It’s happening. Sex and the City is coming back. In January, news broke that the popular early aughts HBO show would be continuing on HBO Max in a revival called And Just Like That…
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Sarah Jessica Parker, who famously walked the streets of Manhattan in her Manolo Blahniks for six seasons and two movies, said she’s anxiously awaiting what showrunner Michael Patrick King and the otherwise all-women writers’ room is cooking up.
“I think that Cynthia [Nixon], Kristin [Davis], and I are all excited about the time that has passed,” she said. “You know, who are they in this world now? Have they adapted? What part have they played? Where have they fallen short as women, as friends, and how are they finding their way? Did they move with momentum? Are they like some people who are confused, threatened, nervous [by what’s happening in the world]? I’m so curious and excited to see how the writers imagine these women today.”
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You’ll notice that Parker named herself, Nixon, and Davis, but omitted the name of the fourth star of Sex and the City, Kim Cattrall. This was, of course, a purposeful move. When HBO Max announced the SATC revival, Parker confirmed on Instagram that Kim Cattrall (Samantha Jones) would not be joining the cast for this project.
“No. I don’t dislike her. I’ve never said that. Never would,” Parker said, refuting a commenter’s claim that the two “dislike each other.” She went on: “Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do.” The commenter was referring to the not-so-secret feud between Cattrall and Parker.
That juicy gossip aside, here’s what else we know about the HBO Max revival.
Production has begun, and the nostalgia is real.
On Thursday night, before the first table read, Parker posted a photo of the exterior of Carrie Bradshaw’s home in the West Village. She called out the title of the series in her post.
“Pure coincidence AND JUST LIKE THAT, we find ourselves on this street called Perry the night before it all begins again. MPK, here we go. And I’m thrilled and terrified.
X, SJ”
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The next day, she posted a photo from the first table read with the caption:
“1st Table Read.
@justlikethatmax
Got here to work way too early.
Nerves all a wonderful jumble.
X, SJ”
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And this reunion photo of Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte together again:
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To celebrate the start of the reboot, Nixon posted this throwback:
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“Friendship never goes out of style. #AndJustLikeThat,” she wrote on a post of the reunion photo identical to SJP’s.
There will be 10 half-hour episodes.
Parker, Davis, and Nixon are signed on as executive producers of the new show, per The Hollywood Reporter. So far, this is slated as a limited series, but if we know anything about the seemingly endless stamina of Carrie Bradshaw and co., it could continue way past the 10 episodes HBO Max has currently green-lit.
Here’s how HBO is describing the series:
This new chapter of the groundbreaking HBO series Sex and the City follows “Carrie” (Sarah Jessica Parker), “Miranda” (Cynthia Nixon) and “Charlotte” (Kristin Davis) as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s. The ten-episode, half-hour series is scheduled to begin production in New York this summer.
The writers’ room is hard at work.
Us Weekly reported in late February that the writers’ room opened in January. As Vanity Fair also reported, the writers’ room is made up entirely of women, and Parker referred to the writing staff as “incredibly diverse in a really exciting way.” She added that the staff will add “life experience, political world views, and social world views” to the series.
In February, Deadline announced members of the writers’ room include Shrill and Tuca & Bertie writer and Wow, No Thank You author Samantha Irby, who will also serve as co-producer; Parks and Recreation alum Rachna Fruchbom, who will also co-executive-produce; Twenties, Black Lightning, and Being Mary Jane alum Keli Goff, who will serve a supervising producer; and Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky, who both worked on the original series and will serve as executive producers.
Diversity is a priority.
TVLine reported that the show’s original showrunner, Michael Patrick King, and his group will be focusing on diversifying Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda’s friend group—something they were called out for not doing in the past. The site reports that there will be at least six new characters who will be season regulars and women of color.
I mean, yay? But this doesn’t make up for the show’s past mistakes.
HBO Max chief content Casey Bloys told TVLine that EPs Parker and King “didn’t want to tell a story with all-white writers or an all-white cast” because “it’s not reflective of New York. So they are being very, very conscious about understanding that New York has to reflect the way New York looks today.”
Sara Ramírez is joining the cast as the show’s first non-binary character.
Tony winner Sara Ramírez will join the original cast as Che Diaz, a stand-up comedian and podcast host who frequently invites Carrie onto the show. Che, like Ramírez, identifies as non-binary and queer, and, per The Hollywood Reporter, “is a big presence with a big heart whose outrageous sense of humor and progressive, human overview of gender roles has made them and their podcast very popular.”
The original leading men are reprising their roles.
Another big casting question surrounded Carrie’s love interest, Mr. Big (Chris Noth), and the show’s other beloved boyfriends. On Feb. 18, Page Six published a report that Noth would not be joining the reboot—but Noth quickly batted that idea away by dropping a clue on social media.
“Everything changes—including announcements in the rags,” he wrote.
Now, it’s official: The New York Post reports all three of the original leading men—Noth, John Corbett (Aidan), and David Eigenberg (Steve)—will return for the revival. A source from the senior production team said “viewers will definitely see Big, Aidan, and Steve.”
On Wednesday, May 26, HBO Max released a press release confirming Noth’s return. “I’m thrilled to be working with Chris again on And Just Like That…,” King said in a statement. “How could we ever do a new chapter of the Sex and the City story without our Mr. Big?”
As are several other familiar faces.
Mario Cantone will be back as Anthony Marentino, David Eigenberg as Steve Brady, Willie Garson as Stanford Blatch, and Evan Handler as Harry Goldenblatt.
“Everyone at ‘And Just Like That…’ is thrilled to be able to continue the storylines of these beloved ‘Sex and the City’ characters with the actors who made them so lovable,” executive producer Michael Patrick King said, per Variety.
We don’t know exactly when the series will drop.
And Just Like That… doesn’t have an official release date yet, but Us Weekly reported filming would begin this spring. COVID-19 has been an obvious roadblock for much of TV and film production over the past year, but with vaccines well underway and lots of tricks up the sleeves of talented showrunners, filming in the time of COVID is not impossible.
COVID-19 will be mentioned in the revival.
Speaking of COVID, it doesn’t seem as if the writers are just going to ignore the pandemic, which completely devastated New York City last spring. Parker told VF that COVID-19 will “obviously be part of the storyline, because that’s the city [these characters] live in. And how has that changed relationships once friends disappear? I have great faith that the writers are going to examine it all.” This statement had some fans speculating that Samantha would die from the effects of the virus.
Or just generally afraid that Samantha will be killed off, somehow.
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They are not killing off Samantha.
Fans can take a sigh of relief that their worst fears are not coming to fruition in And Just Like That… In an interview with TVLine, HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys seemed to indicate that the character of Samantha just goes her own way—but doesn’t die. Bloys added that, “just as in real life, people come into your life, people leave.”
He added: “Friendships fade, and new friendships start. So I think it is all very indicative of the real stages, the actual stages of life… They’re trying to tell an honest story about being a woman in her 50s in New York.”
So, looks like they just…ghosted each other? But no one is an actual ghost. Can you imagine a series of unexplained events that the women eventually blame on Samantha’s ghost?
The story will follow Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte in their 50s.
We last saw the friends in 2010, so more than a decade has passed in the friends’ lives. That goes back to what Bloys said about the women’s friendship with Samantha. It’s been a long time, everyone is in their 50s, and friendships fall off. What else is going on with the group now that they’re 50? Surely they’ve picked up some quarantine hobbies. The real question is whether we could ever see Carrie becoming a sourdough aficionado.
The franchise is used to spin-offs.
This is definitely not the first time the SATC creators have expanded the universe. If you’ll recall, The CW had a series called The Carrie Diaries based on Candace Bushnell’s prequel to her 1997 Sex and the City book. The show, which starred AnnaSophia Robb, ran from 2013 to 2014.
Of course, there were also two feature films, Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010). Will we ever see the end of these friends, this show, and Carrie Bradshaw? Not if fan power has anything to say about it. That said, if you don’t have an HBO Max subscription, it’s time to get on it.
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