When I first heard that the iconic show ‘Sex and the City’ was being revived as ‘And Just Like That’, I had mixed feelings. The original series, which ran from 1998 to 2004, was a groundbreaking show that defined television in that era, by putting women and their sexuality front and centre of the conversation, and unapologetically so.
I loved it. I was in my early 20s when I was first came across the series.
It was a pure delight to watch the four main characters, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbs (Cynthia Nixon), Charlotte York (Kristin Davies) and Samantha Jones (Kim Catrall), navigate single life in their 30s and early 40s in my favourite city, New York.
It did not hold back in making women and their desires the centrepiece, often treading on subjects that were considered way to risky for their time.
Of course, the show was also shallow and unrealistic in many parts, but there were subjects and situations it dealt with that so many women can identify with even now. It was also an escape.
So even though most women do NOT run around in high heels in Manhattan all day, it was still fun to watch that on ‘Sex and the City’. The fashion was such an integral part of the story telling as was New York City.
Fast forward to 2022. The remake, ‘And Just Like That’, tells us the story of the same women now in their mid 50s. Was I ready to see Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda with grey hair and wrinkles?
Having seen the original series many times over since it first aired, the main characters had been stuck in time in my brain, forever glamorous in their 30s, with glossy hair and high heels, not a line on their faces.
Thanks to the internet, even though the new show has not yet aired in India, we have all seen the trailers and many spoilers. There is Carrie, looking as polished as ever, but with visible lines on her face and strands of grey you can’t miss.
Miranda knows she has grown older and seems quite proud of it. In one scene, she passionately talks about not wanting to dye her grey hair. Charlotte however looks like she’s had some work done, and why not? That’s a choice she made and women should not be judged for doing whatever makes them feel more confident.
I miss Samantha
The character I miss the most is Samantha. She was the heart and soul of the original series, confident and unapologetic about who she was. She didn’t want marriage and she didn’t want children and she was absolutely happy with that. But with Kim Catrall falling out with Sarah Jessica Parker, there is no Samantha in the remake.
With all its flaws, I am really glad they decided to make this show on women in their 50s navigating a very ‘woke’ world. Sure, it is awkward in many parts (come on, Miranda was never this clueless), but I think in a youth obsessed world, telling the story of women at that age, who don’t look like the stereotypes of what we have associated the age 50 with, is important.
More and more women in their 40s and 50s today are fitter, stronger and more confident than they have ever been. It’s great to see a TV show which captures that, instead of falling back on grandma tropes.
So whether its dealing with a sexless marriage or a child who may want to become non binary or losing a spouse, these are very real issues that confront women in their 50s.
Happily ever after
I loved ‘Sex and the city’ in my 20s but the Nidhi in her 40s also recognises everything that was wrong with it. The obsession with finding a man, the “happily ever after” which is so cringe worthy when you look back at it; the over glamorised lives of the main characters; the selfish, self centred Carrie who was actually the worst friend you could have (and could never explain how
she spent $500 on shoes regularly when she only wrote a column for a living); the lack of diversity in the cast (apparently black people didn’t exist in New York City back then); the obvious homophobia strewn across several episodes and that awful man called Big, who was the worst boyfriend a woman could ask for (not missing him now at all). And lets not talk about the terrible movies they made.
The new series is perhaps overcompensating for everything they got wrong earlier, so there is an awkward attempt at bringing more diversity into the cast and the lead characters are dealing with the ‘wokeness’ of today’s environment.
It stumbles but at least they are trying. And its great to see those heels and dresses again. And Just Like That, I can’t wait to see where this chapter takes Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda next.
