Leah Donato is a writer and an aspiring screenwriter currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Leah has had an incredibly gigantic passion for film and writing stories since she was a little girl, and she always looks for opportunities to share her love of film with everyone she comes across. Through this, Leah hopes to achieve a sense of connectivity amongst the people around her with the stories she loves and the stories she writes. She wants the work she puts out to the world to be meaningful and provide a sense of comfort, which is what led her to TheHollywood Insider; a media network where she can have a space to share her thoughts and views on the artistic cultural world with a purpose whilst being true to herself and spreading positivity to create a more progressive mindset. When not writing, Leah spends the rest of her spare time watching movies and consuming multiple different types of media such as music and video games.
Dec 26, 2021
Table of Contents
Photo: ‘And Just Like That’
HBO Max has given the darling (and fashionable) fans of ‘Sex and the City’ the ultimate treat since our last piece of content with ‘Sex and the City 2’ was eleven years ago. Through its beautiful sense of style, and the nostalgic comedy that we all know and love, ‘And Just Like That…’ shows itself to be a prime example of a revival done utterly perfectly; something that gives its long-time (and new) fans what they truly deserve.
The long-awaited revival premiered with the first two episodes to kick off the mini-series; and, oh my god, were these two episodes certainly a rollercoaster of emotion to begin this sequel. The story of ‘Sex and the City’ always showcased itself to never be something entirely tame. The show was filled with (at most times) vulgar talks of sexuality and drama that made you want to tune immediately into the next episode, and this was one of the main aspects of what made this show so evocative to watch. A series where it was ultimately a female-led show that impacted audiences at the time.
This element proves itself to be prominent in ‘And Just Like That…”
‘And Just Like That…’ features, of course, the older beloved group of friends Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte, as they transition through the friendship they had in their 30s to their much more mature one in their 50s. Life for the group picks back up soon after the events in ‘Sex and the City 2’, and everything seems to become more complicated and interesting for the group of friends; but they’re all still there for each other, no matter what. Well…almost all of them.
Sadly, the group is absent of one of the well-known friends we had all come to love: Samantha. The beloved character has moved to the UK and no longer answers anyone’s texts or calls; leaving the three to navigate their more rather grown lives with just each other. In the second episode, ‘Little Black Dress’, we get a hint that Samantha may come back at some point; but according to an article from Yahoo, it seems Kim Cattral has no interest in coming back into the series at any point. Regardless, everyone wishes her the best; and we know that the series can maintain the gracefulness that it’s established thus far, even if one of our rather loved characters is absent.
Overall, based on the first two episodes, the plot feels as though it’s progressing wonderfully coherent; and that the sentimental element that the original series had of getting audiences to be intrigued on what was possibly about to come next for the group of friends, was certainly present. The variety of characters, the subplots that have been set up for each person, and the way the writing has stayed true to the original (with the dynamic between everyone maintaining its foundational energy that’s been established for years), reveal that this sequel is incredibly admirable. It’s so interesting how the story fits into our current world as though the characters are living in our universe. The progressivity of our society now compared to the 90s certainly reflects itself in the revival: More LGTBQ rights, new trends in fashion, the impact of COVID, etc. On top of this, it is also so wonderful to see how far Carrie has come from being a sex columnist writing alone in her room, to a new lavish life full of the true love that she had always looked for.
The original creator of ‘Sex and the City’, Darren Star, is brought back into being the creator once more. And by his side yet again is the one who has directed (and written) the most episodes out of anyone in ‘Sex and the City’ (including the two films): Michael Patrick King. Despite not being the one who first brought this series to life, King captures the essence and spirit that made ‘Sex and the City’ so amazingly, and he and Star are an incredible duo when working together. ‘And Just Like That…” overall seems to be one of King’s masterpieces in the world of directing and writing these characters, and it’s truly beneficial for him being in his old production roles due to how involved he had been with the 90s show in the past.
However, the ones we can turn our attention to in the production side of this revival are the cast. Sarah Jessica Parker (playing Carrie), Kristin Davis (playing Charlotte), and Cynthia Nixon (playing Miranda) perform beyond wonderfully; and they seem to envelop themselves into their characters just like the first time we ever got to see them. This brought me back to the first time I saw the series, and I loved how much care and love seemed to be put into their performances as well. It made me feel as though the actors were more than happy to be there and to step back into the roles they had loved to play in for so long.
Let us not forget to point out the importance of the technical side of this production. The general cinematography feels so familiar to how the original series was filmed; this was absolutely the way to go about this. While it is admittable that the cinematography isn’t exactly cinematic, the cinematographer Tim Norman is notable in his work of filming ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘The Sopranos’. So, as we can see, Norman knows how to get that 90s television feeling that was such a charming part of ‘Sex and the City’.
And Just Like That…Here We Are
To bring everything and mix it all into a wonderful bowl of iconic and nostalgia, ‘And Just Like That…” is the revival that ‘Sex and the City’ fans deserve. I know I’ve been a fan of ‘Sex and the City’ ever since I was a teenager, and seeing this new series is fantastic. It gives the characters (and us) more ways of trying to figure out just how the group will solve the new problems that arise for them as their story goes on. The show is an incredible experience to sit down and watch for a night of relaxation; and a perfect way to spend your time for those of you now on your winter break. The classic and familiar comedy will surely make you laugh, and the ending of the first episode (no spoilers!) is going to make you completely elated that HBO Max had decided to make this a two-episode premiere; even if the ending is less than happy.
New episodes of ‘And Just Like That’ will be premiering every Thursday on HBO Max, so be sure to stay tuned!
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Leah Donato is a writer and an aspiring screenwriter currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Leah has had an incredibly gigantic passion for film and writing stories since she was a little girl, and she always looks for opportunities to share her love of film with everyone she comes across. Through this, Leah hopes to achieve a sense of connectivity amongst the people around her with the stories she loves and the stories she writes. She wants the work she puts out to the world to be meaningful and provide a sense of comfort, which is what led her to TheHollywood Insider; a media network where she can have a space to share her thoughts and views on the artistic cultural world with a purpose whilst being true to herself and spreading positivity to create a more progressive mindset. When not writing, Leah spends the rest of her spare time watching movies and consuming multiple different types of media such as music and video games.
Leah Donato is a writer and an aspiring screenwriter currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Leah has had an incredibly gigantic passion for film and writing stories since she was a little girl, and she always looks for opportunities to share her love of film with everyone she comes across. Through this, Leah hopes to achieve a sense of connectivity amongst the people around her with the stories she loves and the stories she writes. She wants the work she puts out to the world to be meaningful and provide a sense of comfort, which is what led her to TheHollywood Insider; a media network where she can have a space to share her thoughts and views on the artistic cultural world with a purpose whilst being true to herself and spreading positivity to create a more progressive mindset. When not writing, Leah spends the rest of her spare time watching movies and consuming multiple different types of media such as music and video games.
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