After four long years, Sex and the City characters, whose stories fizzled out after six seasons of TV and two movies, with a third movie never getting off the ground.

With the original Sex and the City receiving some backlash with age, when we finally saw Carrie again in 2021, And Just Like That... attempted to redeem some of the And Just Like That… season 3 has finally broken through a frustrating trend with its premiere.

And Just Like That Season 3 Is The Revival's First Season Without A Divisive Rotten Tomatoes Score

And Just Like That Season 3 Is So-Far Certified Fresh

Breaking a trend that lasted two seasons, And Just Like That... season 3 is the Sex and the City revival’s first season to achieve critical acclaim. And Just Like That... season 3 garnered a 78% score on And Just Like That… season 3 sets a record-high for the show. Max debuted And Just Like That... season 3 on May 29, returning after a nearly two-year hiatus. Now that the numbers have come in, the wait appears to have been worthwhile.

And Just Like That... season 1 garnered an abysmal 48% Rotten Tomatoes score.

While the 78% may not seem over-the-moon impressive, Rotten Tomatoes considers anything with a rating of 75% or higher Certified Fresh, a term essentially affirming that it’s good TV. The metric improves upon divisive rankings from the revival’s debut. And Just Like That... season 1 garnered an abysmal 48% Rotten Tomatoes score on the review site. And Just Like That… season 2 showed slight improvement, tweaking some of the things that didn’t work in the first season, managing to score a 63% approval rating, at least winning over the majority with its sophomore run.

Why The Reviews For And Just Like That Season 3 Are So Much Better Than Previous Outings

Something About And Just Like That Season 3 Clicks

In the reviews for And Just Like That… season 3’s premiere, the buzz among critics and audience alike agrees And Just Like That... has finally found its footing, settling into a tone that cohesively packages Sex and the City's themes for the modern era. Sex and the City was always a progressive show. Still, nearly three decades later, the HBO series was far from timeless. And Just Like That... season 1 swung the pendulum too far, with divisive characters like Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez), who were meant to be relatable, causing backlash.

While the series is far from reaching the original Sex and the City’s creative ingenuity, critics have credited And Just Like That... season 3 for leaning into its fun and light-hearted nature. It’s also evident that, to the satisfaction of many who would watch the show regardless, the revival has unlocked a format for modernizing Sex and the City that elicits less cringeworthy content with the same progressive intentions. In short, And Just Like That...finally unlocked how to represent the same characters in the same city 30 years later in the age of cell phones, social media, and dating apps.

And Just Like That Keeps Getting Better With Each Season

And Just Like That Season 3 Is The Best Yet

With And Just Like That... season 3, episode 1, improving on a positive trend, that’s good news for the show, provided it can maintain this momentum. While And Just Like That... didn’t necessarily hit the ground running, it is improving with age, maturing as it makes adjustments to its tone and approach to its messaging. And Just Like That... season 3 has also seen some characters exit, while others remain, becoming staples. While it would have been great for And Just Like That... to have figured itself out sooner, at least it’s heading in the right direction.

Still, with And Just Like That... season 3 garnering a 78% Rotten Tomatoes score, there’s plenty of room for improvement. Due to Sex and the City’s acclaim, And Just Like That’s characters have a dedicated fan base, invested in their misadventures. Audiences have stuck with the series through its growing pains, hoping it would transform and watching through episodes where it didn’t. The series thus shows no signs of slowing down, so with And Just Like That... season 3 hinting at an improvement, subversive stories are on the table again if Sex and the City’s revival continues to bloom with age.

And Just Like That Season 3's Reviews Are Better Than Half Of Sex And The City's Original Seasons

And Just Like That Outranks Sex And The City (But Is It Really Better?)

I wouldn’t say that And Just Like That... has sured what made Sex and the City great, far from it. Still, it’s worth noting that And Just Like That... season 3 has a higher rating than most seasons of Sex and the City on Rotten Tomatoes. And Just Like Tha... season 3’s premiere ranked higher than Sex and the City seasons 1, 2, 3, and 5. Sex and the City season 1 scored a meager 46% on the review site, failing to win over the majority of its audience, and almost matching And Just Like That... season 1’s low score.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Sex and the City culminated with age, so the revival is repeating its predecessor’s arc, improving, at least critically, with time. Sex and the City season 2 scored a 60% ranking, and season 3 gained a 67% score, which is closer to And Just Like That season 2. Only Sex and the City seasons 4 and 6 sur And Just Like That...’s third outing on the site, with Sex and the City season 5 landing at 73%, not even Certified Fresh. Sex and the City season 6 is the flagship’s highest-rated outing, somewhat surprisingly.

Conversely, I'm in the camp that Sex and the City season 1 is one of the flagship series’ best chapters, its episodes guided by strong, fun themes that make each outing memorable. The first few Sex and the City seasons also witness Carrie untethered by long-term relationships, her dating leading to frank conversations about communication, expectations, and sexuality. That said, I agree that And Just Like That... is improving in its third season, and its shift toward handling love and sex in a way that's frank yet fun, following Sex and the City's original MO, makes it work.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes