AJLT's Carrie Bradshaw is Just Another White Rich Woman Now, and Nobody Needs That
She's out of touch with the world and audience.
Nobody knows what makes a TV show popular. Perhaps a well-written script, a stellar cast, and an original premise could help, but there's no definitive way to predict if a project will succeed.
For what it's worth, HBO's Sex and the City was an instant hit, gaining recognition from audiences worldwide. It spanned six seasons, spawned two big-screen instalments, and two spin-offs, with the latest currently airing.
However, the parent show's success doesn't necessarily guarantee that its offshoots will also be successful, as And Just Like That… is failing to live up to SATC's glory. Many reasons contribute to this, but arguably, the characters' lack of relatability is the new show's biggest drawback.
HBO's original show revolved around four young female friends living it up in New York – Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte. In AJLT, Samantha is missing in action, but the spin-off introduces a plethora of new characters that hardly any viewer seems to care about. Meanwhile, the original trio appears entirely out of touch with the real world. Carrie, in particular, is no longer her former self. While she used to inspire many women with the way she strove to make it in the Big Apple as a journalist and a woman while struggling financially along the way, now Carrie has turned into the kind of wealthy white woman she once made fun of.
On SATC, Carrie's financial problems were often pivotal to the plot. On And Just Like That…, by contrast, Carrie is incredibly rich, having inherited the wealth of her late husband, Mr. Big. She rubs shoulders with the elite at the Met Gala, has a Vivienne Westwood gown in her wardrobe, and doesn't hesitate to donate a hundred grand to charity.
On the one hand, fans are expected to be happy that things have turned out so well for their beloved character. On the other, Carrie is no longer as relatable and lovable as she used to be. No matter how much it resembles a Cinderella story, it just doesn't click with audiences in 2023. After all, there are plenty of movies and shows based around the same basic narrative, and there's nothing original about them. Sadly, Ms. Bradshaw has now joined their stale and uninspired ranks.