The powers at HBO Max know exactly what they’re doing. A mere 24 hours before dropping the season finale of And Just Like That’s second season—an episode where Kim Cattrall’s Samantha Jones is set to make her fabulous return—the streaming service announced the reboot had been renewed for a third season.
What kind of guerrilla marketing strategy is this to incite us to tune into the last episode? Just when we thought the loose ends would be tied up in this week’s finale, it seems like Carrie Bradshaw and her gaggle of Manhattanites are about to get carried away again with drama only explainable by a third season.sa
By the third season of Sex And The City, Carrie had delivered us an iconic John Galliano for Christian Dior moment in her newspaper dress after helping break up Big and Natasha’s marriage. She also broke Aidan’s heart (the first time) by cheating on him with her Big mistake. And of course, had made her transcontinental journey to Los Angeles, making for one of our favourite ‘East meets West Coast’ moments of television from the 2000s (closely followed by Gossip Girl).
So, it’s safe to say the third season of And Just Like That has a lot to live up to, and hopefully more Samantha Jones cameos, too.
“We are thrilled to spend more time in the Sex And The City universe telling new stories about the lives of these relatable and aspirational characters played by these amazing actors,” said executive producer and show runner Michael Patrick King to Variety in his statement announcing the upcoming season.
Sarah Aubrey, head of original content for Max, also told the publication that And Just Like That ranks as the “#1 Max Original overall, and is the most-watched returning Max Original to date”. “As we approach the highly anticipated season finale on Thursday, we raise our cosmos to Michael Patrick King and his magnificent team of writers, producers, cast and crew who continue to charm us, 25 years later, with dynamic friendships and engaging stories,” she added. “We cannot wait for audiences to see where season three will take our favourite New Yorkers.”
If we had a crystal ball, here’s what we’d predict seeing from Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda (and Seema and LTW). After her JW Anderson pigeon purse moment, Carrie goes full throttle into the LOEWE-verse (we see her wearing his ‘pinned fabric’ top from the Fall/Winter 2023 menswear collection as a mini dress to her next date), while trying to compete with Aidan for closet space (hello, déjà vu).
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She finally gets back into writing weekly after being introduced to sub stack by her old/new neighbour Lisette (Katerina Tannenbaum) meaning she can finally bid adieu to her old podcasting life (and buddies, including Che for Miranda’s sake). And most of all, she gets back to her iconic voiceovers! We couldn’t help but wonder whether And Just Like That needed fewer Carrie quips and more internal monologuing, especially when Carrie can now broadcast all her thoughts to the internet like a diary.
Lastly, we need men! Carrie’s second book wasn’t called Manhattan for nothing, and just because there are two single characters in the show, it doesn’t mean you can skirt around the pleasure (and pitfalls) of dating in New York by giving us an injured cyclist distracted by a sales pitch, though the set department did get bonus points for his house, and someone using a penis pump!
But, if Samantha’s return to our screens is signalling something, it’s that And Just Like That is certainly heading in the right direction. Perhaps the first two seasons are the amuse-bouche, with the third season the entrée we’re ready to sink our teeth into.
This story first appeared on GRAZIA International.