‘And Just Like That …’ Sex and the City is back

It’s the era of reunions. After we just watched the cast of “Friends” meeting again 17 years since the end of the series, another group of TV icons is also back and here to stay – though their reunion hasn’t gone quite as well.

Much has stayed the same in the lives of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis).

They still meet in elegant New York bars wearing the world’s most expensive shoes to catch up on each other’s lives.

But much has also changed for the protagonists of one of TV’s most successful series ever – “Sex and the City”.

The most notable change is likely to be the sequel’s biggest flaw: Kim Cattrall, who played blunt, confident and obsessed-with-sex Samantha Jones, isn’t part of the cast anymore.

Between 1998 and 2004, the lives of the four girlfriends Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha, revolving around their friendships, jobs, dates, clothes and shoes, were followed by millions worldwide.

The show, which won countless Golden Globes and Emmy awards, arguably revolutionized TV by helping to change and spread the image of the self-confident career woman whose happy ending doesn’t need to involve kids and a husband – at least in the case of Samantha.

Two features films followed – “Sex and the City: The Movie”, released in 2008, and “Sex and the City 2″(2010) – and further cemented the enterprise’s immense success.

Fans of Carrie and her friends have long been hoping that this has not been the end – and on December 9, the wait will finally be over when the first two episodes of the sequel series “And Just Like That” will be released on several platforms.

Every following Thursday, another 30-minute episode will be released, 10 in total, which can be accessed via HBO Max in the US, Sky Comedy in Britain and via Sky Ticket in Germany, for example.

Director, writer and executive producer of “Sex and the City” Michael Patrick King recently told The Hollywood Reporter that “there’s interest” in further episodes – at least theoretically.

Expectations among fans are huge: The sequel’s filming in New York has been followed with great interest in recent months, Airbnb recreated Carrie’s apartment for marketing purposes and teaser footage was released to rekindle interest.

Besides Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte, their husbands Mr. Big (Chris Noth), Steve (David Eigenberg) and Harry (Evan Handler) are also back.

Actor Willie Garson who played Carrie’s best friend Stanford in “Sex and the City” passed away in September but still features in the new series as some of the scenes were filmed before his death.

Besides many other familiar faces, there are also some new kids on the block. “Even though people think this is a franchise that they’re familiar with, there’s something new in this version,” said co-producer Michael Patrick King. “This isn’t what was; it’s what’s next.”

The biggest gap is certainly the absence of Kim Catrall – which has caused speculation and gossip for months.

Catrall herself has so far not elaborated on her decision, but in the past the actress had repeatedly rejected participating in a “Sex and the City” sequel or a third movie citing salary disagreements.

“I went past the finish line playing Samantha Jones because I loved Sex and the City,” Catrall told The Guardian in 2019. “It was a blessing in so many ways but after the second movie I’d had enough. I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just replace me with another actress instead of wasting time bullying. No means no.”

Her former colleague Sarah Jessica Parker stressed on Instagram that personal differences weren’t the reason for the failed reunion of the four protagonists. “Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us, no matter where we are or what we do.”

Writer Candace Bushnell, who wrote the novel the original series was based on, meanwhile continues her own “Sex and the City” journey, having long since published a sequel which she has now turned into a one-woman show called “Is There Still Sex in the City?” – starring herself.