On Dec. 9, HBO Max premiered its new chapter of the late 90s hit drama-comedy, Sex and the City. This revival, titled And Just Like That…, brings back the original show’s most iconic characters and actors: Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Big (Chris Noth), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Steve (David Eigenberg), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Harry (Evan Handler).

Based on the book by Candace Bushnell, Sex and the City follows Carrie, a 35-year-old sex columnist for the fictional newspaper, The New York Star. Accompanied by her three friends — Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda — the show depicted their unpredictable dating lives and misadventures in Manhattan as they searched for love and lust. 

The 2021 reboot flashes viewers forward to their lives 20 years later; now all in long-term relationships, the show observes the women navigating even more complicated love lives in their 50s.

One key component fans have noticed missing from And Just Like That…, is Samantha, portrayed by Kim Catrall, as Carrie’s third best friend. Parker and Cattrall had a sufficiently public feud during the original show’s filming, which is what most fans seem to attribute to Catrall’s absence. While many were skeptical of the storyline continuing without Samantha, the series continues to progress as the now three women face different challenges.

The original show, while an essential catalyst for opening the discussion of women’s sexual health and lifestyles, never truly accommodated people of color. Today’s version looks to correct the past show’s mistakes by introducing a new set of diverse characters. Producers and cast confirmed that some episodes cover the topic of race, in order to recognize SATC’s previous lack thereof. Additionally, over half of the writers on this reboot are non-white, an improvement from the original series’ undiversified writing team.

Currently, the first two episodes can now be streamed on HBO Max, with new episodes airing weekly. Although viewers do not know much about the direction in which the new series is going in, Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte back together again in New York City is a nostalgic enough reason to watch.