From Carrie to Emily

Darren Star was just 27 when he created Beverly Hills, 90210, barely into his 30s when he invited viewers into the apartments of Melrose Place and not yet 40 when he sent Carrie Bradshaw shopping for shoes in Sex and the City.

Not bad for a Jewish kid from the Washington, DC, suburbs.

After 94 episodes of Sex and the City, Star went on to create Younger and, most recently, Emily in Paris, the global Netflix phenomenon that has run for six seasons. Along the way came Central Park West, Grosse Pointe, Miss Match, and other projects that, Star argues, never had the chance to become the hits they deserved to be.

How has he created so many defining television series and such an enduring cast of iconic characters? How often did network executives get in the way? What is the secret to turning a city into a character? And where did his fascination with ambitious women in impossibly chic wardrobes begin?

The Emmy- and Golden Globe–winning writer, director and producer, recently honored with France’s Légion d’honneur for his contributions to French culture, joins us to discuss the changing television landscape, the stories behind his greatest successes and the subtle ways Judaism has found its way into his work. Star will be in conversation with Lorne Bycoff.