Recently, I found my new background noise show. The selection of such a show is hard. There are many different factors to gauge. 

For me personally, it’s gotta be funny, it’s gotta be something that if I do decide to pay attention to the plot, it’s still engaging and it’s gotta be something that could have mass appeal. 

In the past, my background show rotation has been “30 Rock,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Community.” Recently though, I stumbled upon “Sex and the City.” 

Now let’s get some explaining out of the way. “Sex and the City” stars Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw, a 30-something writer living in New York City in the late 90s. The series follows Bradshaw and her three girlfriends as they navigate life, relationships and burgeoning adulthood in New York City. 

First things first though, I’m obviously not the audience “Sex and the City” has in mind. I definitely have very little in common with the four main characters. Also, if I was a bit character in an episode, I’m fairly certain I’d definitely be played for laughs. It be like that sometimes. 

Further though, I identify as a man, I think I’m pretty masculine and I know enough to know that I don’t know anything. 

While the show is written by a man, it’s based on and developed with Candace Bushnell, who wrote a weekly sex column and who the titular character is based on. So, like, I think I can confidently say the target audience is young wealthy white women in the 90s. 

So why do I even like the show that much? For me, the brand of comedy works really well. The main characters seemingly never work, never worry about money and spend most of their time in fancy restaurants, stores or upscale bars. Despite all of this, the human interactions are really on-point. 

Using human relationships as the main plot struggle in each episode definitely lends itself to relatability no matter the audience. 

While I don’t wear $1,000 outfits, eat at, say, The Informalist or not work, I’m a human being with frequently complicated, messy and unique relationships with people. 

Most of “Sex and the City” deals with sexual relationships but they examine other types of relationships as well while maintaining a light comedic tone. 

The reason the show spoke to me is the human relationship aspect. I’m going to keep it real, I’ve gotten back with ex-partners, I’ve been propositioned by very weird people and I know what it’s like to just completely be unaware of someone flirting with me. 

What “Sex and the City” is to me, is a show that celebrates that oft-awkward part of young adulthood called navigating relationships. I really do envy the people who have it, seemingly, figured out. 

What makes the show effective, though, is taking these situations and making them humorous. It’s almost therapeutic. It offers the perspective that these awkward moments as a young person are something to laugh at rather than mope about. 

I’ve made my fair share of mistakes, I’ve definitely ruined relationships and have had many “it’s complicated” situations. While therapy is great, seeing relatable relationship issues on TV played for laughs lightens up my outlook on life. 

Overall, “Sex and the City” is just a fun lighthearted show that’s easy to watch. It’s worth checking out. I rate it a solid worth bingeing the first season on a lazy Sunday morning. 

Fair warning though, it’s an HBO show, so expect just a ludicrous amount of nudity jammed into 23-minute episodes. Like honestly I’m just kind of impressed with how they managed to keep it at a TV-MA rating. 

Adams can be reached at [email protected].