It’s no secret that “And Just Like That” missed the mark as the spinoff of a classic ’90s show. In the era of reboots, the “Sex and the City” revival made ambitious strides to spark the same magic that made us fall for the famous girlfriend group. “We did something that was hard to do, which is we took something familiar and did make it new,” showrunner Michael Patrick King told Variety of his goal for the spinoff. However, the show’s efforts weren’t as well-received as the cast and crew hoped they’d be.
“We did something that was hard to do, which is we took something familiar and did make it new.”
From Carrie’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) slow reflexes to save Mr. Big (Chris Noth) to Charlotte’s (Kristin Davis) out-of-touch cultural impulses to Miranda’s (Cynthia Nixon) questionable actions, “And Just Like That” all but stumbled its way through a rocky first season. And don’t even get me started on how they fumbled their new cast additions – Nicole Ari Parker, Karen Pittman, and Sara Ramírez – and used them to add ham-fisted diversity into the show. While some fans enjoyed seeing a modern-day take on our beloved New York City gals, others, like myself, found themselves scratching their heads at what the hell the show was doing to the characters we’ve grown to love.
Personally, there were a lot of poor decisions made on behalf of “And Just Like That” that left me wanting more – more substance 17 years later, and more justice for plot lines that could’ve been better developed. Since the show has officially been renewed for season two, it seems the revival may actually get a chance to redeem itself. So while we wait for the show to start production again, here’s everything we think should happen in season two.
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"And Just Like That" Should Focus Less on Age in Season 2
The premise of “And Just Like That” was to revive a story about a group of women from New York City, now navigating life in their 50s. And while that part of the story could’ve been the sole focus of the first episode, the spinoff never failed to remind us of just how old Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte had gotten. The biggest issue most fans took with the aging plot was that it so inaccurately portrays what middle-age life really looks like. Since the show damn near exhausted that idea in season one, our hopes are that the writers won’t make it as big of a focus in season two.
HBO / Craig Blankenhorn
Carrie Should Date More in Season 2
Towards the end of the season, Carrie finally gains the courage to dip her toes back into the dating pool. Now that she seems to be moving on from Mr. Big’s death, we could potentially see the vibrant serial dater we admired in “Sex and the City” – especially after that elevator make-out session with her silver-fox boss in the season finale. Maybe that’ll revive the thing that made the original series most enticing, which leads to my next point . . .
HBO / Craig Blankenhorn
We Need More Sex in Season 2
Frankly, we need more sex in the show. For a show that strangely picks up where “Sex and the City” left off just years later, there haven’t been many steamy scenes – which is what the original was known for. No, we don’t want more cringey scenes about Brady and his live-in girlfriend’s sex life. Nor do we need more of whatever the hell went down between Miranda and Che (Ramírez) in Carrie’s kitchen. But if “And Just Like That” really wants to fix its own pitfalls, it should start by embracing the fact that older women can have exciting sex lives, too.
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In Season 2, We Need the Miranda We Used to Know
I’m sure I’m not the only one who was confused about Miranda’s character in “And Just Like That.” Compared to the calculated, no-nonsense woman we knew from “Sex and the City,” Miranda seems all over the place in the reboot series. From her awkward run-in with her professor Nya Wallace (Pittman) in the premiere to asking her husband, Steve (David Eigenberg), for a divorce, Miranda is not at all the character we used to know. So hopefully this trip to California with Che will clear Miranda’s mind and help her make better choices in season two.
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Miranda and Steve Need Proper Closure in Season 2
Steve and Miranda’s conversation about the state of their marriage left us with a lot of questions. The season ends with Miranda jetting off to California to support Che’s career, but we don’t get a lot of answers about where that leaves her and Steve. Have they started divorce proceedings yet? Does Brady know they’re breaking up? Steve asking Carrie for answers in episode nine is just more proof that the two didn’t get proper closure, so hopefully that gets addressed at the top of season two.
HBO
Che Should Be Less Problematic in Season 2
In theory, Che Diaz was a great addition to “And Just Like That” as a queer, nonbinary character – especially with the show taking a more proactive approach to its diversity problem with more LGBTQ+ folks and people of colour (both on and off screen). However, Che has some controversial personality traits that have nearly turned them into the most hated character on the show. So, in season two, I think it’d be best to share more about Che’s backstory to balance them out as less of a villain and more like someone people can relate to.
HBO / Craig Blankenhorn
"And Just Like That" Needs to Rework Its Diversity Approach in Season 2
When talks of a “Sex and the City” spinoff began, fans had genuine concerns about the show continuing in the exact same fashion as its predecessor. The original solely followed four white women with no leads of colour, and the LGBTQ+ characters weren’t quite fully realised, so diversity seemed nonexistent. However, “And Just Like That” overcompensates for this in season one as nearly all of its diversity and inclusion efforts feel like they try too hard. Outside of casting more Black, nonwhite, and queer actors, “And Just Like That” doesn’t quite do them justice in the way the show set out to. So if the revival wants to redeem itself in the future, it’s best that the series takes a more authentic approach to diversity that doesn’t try to shove it down our throats.
