Like millions of other Sex and the City (SATC) fans across the world, I was palpably excited for And Just Like That (AJLT).
Having put the horrors of the second Sex and the City film out of my head, I was genuinely interested to see what the four favourite formerly single girls had been up to during their time away.
I wasn’t even put off when Kim Cattrall announced she wasn’t going to be returning as Samantha. While she was a pivotal player in the original quartet, Samantha’s storylines often failed to extend beyond which handsome man she was shagging that week.
I just couldn’t wait to sit around the brunch table with those women again, listening to them discuss life and love in their 50s, each salient point perfectly packaged with the characteristic sparkling wit that made the show so popular.
But as And Just Like That creaks towards the finale, I couldn’t help but wonder – why am I still watching it?
AJLT is clearly trying to right the wrongs of its predecessor – and SATC had numerous problems. Its lack of diversity, lazy reliance on stereotypes and its painfully outdated and offensive opinions on topics such as bisexuality and transgender women were certainly problematic.
While And Just Like That should be applauded in trying to correct its previous mistakes, the writing team has done such a cack-handed job in trying to be as ‘woke’ as possible that’s it’s embarrassing to the point of unwatchable.