It’s been seventeen years since the finale of Sex and the City aired on HBO, and eleven since the gang reunited for a big screen sequel that managed to earn close to $300 million at the box office despite being widely panned for almost everything about it, but weaponized nostalgia has increasingly become Hollywood’s new favorite plaything.
As a result, And Just Like That… A New Chapter of Sex and the City was designed to appeal to those who were huge fans of the show during its first airing on television, and those that have since been converted via reruns or streaming. It’s a very cynical enterprise on paper, and the lukewarm reviews have reflected that.
However, HBO Max are touting the revival as the most-watched series premiere in the platform’s history, and one of its ten top debuts ever across film and television. Of course, the streaming service hasn’t provided any actual concrete data to support any of these claims, so we’ll just have to take the press release at its word.
It does make sense, though, especially when you consider HBO Max hasn’t yet tapped into the nostalgia market all that heavily, and Sex and the City was one of the biggest shows on television at the height of its powers, meaning that the only real loser when it comes to And Just Like That… is probably Peleton.