Sex And The City's Forgotten First Spinoff Ignored What Made The Original Series Great
Airing for just two seasons, The Carrie Diaries is a long-forgotten spinoff that follows the teen life of Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. Considered one of the quintessential early 2000s series, Sex and the City is known for its unapologetically honest look into a 30-something-year-old’s career, dating experiences, and sex life; something that the prequel series failed to recreate. Initially announced as a one-off miniseries, And Just Like That... season 3 recently debuted. Despite acquiring multiple renewals, its reviews are quite mixed. And Just Like That... season 3's Rotten Tomatoes score is 68%, whereas some fans claim it does a fine job of addressing modern issues, while others feel it’s a disappointing continuation of an iconic series. In addition to And Just Like That..., a much lesser-known spinoff series, or rather, prequel, was released in 2013. However, The Carrie Diaries, despite its undeniable charm, was met with similar reviews to those of Sex and the City’s other spinoff. The issue with both series seems to be that the writers have forgotten what made the original source material so groundbreaking.
And Just Like That... Is Much Better, But Everyone Forgets Sex And The City's First Spinoff
Before Carrie's NYC Column, There Was The Carrie Diaries
And Just Like That... claims to follow a similar plot to that of its predecessor: a group of close-knit friends navigating a series of complicated relationships and career issues, only now they’re in their 50s. However, the sequel show has completely lost touch with its roots, attempting to be too modern, and thus, letting go of the early 2000s charm that has kept audiences watching the original series twenty years later.
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Nevertheless, despite its flaws, And Just Like That... is still much better than The Carrie Diaries. Starring AnnaSophia Robb, this series aired for two seasons on The CW before ultimately being cancelled. Robb’s character, a young Carrie Bradshaw, worked as an intern at a legal office and secretly at a magazine company on the side during her junior year of high school in the big city.
The Carrie Diaries Ignored What Made Sex And The City So Successful
Some Topics Simply Can't Be Translated Into A Teen Romance Story
While the idea of a Sex and the City prequel sounds great in theory, the execution was subpar, at best. There are many reasons the original series was so popular, but ultimately, it comes down to Sex and the City’s relatability and down-to-earth writing style.
The Carrie Diaries series was doomed from the start.
Carrie’s ability to tie her everyday experiences into her writing, while asking seemingly basic, yet brutally honest questions about her sex life, is one of the most accurate depictions of a writer’s mind in TV history. The overall aesthetic of Sex and the City is also undeniably timeless, from Carrie’s iconic outfits to Samantha’s raunchy jokes. No matter how hard the writers tried, The Carrie Diaries series was doomed from the start. Considering what made the four women in Sex and the City so relatable was their struggles with adult relationships, it was simply impossible for The Carrie Diaries to replicate the same concept with teenage characters. One of the most interesting Sex and the City characters was Miranda Hobbs, and her constant dilemma of balancing life as an independent woman and wanting companionship as she entered her late 30s. Though it’s not impossible for a teenage character to struggle with the same issue, Miranda being a powerful career woman whose “biological clock was ticking” in the eyes of society is what made her such an inspiration. While some series like Euphoria push the boundaries of depicting the sexual exploits of teens on screen, The Carrie Diaries generally steered clear of showing anything sexual. Although the series did address questions surrounding sexuality and relationships, it simply wouldn’t make sense to cover the wide range of topics that Sex and the City explored.
And Just Like That... Confirms Where The Carrie Diaries Went Wrong
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While And Just Like That... certainly has its flaws, fans can’t help but watch shows to keep in touch with their favorite characters of the past. AnnaSophia Robb and the rest of The Carrie Diaries cast did a wonderful job, but there’s something so comforting about watching the original characters come back once more for their sequel series. By requiring a different cast, The Carrie Diaries lost the franchise's target audience. With an overabundance of TV shows geared towards teenage audiences, the writers were right to assume that a Sex and the City sequel should grow with their audience. Instead of exploring the sex lives of the younger generations, like so many stories do, And Just Like That... relates to women in their 40s, 50s, and above.
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Season 4 of And Just Like That hasn’t been confirmed yet, although Sarah Jessica Parker remains hopeful. The reviews may not justify an additional season, but loyal fans will nonetheless be disappointed to part with the characters once and for all. In an interview with Elle UK in May, Parker stated that they hadn't had a conversation with the series creator about season 4 yet. The legacy that Sex and the City left is difficult to compete with and will never fully be recreated. While The Carrie Diaries attempted to provide a unique look into Carrie Bradshaw’s life, And Just Like That... proves that sometimes, some ideas are better left alone. Source: Elle UK
The Carrie Diaries
Release Date
2013 - 2014-00-00
