It seems quite fitting that Glamorous, starring Kim Cattrall, and Season 2 of And Just Like That, featuring the rest of the Sex and the City cast, premiere on the same day. First things first, despite Glamorous being based on Marco Mejia, the star of the show is Madolyn Addison, aka the one and only, Kim Cattrall. She plays the understanding boss who is an industry legend and a mentor to all, a role similar to Jacqueline in The Bold Type, Kirsten Stevens in Set it Up, or countless other stories set in the fashion or glamour world. But as expected, Kim Cattrall owns it in a way that only she can. We felt like we saw glimpses of Samantha in Madolyn.
In Sex and the City, Samantha was wise and unapologetic about living on her own terms. In Glamorous, Madolyn is the same, except with her career. We had regrettably not seen that part of Sam’s life in SATC. But before we let our obsession with her take over this review, we must say that when something is sufficiently entertaining, it ceases to matter whether it has indeed brought something new to the table. That sums up our feelings for Glamorous. It was easy to watch, sufficiently zany, and had enough of a zing that we did not care that we had heard countless similar stories before. There were a few scenes that felt a bit too much or dialogues that probably needed a bit more polish, but they were all in the minority, and we don’t have to let them be a thorn in our side.
As for the characters, we had a feeling that the writers struggled with Chad Addison for a bit, at least for the first 2-3 episodes, but then really made him a full person instead of a caricature. The rest of the characters were also alright, though we were surprised that Marco, the leading guy, did not have more charm. He seemed to fade out in the presence of much stronger performances, and emotional scenes are not really his strong suit. But the things happening to him were interesting, and though we did not see him do much at his job, his extremely foolish decisions in love ensured why he was the protagonist. You cannot be the leading man or woman unless you make or break a few hearts every season, and Marco was on fleek with that. The underlying point is that Glamorous is an entertaining watch that should be on your list. However, the real review of this series lies in its comparison with Sex and the City and its underwhelming sequel, And Just Like That. Give us a second to explain why we are resorting to this comparison instead of judging Glamorous in its own right.
When Sex and the City first came out, nothing like that had ever been seen before on television, at least not on that scale or with the capacity to become such an enduring pop culture phenomenon. Over the years, it has attracted its fair share of criticism for its racism and Carrie’s insufferable attitude, as well as for Samantha and Miranda not getting their due credit, even though they were the real aspirational and relatable factors for women watching the show. There was also so much grief over Carrie not picking Aidan over Big, even though we have to agree that he probably dodged a bullet. The point is that for the mess that it was, it inspired countless stories over the years.
And Just Like That was clearly made to correct the mistakes of Sex and The City, and we get the feeling that Glamorous has been made with a similar idea. But by roping in Kim Cattrall, whose feud with the cast of SATC is pop culture fodder, and centering the story around an LGBTQIA+ character, Glamorous has established a blanket difference from its counterpart. One of the cringiest parts of “And Just Like That” was Miranda’s experiments with her sexuality. We are not against it, but it is undeniable that the arc was poorly executed. This is where Glamorous wins because, while AJLT focused a little too much on the white woman’s struggle to catch up with the changing times, the former pushed that into the background, as it should have. SATC was groundbreaking when it aired, but we know with today’s sensibilities that it is not as progressive as it should have been. Glamorous, though, is up-to-date, at least from a cis-het perspective.
We believe that our liking for this show has to do with the fact that Kim Cattrall has clearly come out as the more dignified party in her feud with SJP. True to that, Glamorous is also the less cringe-worthy watch between itself and AJLT. It’s very hard to dislike Kim, and though the series plays it a little safe with most plots, her magic has woven itself into the narrative and made sure that we like it.
However, if we were being truly honest, we don’t believe that Glamorous will gain the popularity of AJLT, even though most people are simply hate watching the latter. It also doesn’t help that Madolyn’s clothes are deplorable, and even though Carrie’s fashion is not that remarkable either (in AJLT), it has got people talking. At the end of the day, this is a good show that people should watch, but it lacks the enduring quality of SATC, which is carrying AJLT, even though people have mixed opinions about it. The reason we made this comparison is that the feud and the similarity are the invisible marketing of the show, which is impossible to ignore while watching it.
Regardless, Glamorous is good enough and deserves a chance. If for nothing else, watch it in the spirit of justice for Kim Cattrall, even though she has not asked for it. It is just a moment of competition and comparison that cannot be missed because watching Glamorous is a way of determining where everyone stands in the future. Neither show is high literature, and watching them is only a way of satisfying our petty sides, so we encourage taking the leap with Glamorous, which is at least entertaining, if nothing else.
