‘And Just Like That’ is back for season 3, but women over 50 are still underrepresented on TV

Grab your finest Manolo Blahnik heels and pour yourself a cosmo: The season three premiere of the Sex and the City revival series And Just Like That is upon us.

Episode one of 10 drops today (Thursday, May 29) on HBO Max, with the rest following on a weekly basis. This fashion-filled series follows the lives of Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis)—who are now in their mid-50s—as they navigate motherhood, aging, grief, and so much more. Let’s look at how the show handles mature women, the series’ critical reception, and cast updates.

‘And Just Like That’ serves a bigger purpose

It’s no secret that the entertainment industry isn’t kind to experienced women. The older an actress gets, the less prevalent the meaty roles become.

According to a 2021 Nielsen Gracenote Inclusion Analytics, women over 50 make up 20% of the population but get just 8% of screen time. Further complicating matters, when women do see themselves on screen, they are more often than not stereotyped into maternal, caregiver roles—or spinster detectives—and not allowed to be complex individuals.

When And Just Like That first premiered in December 2021, it sought to rectify this underrepresentation. 

What the critics and fans thought of the first two seasons

Fans were eager to see their favorite New Yorkers back on the small screen. According to Deadline, the first two episodes of season one were the most watched series premiere of a new HBO or HBO Max series on the streaming service until House of the Dragon took the title.

After watching, however, critics and fans had some notes for the cable network.

New York Times critic James Poniewozik quipped that “it all went wrong” and even asked, “Was this really necessary?” He pointed out many awkward attempts to make the series more diverse, but gave the creators credit for trying. Entertainment Weekly’s Darren Franich agreed, celebrating the series for being better than the movies in certain regards, but also pointing out it “tries too hard to bring its cultural brand into a new era.” 

Fans echoed these sentiments, and the internet went wild. For a while, it was trendy to “hate watch” the series and criticize it online. “Season 1 was probably the worst season of television i’ve ever seen and I was excited for every episode,” explained one Reddit user. “The show is baaaad but I’m ultimately having a good time.”

Thankfully And Just Like That only improved with age. Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson wrote that the series “found its footing” in its second season. It is only right to hope that season three will continue this trend, especially since the creatives had a two-year break to get things right.

What happened at the end of the last season?

At the end of season two, Carrie held a goodbye dinner for her iconic brownstone apartment. She and Aiden (John Corbet) purchased a place together in Gramercy Park. When his son gets into a car accident, he asks to take a five-year pause on their relationship until his kids are older.

Miranda and Che (Sara Ramirez) are officially over but she flirts with a BBC producer named Joy (Dolly Wells). Charlotte, meanwhile, has returned to the workforce and asks her husband to get more involved in domestic affairs.

What is expected for season three?

Cast announcements may give fans a clue about potential plotlines in the new season. Sara Ramirez will not return, but Dolly Wells has been made a series regular. This could signal that Miranda might have a new love interest.

Karen Pittman, who played Dr. Nya Wallace, is also not returning to the series because of scheduling conflicts. This could instead mean that Joy takes her place as Miranda’s friend. Sebastiano Pigazzi, who plays Giuseppe, a love interest for Anthony, has also been promoted to a series regular.

New iconic faces will also be joining the series this season. While exact details are being held close to the vest, Rosie O’Donnell has confirmed that she will play a character named Mary. Broadway diva Patti LuPone will also have a significant role.

Male actors are getting in on the action as well. Logan Marshall-Green, Mehcad Brooks, and Jonathan Cake will steam up season three.

As the wider Sex and the City universe continues to evolve, we can’t help but wonder what new trails (and fashion trends) these fictional characters will blaze.