WARNING: spoiler alert for HBO's And Just Like That: A New Chapter of Sex and the City
While Sex and the City fans picked their jaws up from the floor and avoided Pelotons after watching that shocking series opener from And Just Like That–the next chapter of HBO Sex and the City–Meghan McCain was absolutely furious about the new direction her once favorite show had taken.
The conservative co-host of The View penned a column for The Daily Mail, in which she called the "misguided" reboot of SATC, "woke"–a descriptor she brought up in various forms numerous times throughout her critique.
New \u2066@DailyMail\u2069 column:\n\nAnd Just Like That... Sex in the City died of wokeness\n\n(This made me VERY sad to write this)https://mol.im/a/10297831— Meghan McCain (@Meghan McCain) 1639171952
The 37-year-old said she once enjoyed Sex and the City when HBO ran the show during her formative years matriculating at Columbia University in New York City
"The show was a true cultural phenomenon and for many reasons we should be forever grateful for the barriers that it broke regarding open conversations about women and sexuality," she wrote, before dragging And Just Like That.
McCain broke down parts of the continuation series where it failed her, including its "clumsy attempt to reformat the show into the woke and puritanical times we are living in."
As an example, she brought up how the central character of Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, "now plays the part of the 'cisgender woman' on a podcast with younger co-hosts," referring to a queer and nonbinary character played by Sara Ramirez, adding, "Because it’s so boring and un-evolved to be a straight white woman."
“I don’t know who to blame, the writers of the show or this particularly stupid and repressive time we are living in,” McCain continued.
“The first time I ever heard about anal sex or a vibrator was on this show–now entire plotlines are dedicated to microaggressions.”
Another aspect of the show she was not on board with and called "cringy" was its anti-racist message, a plot point explored by Cynthia Nixon's character, Miranda Hobbes.
McCain said Miranda was now a "hopeless" character for her attempts at damage control after inadvertently making a comment about her Black college professor's hair.
"There is a way to execute important cultural messages without it feeling like it is being force-fed, and this show -- unfortunately -- really, really fails at that," McCain griped:
“It is wokeness superficially shoved down your throat to make a point about wealthy white liberal women ‘evolving’ into the political climate of 2021.”
“Like so much of the fallacy I find in modern liberalism in major cities, these characters seem to encompass the absurdity of some progressive, woke white women.”
Because of this, the millennial claimed the show was “not fun at all. Not even a little bit.”
She also thought the fashion in the show came "across more like a costume-party than the fun frivolity of the original show," and said (SPOILER ALERT) Mr. Big's death after collapsing from a heart attack from an intense workout on a Peloton bike was "extremely depressing and confusing."
McCain admitted she was not a fan of reboots in general as some things are "really meant to be cultural moments in time and to stay there."
"We are living in one of the most repressive and anti-free speech moments in modern times," she continued.
"There is a palpable paranoia in our art and comedy. Shows and actors (with a few glaring exceptions like Dave Chapelle) are clearly concerned about angering the wrong people, being politically incorrect, or not sufficiently progressive."
"Wokeness kills everything," she declared in conclusion.
"I am disappointed to tell you that 'And Just Like That' is another victim of Hollywood trying to placate a specific audience and not the original one, which was made it a hit in the first place."
And just like that, Twitter begged to differ.
Plenty of users reminded her of what it truly means to be "woke."
Can you tell me what "wokeness" is? Or is this just another GOP code word that has no meaning, just used to confuse?— David Bruce (@David Bruce) 1639172488
It seems like you are just looking for mindless entertainment rather than a meaningful story. I feel the new storylines are realistic and relatable. And the show was always lacking diversity and any attempts made to be diverse were poorly executed.— Sena (@Sena) 1639191902
I\u2019ll debate you in this one.— Andy Cohen (@Andy Cohen) 1639175072
Yes, SATC should be like Golden Girls, entirely un "woke". \n\nhttps://youtu.be/sgON0w-GivM\u00a0pic.twitter.com/DyJsl6YQ4C— T Bow. (@T Bow.) 1639172621
Hmmmm, sounds like these two episodes may have made you a little bit uncomfortable. I suggest you go back and rewatch the episodes and figure out what made you uncomfortable, stop making it a bad thing for people to be aware of others and how others may feel— Debra N. Donnelly\ud83c\udf38\ud83c\udf37\ud83d\ude3a\ud83c\udf37\ud83c\udf38 (@Debra N. Donnelly\ud83c\udf38\ud83c\udf37\ud83d\ude3a\ud83c\udf37\ud83c\udf38) 1639181674
You,write in your article, \u201cwokeness kills everything\u201d. Wikipedia defines \u201cwoke\u201d as an awareness to racial prejudice & discrimination. I ask you, why is being \u201cwoke\u201d such a bad thing to you conservatives? WTH are you so afraid of?— DA (@DA) 1639174622
Woke. Do you even know any Black people and what woke really means?— Sylett Strickland (@Sylett Strickland) 1639172010
\u201cWokeness kills everything\u201d ah, yes, let\u2019s go back to being blissfully naive of the microaggressions (and blatant racism) that POC experience every single day of their lives so white people can watch TV in peace.— Her She Me (@Her She Me) 1639175886
So\u2026 are you really mad that the show is bringing its characters to current times, OR\u2026are you just mad that white men & women are finally understanding what it feels like to be aware of their skin color? To me, it feels like it\u2019s the latter. \n\nBut yes, continue to call it \u201cwoke\u201d— JoseRamRod \ud83c\udf0a (@JoseRamRod \ud83c\udf0a) 1639172725
WOKE: definition \nTo stay alert to injustice in society, especially racism.\nLesson Plan 101 - James Baldwinpic.twitter.com/Xp9LNx6BWi— Boldly Blue (@Boldly Blue) 1639174572
It seems tone me, that the real issue is that the characters in a fictional world have shown far more growth and maturing than you have.— tim herod (@tim herod) 1639226940
So basically because they addressed issues that deeply affects this country\u2014like racism, stereotyping, loss, adjustment, etc.\u2014then it\u2019s not fun? Just say you wanted a re-enactment of the problematic original.— Listen To Black Women (@Listen To Black Women) 1639180505
So far, the first two episodes of And Just Like That have been released on HBO Max, with the third episode set to air on Thursday, December 16.
The series will have a total of 10 episodes, with new episodes being released every Thursday through February 2022.
