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And Just Like That did not have the smoothest of landings. The Sex and the City sequel found itself draped in controversy from the moment its return was announced. There would be no Samantha Jones, with the core group reduced to a trio, after Kim Cattrall did not return to the franchise. (Was she invited? Did she decline? I look forward to an inevitable Ryan Murphy dramatisation of events Feud: Cosmos and Cupcakes.) The films had been middling, then terrible, then a third thankfully ditched before it got too far. Could a series that was built on being so brassy and brash survive in the tetchy 2020s?

Then it finally arrived, and the drama rolled on. The big twist, or the Big twist, at the end of episode one was briefly a moment, controversial largely for the fact that instead of weeping and hugging her still-conscious husband as he had a heart attack, Carrie might have considered calling an ambulance instead. To think that the reputation of Peloton was the main topic of conversation. Shortly after it aired, allegations of sexual assault were made against Chris Noth by multiple women. He issued a denial, but his co-stars published a message of support for his accusers, and a rumoured cameo at the end of the season was reportedly scrapped.

Critics of the show itself were not kind, and the first two episodes were certainly unsteady. It seemed clunky, grasping at what it felt was the zeitgeist with all the grace of a drunken goat. A couple of its storylines proved fuel for the dreaded culture wars, which some viewers managed to interpret as the writers hatred for its three leading women. It introduced a non-binary queer character, Che (Sara Ramirez), and Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte, now in their 50s, struggled to navigate this terribly modern world, as I struggled to navigate the idea that a podcast could represent the height of baffling modernity. Subtlety was not its strong point. Carrie seemed never to have heard of Diwali. The less said about kitchen sex, the better. Dont make me relive Rambo.

But the truth is that I am hedging my bets, acknowledging that I see its flaws and can understand many, though not all, of the criticisms. I note that these criticisms are rarely aimed at the first two episodes, however, and are about scenes that happen in episodes three, four and five (Mirandas cheating, Carries dodgy hip). So, I got to thinking, are the people who claim to hate this, watching it anyway? I suspect the answer is yes. Obviously, its return has been bumpy. (Mirandas an alcoholic! Oh no she isnt! Oh yes she is!) Yet every week, I wait for the day a new episode appears, then I stop what Im doing to watch it, as soon as time and decency allow. I have heard others quietly admitting to the same.

It is ironic that And Just Like That has struggled with technology from Carries coy and then freewheeling contributions to the podcast, to her inability to switch off a beeping device in her new apartment because this show both fits into and resists the digital era. It fits into it because, on the accounts I follow, at least, which I admit are of a certain, camp bias, it is a talking point every week. It seems to have become that much-coveted thing, water-cooler television. And it resists it, because there is something free and old-fashioned about the way in which it feels so thrown together and blase. Some viewers have interpreted its tone as tiptoeing around the issues, whatever they may be, but the characters occasional blundering about identity, for example, seems pretty loose and open to me.

To enjoy the series and I realised, three or four episodes in, that I really am enjoying it requires holding two contradictory notions in mind. One is that it can be incredibly clumsy and has many moments that seem ill-judged. The other is that it is pleasurable and very entertaining, and still has many of its charms, if not quite the same ones that it had in its heyday. One recent episode saw Carrie contemplating having a few cosmetic tweaks to her face, which turned into a thoughtful exploration of the value of lived experience. I wouldnt have seen it coming after the first two episodes, but dare I whisper that And Just Like That has started to settle into its own skin.

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Dare I whisper it? I'm really enjoying And Just Like That - The Guardian