And Just Like That... is an American comedy-drama streaming television series developed by Michael Patrick King for HBO Max. It is a revival and a sequel of the HBO television series Sex and the City created by Darren Star, which is based on Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name.
And Just Like That... | |
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Genre |
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Created by | Darren Star |
Based on | Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell |
Developed by | Michael Patrick King |
Starring | |
Music by | Aaron Zigman |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 10 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Teddy Au |
Cinematography |
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Editors |
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Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 37–44 minutes |
Production companies |
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Distributor | Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment |
Release | |
Original network | HBO Max |
Original release | December 9, 2021 (2021-12-09) – present (present) |
Chronology | |
Preceded by | |
Related | The Carrie Diaries |
Development for the series began in December 2020, following the cancellation of a third film adaptation. It was given a straight-to-series order in January 2021 by HBO Max. Casting announcements were made throughout 2021 and filming started in July 2021 in New York City.
And Just Like That... premiered on HBO Max on December 9, 2021, with mixed reviews. The season finale was released on February 3, 2022. Originally billed as a miniseries, the series was renewed for a second season in March 2022.
Set 11 years after the events of the 2010 film Sex and the City 2, From their friendship in their 30s to a more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s, the women of "Sex and the City" make this transition.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
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1 | "Hello It's Me" | Michael Patrick King | Michael Patrick King | December 9, 2021 (2021-12-09) | |
Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda, now in their mid-50s, remain best friends. Perpetually-squabbling couple Stanford (now a talent agent) and Anthony (who has a bakery business) are still close to them. Samantha, after cutting ties to Carrie, now lives and works in London. Happily married to John "Big" Preston, Carrie participates on an LGBTQ-friendly, sex-oriented podcast hosted by Che Diaz, a Mexican-American, non-binary, stand-up comic. Carrie is uncomfortable discussing certain graphic topics, but Che warns she must engage more. Miranda, studying for a Master of Human Rights degree, nervously blunders meeting her younger classmates and the professor, Nya Wallace, an African-American woman. Also, Miranda and Steve have reluctantly allowed 17-year-old son, Brady, and girlfriend, Luisa, to have sleepovers and now endure their noisy sex. Continually stressed, Miranda copes with alcohol. Charlotte and Harry dote on their teen daughters: musically accomplished Lily and independent-minded Rose. Carrie attends Lily's piano recital, but John opts for a vigorous Peloton home-workout, after which he suffers a heart attack. Carrie finds him slumped on the shower floor where he dies in her arms. | |||||
2 | "Little Black Dress" | Michael Patrick King | Michael Patrick King | December 9, 2021 (2021-12-09) | |
Carrie chooses a non-traditional funeral venue that reflects John. Samantha sends flowers, but Carrie's thank-you text goes unanswered. John's elderly secretary, Gloria, becomes emotional during the service. Old friend Susan-Sharon attends and makes vague references to some past feud that Carrie has long forgotten. Bitsy von Muffling, now widowed, also comes. Miranda chastises Che for sharing marijuana with Brady at the reception, unaware Che is Carrie's podcast boss. A distraught Charlotte feels responsible for John's death, having pushed Carrie to attend Lily's recital when she would have been with him. Carrie assures Charlotte she is blameless. Carrie is emotionally unprepared when John's ashes are delivered to their condo. Miranda overcomes her awkwardness with Professor Wallace after preventing her being mugged in the subway. Miranda continues using alcohol as an emotional crutch. | |||||
3 | "When in Rome..." | Michael Patrick King | Julie Rottenberg & Elisa Zuritsky | December 16, 2021 (2021-12-16) | |
Carrie rejoins the podcast. After learning that John has left ex-wife Natasha one million dollars, Carrie suspects they were having an affair. Natasha later says she and John never saw each other after their divorce and that he always loved Carrie. Natasha declines the bequest, but Carrie believes it was John's apology to Natasha for having married her. Stanford claims that Charlotte has never accepted him as part of the girls' inner circle. Charlotte seeks Anthony's advice after twelve-year-old Rose admits she does not feel like a girl. Charlotte tells Carrie about finding empty mini-liquor bottles in Miranda's backpack. Miranda reveals to Charlotte that she and Steve have a sexless marriage. Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda attend Che's comedy act. Che's bit about making personal changes resonates with Miranda, who returns to the club and seeks out Che. Meanwhile, Carrie heads home, but rather than the Fifth Avenue residence, she instead walks to her old apartment. | |||||
4 | "Some of My Best Friends" | Gillian Robespierre | Keli Goff | December 23, 2021 (2021-12-23) | |
Carrie decides to sell her and John's Fifth Avenue residence. To attract buyers, realtor Seema Patel stages the condo in beige tones, further depressing Carrie. Carrie stores John's ashes at her old apartment until figuring out where he would want to be. To diversify her and Harry's social circle, Charlotte cultivates a friendship with Lisa and Herbert Wexley, a socially prominent African-American couple whose son attends Lily's school. Miranda and Nya bond while dining out together. Nya shares her struggle to become pregnant via IVF, while Miranda reflects on the pros and cons of motherhood. Stanford is in Japan with his sole client Ashley, a popular TikTok singer touring there. Anthony tells Carrie that Stanford wants a divorce. | |||||
5 | "Tragically Hip" | Gillian Robespierre | Samantha Irby | December 30, 2021 (2021-12-30) | |
Charlotte coordinates Carrie's post-operative care following her hip surgery. During a Zoom meeting with her mom-friends, Charlotte learns that daughter Rose now identifies as non-binary and goes by "Rock". Harry and Charlotte are left confused after meeting with the school counselors. An indignant Miranda believes Charlotte anonymously sent her a book about quitting drinking. While recuperating, Carrie does the podcast from home. Affected by pain pills, she inadvertently mentions Samantha's full name during an embarrassing story. Afterwards, Carrie texts Sam, who replies it is okay then does not respond further. Che stops by Carrie's apartment. While Carrie is sleeping, Che and Miranda do tequila shots in the kitchen and begin having sex. Carrie awakens to see their reflections in the full-length mirror. After Che leaves, Carrie angrily confronts Miranda about it and her drinking. Miranda admits her life and marriage are unhappy. Miranda later discovers that she drunk-ordered the book from Amazon.com, then dumps all her liquor. Three months later, Carrie has fully recovered. | |||||
6 | "Diwali" | Cynthia Nixon | Rachna Fruchbom | January 6, 2022 (2022-01-06) | |
To start anew, Carrie buys an ultra-modern downtown apartment. Charlotte is dismayed when both Lily and Rock want to update their shared bedroom to reflect each one's individual taste and age. Nya invites Miranda to join other students in a project to renovate old apartment buildings into displaced women's shelters. Seema invites Carrie to her family's Diwali celebration. To quell her parents' constant pressure to be married, Seema falsely claims to be dating "Dennis", a (fictional) Doctors Without Borders physician who is frequently overseas. Carrie accompanies Anthony when he consults a plastic surgeon about a facelift, then considers having work done herself. Charlotte praises Miranda for quitting drinking but questions her behavior regarding Che, whom Miranda constantly fantasizes about. Carrie dislikes the new apartment and moves back to her old place. | |||||
7 | "Sex and the Widow" | Anu Valia | Julie Rottenberg & Elisa Zuritsky | January 13, 2022 (2022-01-13) | |
Carrie's editor, Amanda, suggests adding a hopeful ending to Carrie's new book chronicling her widowhood. To that purpose, Carrie has a computer date with Peter, a handsome widower. The evening starts awkwardly but loosens up with alcohol, then ends in humiliation when both drunkenly vomit in the street. Miranda is disappointed that Che never answered her DMs. Later, her and Steve's tepid attempt at sex quickly fizzles out. Charlotte becomes overly competitive during her and Harry's tennis doubles match with Lisa and Herbert. After multiple failed IVF attempts, Nya and Andre agree to try conceiving naturally. Charlotte helps Lisa organize a school fundraising auction. A lunch date with Carrie is auctioned off without any bids. An embarrassed Carrie bids on herself, only to be outbid by Peter, her computer date who is a teacher at the school. At the auction, Miranda runs into Che, who apologizes for missing her DMs. When they go somewhere and have sex, Miranda says she loves Che. | |||||
8 | "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" | Anu Valia | Rachna Fruchbom | January 20, 2022 (2022-01-20) | |
Che ends their and Miranda's affair, believing Miranda and Steve were in an "open marriage" and that he knew about their relationship. When Lily walks in on Charlotte and Harry having oral sex, Charlotte awkwardly claims she was just checking Harry for cancer, scaring Lily who now thinks her father is ill. Carrie's young downstairs neighbor, Lisette, a jewelry designer, apologizes for her loud social gatherings on the outside stoop, continually waking Carrie at night. Charlotte has a frank talk with Lily after discovering her semi-provocative selfies posted on Instagram. Miranda declares her love to Che and promises she is leaving Steve. Che reciprocates Miranda's feelings, but warns it would be a non-traditional relationship. Miranda tells Steve she wants a divorce. Steve says he can no longer keep rallying for them to succeed. Miranda later flies to Cleveland where Che is performing. | |||||
9 | "No Strings Attached" | Nisha Ganatra | Michael Patrick King and Julie Rottenberg & Elisa Zuritsky | January 27, 2022 (2022-01-27) | |
Miranda recruits Carrie and Charlotte for a work party at the women's shelter. Carrie posts an Instagram photo of herself wearing Lisette's jewelry to help boost her sales. Rock resists having a Bat Mitzvah. Anthony brings new friend Justin to Charlotte and Harry's for dinner, then orders him to leave after he claims the Holocaust was a hoax. Not wanting to miss an upcoming Hamptons pool party, a frantic Lily asks Charlotte how to use tampons. Che and Miranda reach a mutual understanding. Carrie and Peter have a redo of their disastrous first date, but neither is ready for a relationship. Carrie hopes Steve can find love again after he says he will always consider himself married to Miranda. Nya and Andre reach an impasse about having children. While sitting out the work party, Seema meets Zed, an attractive nightclub owner. Carrie, wearing both her and John's wedding rings, panics after nearly losing John's down a sink drain. She later puts both rings away, then texts Peter about a third date. | |||||
10 | "Seeing the Light" | Nisha Ganatra | Michael Patrick King and Julie Rottenberg & Elisa Zuritsky | February 3, 2022 (2022-02-03) | |
Carrie and Peter's date ends platonically while Seema spends a passionate three days with Zed. Carrie believes John is posthumously sending signs about her dating again. A transgender rabbi agrees to officiate Rock's "They Mitzvah". When Che is offered a TV pilot, Miranda agrees to join them in Los Angeles, declining a prestigious internship and finishing the semester remotely. Nya and Andre are separating. Che's producer, Franklyn, offers Carrie her own podcast. Rock refuses to participate in the "They Mitzvah" ceremony, claiming not to identify with any particular group, religion, gender, non-gender, or anything else. Charlotte, a Jewish convert who never had a Bat Mitzvah, takes Rock's place. Miranda leaves for L.A. while Brady and Luisa depart for Europe. On the one-year anniversary, Carrie, having dreamt that John wants to be in Paris, scatters his ashes in the Seine River. She texts Samantha, who agrees to meet up in London. Back in New York, Carrie's first Sex and the City podcast is a success; after, Carrie and Franklyn share a romantic kiss. |
In December 2016, Radar Online reported that a script for a third Sex and the City film had been approved.[3] However, on September 28, 2017, Sarah Jessica Parker confirmed that the third film was not going to happen. She said, "We had this beautiful, funny, heartbreaking, joyful, very relatable script and story. It's not just disappointing that we don't get to tell the story and have that experience, but more so for that audience that has been so vocal in wanting another movie."[4] It was reported in 2018 that Kim Cattrall did not want to return as Samantha Jones in the film due to disagreeing with its planned storylines, involving killing off Mr. Big and Samantha receiving sexting and nude pictures from Miranda's 14-year-old son, Brady.[5] Cattrall later clarified in 2019 that she opted not to appear in a third film, explaining she "went past the finish line" portraying the character of Samantha because of her love for the franchise.[6]
In December 2020, it was reported that the proposed third film's script had been redeveloped as a miniseries revival of the original Sex and the City television series in development at HBO Max, without Cattrall returning as Samantha, in line with her previous comments.[7][8] In January 2021, And Just Like That... was confirmed by HBO Max as a series which would consist of 10 episodes.[9] In February 2021, Samantha Irby, Rachna Fruchbom, Keli Goff, Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky joined the series as part of the writing team. Rotternberg and Zuritsky also serve as executive producers.[10] It was also confirmed that long-time series costume designer and collaborator Patricia Field would not be returning to work on the revival. However, she recommended her friend and colleague Molly Rogers to the creative team for consultation.[11][12] The series premiered on December 9, 2021, with the first two episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis until the season finale on February 3, 2022.[13][14] On March 22, 2022, HBO Max renewed the series for a second season.[15]
Upon the series order announcement, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis were reprising their roles as close friends living in New York City.[9] In May 2021, Sara Ramírez was cast as a series regular, while Chris Noth was cast to reprise his role in an undisclosed capacity.[16][17] On June 9, 2021, Mario Cantone, Willie Garson, David Eigenberg, and Evan Handler all joined the cast to reprise their respective roles in undisclosed capacities.[18] In July 2021, Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker, Karen Pittman, and Isaac Cole Powell joined the cast in starring roles while Alexa Swinton, Cree Cicchino, Niall Cunningham, and Cathy Ang were cast in undisclosed capacities and Brenda Vaccaro and Ivan Hernandez were cast in recurring roles.[19][20][21][22][23] In August 2021, Julie Halston was cast to reprise her role in a guest-starring capacity while Christopher Jackson and LeRoy McClain were cast in recurring roles.[24][25] Willie Garson, who played Stanford Blatch throughout Sex And The City and reprised his role in the new series, died on September 21, only three months after his return, after filming his scenes for the series' first three episodes. The new series explained his absence via a letter to Carrie in episode four.[26] On November 8, 2021, Bobby Lee announced on an Instagram post that he has a small role in the revival.[27]
Despite Mr. Big dying in the first episode, Noth was set to appear as Big in a fantasy sequence in the season finale, but he was edited out after sexual assault allegations were brought against him.[28]
On August 19, 2022, John Corbett was cast to reprise his role as Aidan Shaw in a recurring capacity for the second season.[1] On October 18, 2022, Tony Danza joined the cast in a recurring role as Che's father.[2]
Production began in June 2021 in New York City.[17][29] The first table read was held on June 11, 2021, at the show's studio in Manhattan.[30] Filming had commenced on location in New York City by July 9, 2021, and was commemorated by the release of a promotional photo of Parker, Nixon and Davis on the streets of Manhattan.[31] To mislead speculation about a major plot line, Noth arrived on location the day his character's funeral was filmed.[32] On October 11, 2021, it was reported that filming had taken place on location in Paris, France.[33] Filming concluded on December 6, 2021.[34] Filming for the second season began on October 4, 2022 in New York City.[35]
Despite HBO Max not revealing subscriber viewership for its original programming, And Just Like That... was announced to have delivered the service's most-watched series debut to date,[36] including both HBO and HBO Max originals premiered on the service. The series placed within the service's top 10 most-watched premieres including film debuts. The series was the most-watched first viewing in the service's history, implying that new subscribers enlisted to watch the series.[36]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 48% approval rating with an average rating of 5.5/10 based on 79 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "And Just Like That... fails to recapture Sex and the City's heady fizz, but like a fine wine, these characters have developed subtler depths with age."[37] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[38] The New York Times review, while stating that the show "in moments is very good," described it as "painful" and "part dramedy about heartbreak, part awkward bid at relevance," writing "when you are [reviving] a series there is the fatal danger of losing your touch. And there you have 'And Just Like That'."[39]
The themes of diversity and social justice were criticized. The Telegraph described it as "tediously woke",[40] and the Radio Times wrote: "The main three's newfound social and cultural awareness is shoe-horned in to such a degree the whole endeavour feels often cloying.'"[41] Deadline Hollywood wrote that "far too many 2021 cultural touchstones and new characters are awkwardly parachuted into [the show] ... as if to check a box".[42] EmpireOnline added: "the attempts to paint a rich, real, diverse world are ham-fisted, inauthentic and riddled with self-consciousness, awkwardness and moments of self-congratulation."[43] Specifically, the character of Che Díaz was derided heavily online and has been considered to be one of the worst characters in television history.[44][45][46][47] Kristin Corry of Vice Media criticized the tokenization of Black characters, writing "The 'Sex and the City' reboot wants to undo its colorblind legacy by including Black characters. Unfortunately, they're treated as luxury accessories."[48]
After the episode in which Chris Noth's character dies following a Peloton bike workout, the stock for the company dropped significantly.[49] The company issued a statement through Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a cardiologist and member of the company's health and wellness advisory, saying that they agreed to the product placement but were not aware of how it would be used in the pivotal scene. The statement also said not to blame the company for the character's death, and cited some contributing factors, such as his lifestyle (e.g., his consumption of steaks and cigars) and a cardiac surgery in a previous season.[50] Three days after the episode aired, the company released an ad, featuring Chris Noth and narrated by Ryan Reynolds, with Reynolds quickly citing the benefits of cycling and ending with "He's alive."[51] Four days later, the ad was removed after sexual assault allegations were reported against Chris Noth.[52]
The series was given the Seal of Authentic Representation from the Ruderman Family Foundation for the portrayal of Steve Brady by David Eigenberg, and Chloe by Ali Stroker, as actors with disabilities and at least five lines of dialogue.[53] The series was recognized with The ReFrame Stamp for hiring people of underrepresented gender identities, and of color.[54]
A documentary that serves as a behind-the-scenes look of the series titled as And Just Like That... The Documentary was released on February 3, 2022.[55]
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