Sarah Jessica Parker stuns in a lace dress while returning to her hotel in Paris with co-star Cynthia Nixon - as And Just Like That's new season finally wins over critics
Sarah Jessica Parker looked glamorous in a black lace dress as she departed dinner at D'chez Eux restaurant in Paris and headed back to her hotel on Thursday.
The Carrie Bradshaw actress, 60, looked sensational in a bejeweled number which she teamed with neon pink heels.
She wore her blonde tresses styled perfectly into loose waves and carried her belongigns in a large blue handbag.
The Sex and The City icon added a pair of stylish sunglasses as she headed inside her lavish hotel.
Meanwhile her And Just Like That co-star Cynthia Nixon turned heads in an off the shoulder black dress which boasted a dramatic tasselled skirt.
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She elevated her frame in a pair of stilettos and toted her belongings around in a matching clutch as she headed inside the same hotel.
It comes as the new series has been dubbed an improvement from the first two seasons ahead of it being released on Friday.
The Mail's Claudia Connell awarded the drama four stars, writing: 'After two disappointing seasons as flat as a loafer shoe that Carrie Bradshaw wouldn't be caught dead in, And Just Like That – the sequel to Sex And The City – is finally hitting the right note.'
The Guardian gave it three stars, writing: 'After two misfiring series, some of the old Sex and the City magic is detectable in this new run of the HBO spin-off.
'As it returns for a third run, there are signs that it's finally getting into its vertiginous-heeled stride.
'There is still plenty here to mock – and rest assured, we will – but there's also just enough of the old magic to make this a nostalgic guilty pleasure.'
Meanwhile The Independent agreed saying that the series had 'finally started to find its groove'.
They added in their three star review: 'The evolution, from controversial reboot to inoffensive serial, might spawn fewer social media reactions, but it makes for a far smoother watch.'
IndieWire also agreed that things were improving with the third series, saying: 'Michael Patrick King's 'Sex and the City' sequel series seems to be settling into a groove.
'A groove that's quite familiar, if once forsaken. Yes, a groove worn smooth by 'Sex and the City.''
Collider, Time Magazine and Mamamia also gave positive reviews.
In an interview this week, Sarah revealed Mr. Big's death on And Just Like That was 'really hard' for her to film.
The actress addressed the shocking moment in the show where Carrie's husband Mr. Big (Chris Noth) died of a heart attack after working out on his Peloton bike.
Mr. Big had been a staple character of Sex And The City and Carrie's main love interest so it was a risk for writers to kill him off.
Speaking on The E! News Sitdown with Bruce Bozzi, Sarah gave her thoughts on the storyline.
She said: 'Big dying was really, really hard to do both professionally and personally. That's not just a thread. It's one of the main arteries that you would struggle to do without.'
'It was really sad to say goodbye to that. It's not like I needed it for my own health or wellbeing. But that was a hugely wonderful story to tell for a lot of years.'
Although Sarah does agree with some of the online 'objections' over how Carrie and Big ended up together, she still admires the couple's relationship.
'All of it was a mess, and all of it was wonderful,' she said. 'It was romantic, and it was a disaster. It was destructive, and it was healthy. It just felt really untethered. It was really sad to say goodbye to that.'
Since Big's death, Carrie has rekindled her romance with old flame Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) who she was involved with in seasons three and four of Sex And The City.
Chris Noth had his career upended in 2021 when he faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has since staunchly denied.
The 70-year-old has confessed that he 'strayed on my wife,' which was 'devastating to her,' but added: 'What it isn't, is a crime.'
Last year, he firmly denied multiple allegation allegations of sexual misconduct in his first interview about the charges that infamously put his career on hold.
Chris, who has insisted he is still close to his former Sex and the City co-stars, told USA Today that any encounters he has had outside his marriage were consensual.
'I strayed on my wife, and it's devastating to her and not a very pretty picture,' he told the outlet. 'What it isn't, is a crime.'
The former Law and Order star has been married to his wife, Tara Wilson, 45, since 2012.
The couple were together for 10 years before tying the knot and are parents to two children - Orion, 16, and Keats, four. Noth said he has spoken to his teenager about the situation.
More sex, more fashion, more fun... Just like that, Carrie and Co are back on form, reviews CLAUDIA CONNELL
Rating:
After two disappointing seasons as flat as a loafer shoe that Carrie Bradshaw wouldn't be caught dead in, And Just Like That – the sequel to Sex And The City – is finally hitting the right note.
The reboot has struggled to morph sex columnist and reformed serial-dater Carrie Bradshaw and her friends Miranda and Charlotte into menopausal midlifers without their fourth wheel, the feisty, sex-crazed PR Samantha Jones.
The initial storylines prioritised diversity and social justice, while shoehorning in tediously earnest characters.
But, returning this week for a third series, the writers seem to have learnt from their mistakes.
Having watched six episodes, I have to say that we're not home and dry... but it's looking good. They have ditched the woke mess of the earlier episodes in favour of more sex, more fashion and more fun.
In the last series, newly widowed Carrie, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, reconnected with her ex-fiance Aidan (John Corbett), now a Virginia farmer.
Series three sees the pair embark on a long-distance relationship. Come on, there's no way a city fashionista like Carrie would thrive as a farmer's wife and the plotline has nowhere to go. Even their clumsy attempt at phone sex is a snooze fest!
So maybe the writers will come up with a zeitgeist way of killing off Aidan, as they did with Carrie's husband Big, who had a heart attack while riding his Peloton in series one. An allergic reaction to Ozempic perhaps?
Thankfully, a promising new love interest emerges
in the shape of Carrie's grouchy new downstairs neighbour Duncan, a famous British writer with whom she has instant chemistry.
And he isn't the only Brit bringing the romance. Late-life lesbian Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), following an unlikely one-night stand, ends up dating plummy-voiced BBC producer Joy, played by Dolly Wells.
The Carrie and Aidan story isn't the only aspect of And Just Like That to stretch credulity – very few women pushing 60 teeter around in five-inch heels and precious few full-time working women (as Charlotte and Miranda claim to be) are able to meet for endless coffee/lunch/shopping trips at the drop of a hat.
So, some scenes are silly, but others do hit home. Carrie's struggles with technology when it comes to her home alarm system and video doorbell will be familiar to many.
Charlotte finding herself 'cancelled' by the 'dog mum' community when her bulldog is mistakenly identified as attacking another mutt in Central Park is also cleverly done.
And it's genuinely hilarious when Charlotte and Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker) resort to desperate measures to secure the services of New York's most in-demand tutor, nicknamed 'the Ivy whisperer' due to her ability to get kids into Ivy League colleges. There's a nod to all of the middle-aged women rushing to get diagnosed with ADHD, while Charlotte and her husband are baffled by their daughter's 'poly' (polyamorous) boyfriend.
The void left by Samantha is mostly filled by Seema (Sarita Choudhury), Carrie's sharp-tongued real estate agent friend.
Still single in her 50s, she gives a professional matchmaker short shrift when told she needs to be more demure and dress in ladylike pastels if she wants to snare a man.
Fashion is still at the core of the show with the actresses changing outfits several times per episode. Some of the clothes are stunning, others are just daft.
An enormous cloth hat by Maryam Keyhani that Carrie wears in one episode makes her look like the Artful Dodger.
Another scene, in which Carrie's sexy new neighbour complains about the noise her shoes make on her wooden floors, was clearly devised as an excuse to give us a set-to-music montage of her fabulous heel collection.
Contrived, yes, but still frothy good fun.
As the 'girls' teeter towards bus pass age, it's good to have them getting back to form – even though every single episode still leaves you thinking how much more enjoyable it would be if Samantha Jones was there.
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