I couldn’t help but wonder … Who was asking for a revival of the television series “Sex and the City?” Regardless of what we wanted, the revival is what we got. “And Just Like That” follows the 30-something city slickers of “Sex and the City” as 50-something jaded women. The original TV series was highly praised for showing four sex-positive modern women living their best lives in New York City. The show ran for six seasons and two movies in the 2000s. In the 2020s, the show is back. As of Feb. 3, all 10 episodes of the revival’s first season have been made available on HBO Max. Unfortunately, it seems that the show has lost the magic that made the original a success. The characters do not even feel like the same original people. There’s also the fact that not all four women came back for the remake. Kim Cattrall, who played the sexual Samantha Jones, decided not to come back due to her feud with her costars and not wanting to keep coming back to a character to whom she has already said goodbye. People have said she is the “sex” in “Sex in the City.” While this is partially true, “And Just Like That” has problems with the characters, even those who stayed, that make audiences wonder if there is still sex in the city.
The witty Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), the diligent Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and the poised Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) are back, and times have changed since we last saw them. Carrie is no longer writing for a sex advice column and is instead hosting a sex advice podcast. She is happily married to Big (Chris Noth) without any children, completely devoted to each other. Miranda is getting her master’s degree in human rights and is raising her son Brady (Niall Cunningham) with her husband Steve (David Eigenberg). Charlotte is the Park Avenue Princess raising her two children, Lily (Cathy Wang) and Rose (Alexa Swinton), with her husband Harry (Evan Handler).
The women are living their best lives, but they soon have hurdles to overcome. Big has a heart attack and passes away, making Carrie a grieving widow. She has to pick herself up and start the next chapter of her life sans Big. Charlotte is trying to keep up with her children and the diverse world that is the 2020s. When Rose tells Charlotte that they do not feel like a girl, she has to figure out how to be the best mom for her children. Miranda is dealing with a son who has sex with his girlfriend (Cree Cicchino) every chance he gets and a marriage that she feels is getting stale. Soon Miranda meets Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez), Carrie’s boss and a non-binary comedian. Miranda grows feelings for Che that make her feel like a whole new person. A lot of challenges are thrown this trio’s way, but at the end of the day, they have each other.
This is definitely not a terrible show. There are hilarious new characters like Carrie’s real estate agent Seema and scene-stealing returning characters like Charlotte’s friend Anthony. There are some interesting plots and fun lines. Carrie retelling on her podcast the story of her diaphragm getting stuck and Charlotte getting caught giving her husband a blowjob got a few chuckles out of me. It was interesting seeing turn-of-the-century women in a new time and seeing what these beloved characters are up to. I also enjoyed the diversity of the show. The original was very white, and it was nice to see many different types of people, African Americans, Latinos and Asians, people who were not often seen in the original. I also liked the modern parenting techniques, like conversations about weed, TikTok and identity. I felt like I was seeing teenagers to whom I could relate or to whom my friends could relate.
Not to mention, the fashion was iconic as ever. The show was always known for its clothing. I would not say every outfit was a slam dunk, but modern styles looked great on the women, such as Carrie’s sparkly dress when she fully recovered from surgery or Miranda’s maroon jumpsuit when she is out for a late night with the girls. If this was a show without any predecessors attached, it would probably get better reviews. I had a lovely time watching it and I would watch a second season.
Despite the positive points, this is a show that leaves much to be desired. It is a shell of what it once was. The main problem with the show is Miranda’s storyline. She acts as if she never loved Steve, when we saw them fall in love on “Sex and The City.” Miranda is also okay with cheating on her husband and acting like it was not a big deal. When Steve cheats on Miranda in the first movie, she acts like it was a crime and is devastated. Now, she is only thinking of herself and not the people around her, which is not the Miranda we know. While that is the main problem, the other characters’ storylines also have issues. Meanwhile, Carrie seems to be less vivacious than the woman we met twenty years ago. The show seems to be treating her as if she was older than her cities. Her plot lines included hip surgery, face lift consultation and trying to keep up with the young people around her. I wish there was more of the fun, cool and hip Carrie Bradshaw that audiences once knew. Then there is Charlotte, who is just there. She doesn’t get any plot lines that are as exciting as those of her costars, and the plotlines she does get seem to be her trying too hard. She wants to be seen as “woke” and have diverse friends and try to understand this new world. Nothing that bad but also nothing that thrilling. While we shouldn’t expect women in their fifties to act like how they were in their thirties, it would be nice if the characters still had their relatability and spunk.
It is unclear if there will be a second season. Rumors have been floating around but the mixed reviews do not make the outlook hopeful. Not to mention, the sexual assault accusations against Chris Noth have brought the show’s integrity into question. I think the show was fairly wrapped up, but it seems that there could be more stories to tell with these characters. I only got into “Sex and the City” relatively recently and I’ve only read about the movies, so my reactions may not be as strong as some other people’s. This is a show with a lot of history and a lot to live up to. “And Just Like That” is an amusing show that is a guilty pleasure, and while it may not live up to the original, there is potential for it to grow. So if you need a “Sex and the City” fix or you are wondering about life as a middle aged women living in a big city, watch “And Just Like That” today.
