And Just Like That (2021) * * * (on HBO Max)

 

Starring:  Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Willie Garson, Mario Cantone, Evan Handler, Sara Ramirez, David Eigenberg, Chris Noth, Cathy Ang, Alexa Swinton, Niall Cunningham, Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker, Karen Pittman

Three of the four original stars of Sex and the City are back in And Just Like That..., an HBO Max series picking up the stories of Carrie (Parker), Miranda (Nixon), and Charlotte (Davis).  Conspicuously absent is Samantha, not surprising since Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker engaged in an ugly, very public feud.   Samantha was not written totally out of the series.   Her absence is explained as she is living in London and communication between she and the rest of the group has mostly ceased.

One character who is killed off (from a heart attack) is Carrie's husband Mr. Big (Noth), who succumbs following a Pelaton bike workout.  (Not good publicity for Pelaton on television these days, coupled with another Billions' character also suffering a non-fatal heart attack following a workout).   The rest of Carrie's season arc deals with her grief and her attempts to move on all the while wearing outfits which would be considered ostentatious on any red carpet.   Miranda falls in love with a non-binary comedian (Ramirez) as her marriage to Steve slips into the routine.   Charlotte and her husband Harry (Handler) are faced with their daughter Rose growing into a transgender identity.   If nothing else, And Just Like That can't be faulted for lack of representation of minority groups, something which was a base of criticism of the previous series.   The original Sex and the City covered sexuality from all different angles.  Its sequel series follows in that tradition.  

Minus Carrie's voiceover narration, except for a line or two at the end of each episode, And Just Like That flows in the same fashion as its predecessor which makes it entertaining if not terribly deep.  That's fine.  Like Sex and the City, And Just Like That handles its topics in a lighter manner which makes it accessible to the viewer, even if the clothing ensembles are not.