Season 1

Episode 1
Making its splashy debut on June 6, 1998, the first episode of Sex drew 3.7 million viewers — a respectable number, considering it was a new series on a pay-cable channel. (But viewership would balloon by the finale, which, nearly six years later, would draw 10.6 million viewers.) At the time, HBO's slate included Oz, Arli$$, and Taxicab Confessions. And a little show called Family Man — eventually renamed The Sopranos — was gearing up to premiere the following year.

Can you imagine Carrie as a brunette? That was the plan up until 24 hours before the pilot was shot. ''I...