And Just Like That...It's Over

When Sex and the City premiered in June of 1998, I was living in Japan. The show hadn't made its way there yet (there were no streaming services like today), and I was limited to popular shows from home. The video store had some English movies, but the variety was lacking, and Netflix was still years away. As much as I treasured my Japanese dramas (Beach Boys and Love Generation), I still craved a good show from home. I had read Candace Bushnell's novel, Sex and the City, so I was looking forward to the TV adaptation. 

My friend Kate's student traveled to the U.S. in 2000 and was able to procure a box set of DVDs. We made plans to binge the entire season while sharing wine and pizza. As soon as we heard the opening static of the HBO intro, we were hooked. When the music cued up, we saw Sarah Jessica Parker walking the streets of New York in the most fabulous outfit, just before getting splashed by a bus with an ad for her own newspaper column. 

Watching these four women navigate their 30s as single women in New York was refreshing. They were polar opposites, but they were still close. Kate and I barely took a break while we marathon-watched the entire box set. I was so enchanted by the show that when I stepped out of Kate's apartment to return to my own, I experienced culture shock. After watching all that English TV and seeing the New York sites, I momentarily forgot I resided in Shizuoka. I quickly returned to earth as I hopped on my bicycle (not hailing a yellow taxi) and rode by rice fields and pachinko parlours.

It was an escape. 

Eventually, I would watch all six seasons and then watch the two movies that followed. The fashion, Cosmopolitans, and all the men and obstacles Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda went through made the viewer feel like they were right there along for the ride. It was sad to say goodbye to these characters when the show came to an end. 

Then in 2021, HBO Max announced there would be a revival, And Just Like That..., with 3 of the 4 main characters returning. The show would take place 11 years after the movie Sex and the City 2, where we see the women navigating life in their 50s. While I was excited to see these women again, the 3 seasons of And Just Like That... didn't feel the same as the original. It was often too woke and cringey, and it felt like the characters were no longer the same women we once adored. The acting and writing were just bad, with huge gaps in the plot. If they had evolved as characters, it would have been fine, but it was as if they forgot who they were. The show was a disappointment, but I still hate-watched it faithfully. It wasn't the same without Kim Cattrall, and the writing fell short. On August 14th, after 27 years, we bid farewell to Carrie Bradshaw and the girls.

I will return to the original series because it feels somewhat therapeutic and nostalgic witnessing these friends talk, laugh, fight, and love each other. It will remind me of my friend Kate, who is still living in Japan. I am grateful for this franchise. It taught women to have fun with fashion, to love themselves, and that life doesn't end at 30. I just think they deserved a better ending. 

~MT