Billy Eichner Praises Gay Representation on 'SATC' – Show was an Inspiration for 'Bros'

It's been 25 years since "Sex and the City" launched on HBO. Out "Bros" writer and star Billy Eichner, looking back on the show, praised its "radical" and realistic gay representation and revealed how the show inspired his own big screen rom-com, IndieWire reported.

"You did not see many shows at that point that had scenes at gay bars, let alone with guys standing in their underwear for Underwear Night," Eichner said in comments to People Magazine, referring to an episode in which Carrie's gay friend Stanford Blatch (Willie Garson) appeared in a scene set at a gay bar.

And it was an actual gay bar, Eichner recalled. "I immediately knew, because I'd been there several times, it was shot at an actual gay bar in Chelsea in New York called Barracuda, which is still there."

Eichner said that when he saw that moment "on TV in a mainstream show starring Sarah Jessica Parker on HBO, I took notice. This is before texting, but I remember calling my friends – both my girlfriends and my gay friends – and saying, 'You guys have to watch this show.'"

Eichner recalled, "The fact that Stanford was going to gay bars felt so radical and really pulled me in."

Eichner's comments were collected by People Mag for a series in which the magazine "spoke with female and LGBTQ+ actors, directors and writers about how the show affected them, impacted the industry and continues to influence pop culture."

Eichner was smitten with the show and made it part of his social calendar. "I would have people over to my apartment every Sunday night and we would watch it religiously," the "Billy on the Street" star recalled. "It was one of the only shows that created what, at that time, felt like a more authentic – not perfectly authentic – look at gay men and our relationships with women."

"The conversations the women were having felt like conversations that I was having with my friends," Eichner added, noting that the show "was representing women and gay men, to a lesser degree, but to much more of a degree than existed in TV and films at the time."

Calling "SATC" the kind of "mix of fantasy and reality" that is a hallmark of "great romantic comedies," Eichner copped to an influence from the series on his own work – namely, his big-budget gay rom-com "Bros," which offered a roster of LGBTQ+ talent in front of and behind the camera.

"We talked about the Carrie Bradshaw-Mr. Big dynamic being one of the inspirations for the way that we built my character Bobby, and the unique unexpected chemistry he has with Luke [Macfarlane]'s character, Aaron," Eichner told the magazine.

And the show had an even more direct bearing on the trajectory of Eichner's career: He did a "Billy on the Street" segment in which he defended the critically lambasted feature "Sex and the City 2" that caught the attention of Mike Farah, who was in charge of Funny or Die.

Eichner related that, "that's the video that inspired him to email me and say, 'Hey, I really like what you're doing. We should work together.' I said to him, 'Well, what if we try to turn this into a TV show?' So it had a very specific, hugely influential moment in my life."

"Sex and the City" is available to stream on Max, and its sequel series, "And Just Like That..." launches its second season later this month.