AND THEN THERE WERE

The frocks and friendships are still fabulous as Sex And The City is reborn – just a little more woke – in a new television series

And just like that, they’re back. No, it’s not a Tommy Cooper-style magic trick, but a return to the fashion, friendships and frenetic New York lives and romances of the Sex And The City ladies.

Carrie Bradshaw and her pals are returning for ten-part show And Just Like That… 17 years after the sixth and final season of the original hit TV series, which charted the course of newspaper sex column writer Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her three best friends – clever lawyer Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), prim Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) and unstoppable Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall).

Two subsequent successful films only added to the clamour for more Sex And The City. Last year Sarah Jessica and producer Michael Patrick King decided to give the new series a go when they were discussing making a Sex And The City behind-the-scenes podwe cast. ‘We spoke about what were missing in the pandemic: joy, community and the experience being together,’ Sarah Jessica has said. ‘The world of Carrie and her friends has always been about coming home, and I felt like we needed that now. Sex And The

City has always been about the friendships that sustain you.’

Well, most of the friendships; Kim Cattrall is not returning as Samantha after a well-publicised falling out with Sarah Jessica. As for the storylines, they’ve been kept under wraps but the series starts where we left off. Carrie is still writing and has the elusive Mr Big (Chris Noth) in her life – although shots from the new series show her kissing another man, played by US actor Jon Tenney.

Her clothes are still fabulous but while the ladies were once trying to work out the best ways

but also the most inclusive (or woke) series yet. After the show was criticised for being too white, AfricanAmerican actress Nicole Ari Parker joins the cast as Lisa Todd Wexley, a wealthy mother of three and documentary maker. Sara Ramirez comes in as podcaster Che Diaz, a nonbinary character (someone whose gender identity is not exclusively male or female). And there’s a bigger role for Lily (Cathy Ang), Charlotte’s adopted daughter from China.

‘Young women will still relate to this story,’ says Sarah Jessica. ‘It’s about finding friendships that matter, looking for work that fulfils you and pursuing love – even when it drags you, bloodied, down the street.’ ■

Nicole Lampert And Just Like That…, Thursday, 9pm, Sky Comedy and NOW.