As “And Just Like That,” the dour “Sex and the City” sequel, comes mercifully to an end this week, there are already rumors swirling that there will be a second season because the cast and crew want to “prove a point.” Show star Sarah Jessica Parker recently said “there’s momentum” for another season.
On behalf of those of us who loved “Sex and the City” — please don’t. Let us cling to the happy memories of the series we still have left.
When “Sex and the City” first blasted onto our TVs in 1998, I was a teenager, and it was at the height of a chastity craze. Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore were all loudly proclaiming their intention to remain virgins until marriage. But what if you were a teen who thought you might enjoy sex, and maybe didn’t want to get married at 22? “Sex and the City” gave me, and I suspect a lot of other young women, hope that sex could be great, even if you didn’t marry your partner. And, more importantly, it gave people hope that, single or married, our thirties could be filled with friends, cool shoes and a lot of fun.
“And Just Like That” hasn’t failed because, as gay comedian Lea DeLaria suggested, its aging audience has “issues” with nonbinary people. Nor has it failed because of the agism Sarah Jessica Parker has complained about.
The series killed off Mr. Big (played by Chris Noth), but there has been no joy in Carrie Bradshaw’s widowhood. Steve Sands/NewYorkNewswire/Bauer-Griffin/ShutterstockIt’s failed because it’s no fun whatsoever.
Our lead Carrie Bradshaw’s (Parker’s) husband, Mr. Big (Chris Noth), has been famously felled by a Peloton, but there is no merriment in Carrie’s widowhood. In the season following, Carrie proceeded to have hip surgery and spilled urine all over herself in bed as she recovered. She’s informed she needs a facelift. She has neighbors who keep her awake all night and a new apartment she hates. When she goes on a date with a man, she gets so drunk she vomits on him. To be fair, he also vomits on her.
It’s unclear why the makers of this show thought that an audience who historically loved the fashion and glamour of “SATC” would enjoy seeing an abundance of unpleasant bodily fluids, but that’s what they gave us.
Miranda has it no better than Carrie. She’s left her job as a corporate lawyer, taken up drinking at 10:45 a.m., and by episode five has declared that she’s hated her life since “forever.” She abruptly leaves her 17-year marriage after cheating on Steve with Che Diaz, a nonbinary, deeply unfunny comedian played by Sara Ramirez who has been described as “the worst character on TV.” She then waits miserably for Che to call her while berating herself for wanting to put labels on the relationship.
Charlotte, a stay-at-home mom with two children still happily offering her husband blowjobs, seems to be rewarded by the writers for making the most traditional choices. At least, she’s spared the abundance of indignities heaped on the other characters. However, she still manages to menstruate onto her white pants and has a teenager who asks her to pull out her tampon for her.
It often feels like the characters are being punished for the writers’ sins in failing to make the original show sufficiently progressive and diverse. They’ve now attempted to correct that by giving every character a friend of a different race. That would be great if the characters acted like some approximation of normal humans around their new friends instead of like a bunch of lunatics.
Charlotte, a stay-at-home mom, seems to have been rewarded by the writers for making the most traditional choices. Startraksphoto.comWhen a black friend of Charlotte’s plans to come for a dinner party, Charlotte runs around trying to collect other black guests for the event as though they’re characters out of Pokémon. Miranda greets her black professor with a jumble of word salad about black hair, and then cringingly asks if she’s being a white savior when she stops that professor from getting mugged.
In “SATC,” Miranda had a long-running relationship with Dr. Robert Leeds, played by the African-American actor Blair Underwood, so it’s bizarre to see her behave as though she’s never talked to a black person before.
Che Diaz (left), a nonbinary, deeply unfunny comedian played by Sara Ramirez, has been described as “the worst character on TV.” HBOAll of them are guilt-ridden all the time, though — Miranda is not only a mess around black people, she’s so worried about seeming less than sex-positive that she’s letting her son have libidinous love-ins at her house without complaint (I strongly suspect the writers of this show have never met a teenager, most of whom do not want their parents to have much familiarity with their genitals or sex life). Carrie buys an apartment she dislikes because she’s worried she’s made her real estate agent show her too many apartments. Carrie, that’s what real-estate agents do.
Didn’t these women used to go after what they wanted and demand it?
“And Just Like That” tried desperately (so desperately) to seem modern and progressive. But in a world where countless industries and individuals thrive off of women feeling guilty and inadequate, what made “Sex and the City” revolutionary was its willingness to depict women being unashamedly, even selfishly, joyful.
In “SATC,” Miranda had a long-running relationship with Dr. Robert Leeds, played by African-American actor Blair Underwood (left). So why is she suddenly unable to talk to black people? Steven Hirsch/Splash NewsThe only consolation is knowing that Samantha Jones is well out of this mess, off in London. I hope she’s having great sex and enjoying a martini at Claridge’s. And, God, I hope she gets her own show.
Jennifer Wright is an author, columnist and journalist. Twitter: @JenAshleyWright
