Karen’s Quirky NYC Mourns: And Just Like That, It’s Over

Like millions of people, I eagerly devoured every episode of Sex and the City (SATC), which aired from 1998 to 2004. I even bought a DVD player to watch the series after I gave up cable TV. I wasn’t alone in being obsessed with the four sexy, strong female characters, and their hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking escapades and relationships. The show’s popularity continued to grow over six seasons, until over 10.6 million viewers tuned in to see the series finale.

New York was billed as the fifth character, and while I identified with all four women—writer Carrie Bradshaw, lawyer Miranda Hobbes, art gallerist Charlotte York, and publicist Samantha Jones—it was New York City that became my fantasy lover. I’ve been living that dream since moving here in 2017! I even contrived to meet and massage Mr. Big, but that’s a story for another day.

So when the SATC reboot, And Just Like That . . . (AJLT) was announced, in 2021 (mid-pandemic), I was beyond excited. I was disappointed that my fellow Canadian Kim Cattrall wasn’t joining the fun, but I understood her point of view. She had moved on and had starred in her own series, Sensitive Skin (which I loved), and many other TV and movie roles, and didn’t want to go backward. Plus there may have been a feud that factored into the equation. Nonetheless, with Sarah Jessica Parker reprising her role as Carrie, Cynthia Nixon as Miranda, Kristin Davis as Charlotte York Goldenblatt, and many other beloved series regulars returning, viewer excitement was enormous; AJLT was HBO Max’s most-watched series debut ever.

Perhaps because of the intense focus and anticipation, the reviews were mixed, and it took until Season 2 for AJLT to hit its stride. I think it was a tremendous challenge to bring back these characters whom we had loved in their 30s and show their true ages. On HDTV. It was a bit of a challenge for me to accept their aging, which was reflecting my own. The series was accused of being too woke (and Che Diaz, played by Sara Ramirez, even had a “woke” bell on her podcast in Season 1). People thought the attempts at sexual, racial, and gender inclusivity fell flat. And, perhaps, the storylines of the life challenges of middle-aged women weren’t as entertaining as the outrageous adventures of women we had last seen in their 30s.

Phooey! Down with the naysayers, I say. I am willing to forgive these flaws and more. I love the SATC:AJLT characters and the world they inhabit. The new female lead characters in AJLT brought sexy new energy to the business of being a powerful woman in NYC: Sarita Choudhury as real estate agent Seema Patel (adore!) and Nicole Ari Parker (no relation to SJP) as documentary filmmaker Lisa Todd Wexley. Plus many other enchanting male, female, and non-gendered characters.

The part I had a problem with was the killing off of Mr. Big. I wept! A lot! And overheard other women on the streets of Manhattan releasing torrents of tears. This death made it clear AJLT was going to be a new world. A season of mourning ended with Carrie scattering Big’s ashes in the Seine. Would he really have wanted to be there? Did the spot where he had one moment of true love measure up to his decades of love for New York?

In Season 2, Carrie looked up her other old love, Aidan Shaw (played by John Corbett). Eww. . . . That storyline was beyond awful. The highlight was when they agreed to a five-year “relationship pause”—one hoped she would be rid of him soon. You can imagine that didn’t end well. Some of the scenes with Aidan are the most distasteful TV I’ve ever viewed. (Until the overflowing toilet in the Season 3 series finale, that is.)

But things picked up for a while in Season 3, when Carrie finally let go of her Upper East Side (but actually Perry Street in the West Village) apartment. With Seema’s help, she moved into an ultra-modern apartment downtown (so bright white she had to wear shades), and then landed in her new digs at 3 Gramercy Park West. Miranda stayed there too, at first as a house-sitter, then as a yogurt-stealing roommate for a brief period of time. Here she met a dreamboat downstairs neighbor (UK biographer Duncan Reeves, played by Jonathan Cake). Seema hooked up with Carrie’s gardener (Adam Karma, played by Logan Marshall-Green), and things finally got interesting. To, you know, an aging SATC fan, namely me.

So to commemorate the coming and going of three years of hits and misses with some of my favorite people, whom I will always love, I visited a location from both series. I still don’t want to say goodbye.

Three Gramercy Park West is a dreamy nine-unit co-op that was used for the exteriors of Carrie’s new home on AJLT. Since I had previously dressed as Carrie on the steps of her West Village brownstone, I decided to play her houseguest and roomie, Miranda. This was a bit of an identity shift for me, to let go of being writer Carrie, but I felt smart and tough and possibly lesbian as I channeled Miranda’s inner growth as a character.

Then I went to Cafeteria at 119 Seventh Ave. in Chelsea, to meet up with my crew of smart, sexy friends who were willing to re-create a nostalgic SATC moment with me. Cafeteria was the setting for most of the brunch scenes in the SATC series, and these scenes were the heart of the show. This is what I’ve tried to re-create with my women friends time and again. And finally, it happened! We came, we slayed, we drank cosmos, we screamed with laughter, we staggered home. Where, like Carrie in her “epiphanematic” moment, I was not alone, but on my own. Just me and my city.

Style Notes

This glorious emerald-green satin tuxedo-lapeled blouse with nude and sequined cutouts by Andrea T New York is paired with Andrea’s sexy, sleek black satin joggers. Black patent-leather fetish shoes from Berlin complete the outfit. Totally worthy of my ladies!

Karen Rempel is a New York-based writer, model, and artist. Her Karen’s Quirky New York column illuminates quirky clothes and places in Manhattan. For an expanded version of this story, see https://karenqs.nyc.