL from Canada' and 'My God, you're not that crazy man-eater.''' -- Kim Cattrall

''There is so much about our show that has been GROUNDBREAKING. In a lot of ways that's great, but sometimes it's SLIGHTLY EMBARRASSING for us, you know?'' -- Kristin Davis

''Miranda's bitter wit is a particular New York sensibility. In another city, people might have been like, 'Oh, that poor girl. SHE'S SO ANGRY.' But in New York, they can relate.'' -- Cynthia Nixon