By Patrick DeMarco
And just like that…..our Cosmo sipping, fashion forwarding, New York City owning ladies of Sex and the City are heading back into our runway ready lives.
Well, most of them. Sigh…we miss you already, the most iconic, Ms. Samantha Jones.
Yes, there’s just so, so (like, so) many burning questions before we revisit Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) in And Just Like That, HBO Max’s upcoming SATC 10-episode revival series that’s slated to begin filming in NYC this spring.
While we could spend all day sorting out the many, many reasons Kim Cattrall‘s absence for this reinvented romp will be felt more than when Ginger left the Spice Girls, we have to keep pressing forward….and maybe obsess over out how they’ll also sort out Mr. Big’s (Chris Noth) absence for this go around?
Here we…go.
1.Welcome to 2021, ladies…it ain’t so fabulous. How will they deal with this mess? Political turmoil. Racial injustice. A global pandemic. Sadly, this is this the world we live in, and we can only imagine that it will also paint a vivid picture of the world AJLT is destined to be dressed up in. We already know Parker has said that the pandemic will “absolutely” be a part of the storyline, however, this is still Sex we’re gabbing about here, so let’s hope it will still give the same fabulous escape it used to without going too far into our tormented reality. We crave all the fabulousness we can get, ladies!! Calling famed Sex costume diva Patricia Field!! Let us pray up the runway she offers her iconic efforts once again while we work our Manolos.
As much as we can most likely expect the most diverse fashion on the face of the planet, we can also expect a much welcomed diverse writing crew this time around. Without going into too much here, the lack of diversity–and sometime social ignorance–that was seemingly underwritten (and overlooked) during Sex’s hay days is a whole entire different article. Sips Cosmo….
Along with returning show frontrunner Michael Patrick King (do better…?) and veteran Sex writers Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky, hilarious black comedienne and writer Samantha Irby (look her up right here, right now), Rachna Fruchbom ( former EP, Fresh Off the Boat), and Black Lightning writer, Keli Goff, will also be joining the new romp. We’re excited and…ready. Takes another sip.
2.What the f**k will be going on with Carrie and Big? Sigh…first Samantha, now Mr. Big?? Yes, it’s true…but, we kind of knew it was coming. First, it didn’t help for fans that Chris Noth has said that he “hated” how the writers handled him and Carrie’s relationship in the films (namely..the ending closet scene in the first movie is in his tormented top spot), but we also have to bring our attention to...Sex and the City 3?!
Yes, the illicit third film in the series that sadly never saw the light of the day containing the plot line that Big has a heart attack in the shower and leaves Carrie dealing with life as a single widow. While we don’t want to even imagine our beloved Mr. Big in the Sex afterlife, it seems as if this might be the direction the revisit will be heading in. It just has to, right? We’ll bet our Vivienne Westwood wedding gown on it.
And what about Miranda’s Steve Brady (David Eigenberg) and Charlotte’s beloved Prince Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler)? Although it was rumored that Eigenberg won’t be returning, Page Six has reported that he’s in negotiations. Hmm, will the Brooklyn Bridge strutting pair turn out to be…happily divorced in the revival? And as we already know, Handler is set to return, and if there’s any couple who deserved to survive the drama, it’s certainly Charlotte and Harry. Maseltov!
3.Oh, Samantha….how will they deal with this mess? Here we go…and, sadly, she goes. When news broke that Cattrall wouldn’t be joining the gals for another SATC adventure, we couldn’t help but wonder….fuck. No Samantha? Just how will they pull this off since, you know, she was most of the sex in Sex. Presumably with…friendships fading? Yes, according to HBO MAX chief content officer, Casey Bloy, as he recently told TVLINE, “It is very much a story of women in their 50s, just as in real life, people come into your life, people leave. Friendships fade.”
While we can absolutely agree with that point because, you know, life sometimes, but wouldn’t it have been easier to keep our girl Samantha around in some kind of a way instead of coming up with a scripted fallout between the women? Maybe keep her “alive” through text messages, emails, little hints in the script that she actually does exist? What, was there tension behind the scenes or something?
While we’ll have to wait until the AJLT premiere until all former bestie truth is revealed, we can say that Ms. Jones…you will be sorely missed for this go-around. You better do Samantha right, SJP. We’re watching.
4.Can we do better with the gays this time, gals? This one’s a tough one. We have to face it, as much as SATC was huge with the gays due to its forward fashion and open-aired sex discussions, the show actually missed the mark with the LGBTQ community more times than it ever should have. Remember when the writers just jumped Samantha into a lesbian affair without her ever exploring the thought of bisexuality? Or, on the flip side, when Carrie made ignorantly commented that bisexuality was just a “layover on the way to Gay Town.” Yikes, gurl, yikes.
While, true, it was indeed a different time and place back then, there was always something slightly out of touch with the way the show handled the gay community for having such a big fan base within. Case in point, everyone’s favorite Sex odd gay married couple, Stanford (Willie Garson)and Anthony (Mario Cantone). While we lived for their sass, they seemed to only be stereotypically around when the girls were having some sort of crisis, and well, that’s about it. Since the rainbow is ruling the world these days, we’re thinking less stereotypes and more of all types of solid representation within the LGBTQ community who are doing their authentic thing in this shattered world we live in. No further slay-ments.
5.Will SATC 2 be mentioned….at all? If you take out the obvious hints of misogyny, racism and homophobia (thank you, Mr. Patrick King) the ladies trip to Abu Dhabi in the written off 2010 sequel didn’t make for it that horrible of a movie experience, right? Anybody? Aiden? You there? Why were you there?
Well, as long as it’s never mentioned…ever…we’ll choose to leave it where it belongs…on the failing report card of every movie critic–and some diehard fans–across the globe. Although, the much maligned sequel does make for the last time we’ll get to see Samantha with the rest of the ladies, lucky for us, she’s left behind a legacy of quips and sass that makes us forget all about that whole miserable overseas excursion. We should also be grateful for COVID travel restrictions this time around because no more decadent trips ladies…please. Ever again.
Okay, And Just Like That….your fashionable move. See you soon!
Cover photo courtesy of TVLINE
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