...and I completely understand the other reviewers' fatigue with preachy politics creeping into every medium and every genre. That said, watching the first episode today, I found myself oddly drawn into the story. Being familiar with the characters is a head start, as is having a soft spot for SJP's voice. I also sensed some hidden depths and layers throughout - some disturbing, some ironic, others practically sendup-y. (To be fair, there were dark undertones in the original SATC as well - e.g., the Mr. Big persona always struck me as a menacing, handler-type character rather than a lover in any sense of the word.)
Granted, the comedy is gone - the same way a sense of fun has been conspicuous by its absence in our real lives in the 2020s. (I did have a chuckle at things like Steve appearing a head shorter than in the past. I am 50+ myself, and I suppose I am lucky to be neither white-haired nor 60% deaf.) In that respect, the show mirrors our Zeitgeist exceedingly well. Whatever humor lurks about is subtle and subversive, and comes from the straight-up surreal nature of many of the situations the show depicts. Take the podcast scene... The personalities and the content aside, in what universe would the hosts decide, "hey, wouldn't this 55-year-old Park Avenue lady with her 90s sensibility be a great regular?"...
Maybe that is the way to enjoy And Just Like That: By relishing the bittersweet absurdity of what society has become. A place where the not so long ago hip & happenin' Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte have evolved into something of a shadow of their recent selves; throwbacks to a nearly forgotten era; shiny tokens in the new social order that has been constructed around them.
In sum, this is a different animal than SATC - to a point where it makes little sense comparing the two. I can almost see how losing MORE of the SATC quartet, and relinquishing any descriptions as 'comedy' or any other '-edy' might have augmented the project.
Granted, the comedy is gone - the same way a sense of fun has been conspicuous by its absence in our real lives in the 2020s. (I did have a chuckle at things like Steve appearing a head shorter than in the past. I am 50+ myself, and I suppose I am lucky to be neither white-haired nor 60% deaf.) In that respect, the show mirrors our Zeitgeist exceedingly well. Whatever humor lurks about is subtle and subversive, and comes from the straight-up surreal nature of many of the situations the show depicts. Take the podcast scene... The personalities and the content aside, in what universe would the hosts decide, "hey, wouldn't this 55-year-old Park Avenue lady with her 90s sensibility be a great regular?"...
Maybe that is the way to enjoy And Just Like That: By relishing the bittersweet absurdity of what society has become. A place where the not so long ago hip & happenin' Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte have evolved into something of a shadow of their recent selves; throwbacks to a nearly forgotten era; shiny tokens in the new social order that has been constructed around them.
In sum, this is a different animal than SATC - to a point where it makes little sense comparing the two. I can almost see how losing MORE of the SATC quartet, and relinquishing any descriptions as 'comedy' or any other '-edy' might have augmented the project.