Warning: This review contains spoilers from Thursday’s And Just Like That… premiere.
As a longtime Sex and the City fan — I even watch the butchered and bleeped reruns they air on E! — I was a little skeptical when HBO Max’s revival And Just Like That… was first announced. The movies weren’t great, the ladies are in their mid-50s now and Kim Cattrall isn’t even involved. So it’s a relief to inform you that And Just Like That… — the first two episodes are now streaming; I’ve seen the first four — does a decent job of bringing Sex and the City into the modern era, infusing it with new blood and finding fresh layers within its classic characters. There are a few sticking points here and there that will annoy fans (like me), but the mere fact that this series isn’t Sex and the City 2-level awful, even with its core foursome fractured, is a victory to celebrate.
And Just Like That… picks up in a post-pandemic New York, with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) definitely older — Miranda’s signature red hair is now gray — but still close friends. The absence of Cattrall’s Samantha Jones, though, is glaring. (We’re told that Samantha has moved to London and doesn’t speak with the other girls anymore over a perceived slight, which doesn’t fit with the fiercely loyal Samantha we know.) Samantha was a bold trailblazer of sex positivity who gave the original series its sassy edge, and that edge is sorely missing here. The sex talk is minimal this time around, with a tone that’s closer to Sex and the City‘s later seasons — more relationship dramedy than raunchy sex comedy. (The episodes are around 45 minutes now, too, instead of the original’s half-hour, adding to the dramatic feel.)
Mostly, though, it’s just nice to spend time with Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda again. The actresses step right back into their roles, and their banter is just as quippy and zippy as ever. Though the new characters’ introductions border on awkward, Ramirez and fellow new addition Sarita Choudhury, who plays Carrie’s realtor Seema, bring a refreshing energy to the show. Plus, Miranda’s story takes an intriguing turn in Episode 3 that offers real promise as a storyline and makes us rethink everything we thought we knew about her. No, this is not the classic Sex and the City we first fell in love with… but what it is now isn’t bad, either.
THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: The Sex and the City ladies are back with And Just Like That…, a more muted but ultimately enjoyable new take on the original.