And Just Like That sets unexpected TV milestone

And it’s all thanks to Apple CEO Tim Cook

And Just Like That... has set a strange milestone for TV – becoming the first show to ever film inside an Apple Store.

The Sex and the City spin-off featured a scene inside the popular elecronics outlet in its second second, which was released on Max in the US, and Sky and NOW in the UK, this week.

Apple have never previously allowed TV productions to film inside their shops. However, an intervention from CEO Tim Cook afforded And Just Like That a rare dispensation.

“They work so much with the show, the contact there kind of helped kick it up the flagpole to make it happen,” locations manager Julie Sage said, in an interview with IndieWire. “That was one of the easier ones for me on my end.”

“If it’s a brand that has history and a little clout, it’s easier for places that would never open up to a film crew for days on days,” said series showrunner Michael Patrick King.

And Just Like That sees Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis reprise their roles from the original Sex and the City.

This season features the surprise return of Kim Cattrall in the role of Samantha – though only for one scene in the season finale.

Cattrall had previously decided not to rejoin her former co-stars in the revival series, amid reports of a feud between her and the other actors, including Parker.

Earlier this week, Davis said in an interview that she hoped Sex and the City fans weren’t “disappointed” by Cattrall’s cameo.

Sarah Jessica Parker (HBO)

In a two-star review of And Just Like That for The Independent, critic Nick Hilton wrote: “There’s always a pleasure in the reunion of beloved TV characters, and there’s no denying the chemistry between Parker, Nixon and Davis (though Nixon’s coastal move upsets that trio). But the show still seems uncertain about its place in the world.

“Is it a throwback? A reimagining? An update? Or an entirely new thing? Caught between all these potential aspirations, And Just Like That… has ended up a toothless imitation of its ancestor. Where Sex and the City gave a voice in prestige TV to a generation of women, And Just Like That… is giving little more than pay cheques to its well-coiffed stars.”

And Just Like That is available to stream now on Max in the US and Sky and NOW in the UK.