Since the upgrade to the website, this Off-Topic board seems to get even less traffic than before, so I rarely post over here, but, yes, I've been watching it.
Is it cringey? Sure, but so was the original series, at times.
Is it too "woke?" Yes and no. That's where most of the cringe comes from, but I think it's a fair representation of how Gen X'ers and older sometimes have trouble navigating topics such as gender identity and racial sensitivity. It's kind of awkward, but I get it.
Is the absence of Samantha a problem? I don't have an issue with it, at all, and they've been able to work her into the scripts in a couple of interesting ways. I think it mirrors the tone of the first SATC movie, which I've always enjoyed. It's more serious, but I'm fine with that, and there's still levity, just not the full-on Samantha comedy of the original series.
Do I still love it? Abso-f*cking-lutely!
To me, what's most impressive is how effortlessly SJP, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis have slipped back into their characters. Credit the writing, which, while being somewhat more serious than SATC, still "sounds" right.
I've seen a lot of negative reactions online, and I think they might be coming from the younger fans, meaning those who weren't weren't adults and didn't watch when it first aired, but I don't know for sure if that's the case. As a 51-year-old, most of it works really well for me.