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Big Is Back: Chris Noth and SJP Were Spotted Filming the ‘Sex and the City’ Revival
After literally years of speculation and very recent rumors, Sex and the City will be returning to our screens. Yes, that’s right: A revival of the series, titled And Just Like That…, is coming to HBO Max.
“I grew up with these characters, and I can’t wait to see how their story has evolved in this new chapter, with the honesty, poignancy, humor, and the beloved city that has always defined them,” Sarah Aubrey, the head of original content at HBO Max, said in a statement, per Deadline.
Here’s everything we know about the next chapter in the lives of Carrie Bradshaw, Charlotte York, and Miranda Hobbes.
Sex and the City is coming back! Yes, we’ve said that already, but we can hardly believe it. Cynthia Nixon tweeted the news on January 10. “Anything is possible. This is New York,” she wrote alongside a teaser.
“And just like that,” someone types as we hear the voice of Sarah Jessica Parker and the sounds of NYC. “The story continues…”
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What’s it called? According to Deadline, the revival series is called And Just Like That…. It has its own Twitter account, but you can also call it SATC: Next Chapter if Nixon’s hashtag and the teaser are anything to go by.
Who’s involved? Nixon tagged Sarah Jessica Parker as well as Kristin Davis in her post but notably left out Kim Cattrall. Deadline confirms the actor, who played Samantha Jones in the original six seasons and two movies, will not be returning. Is anyone really surprised?
Although Darren Star, who also created Emily in Paris, was the original creator of the series, it’s being reported that Michael Patrick King will serve as executive producer along with Nixon, Parker, and Davis. King previously directed multiple episodes of the series as well as both movies.
What are they doing about Samantha? In February 2021, HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys told TV Line, “Just as in real life, people come into your life, people leave. 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 it should all feel somewhat organic, and the friends that you have when you’re 30, you may not have when you’re 50.”
That being said, we don’t know exactly how the series will explain Samantha’s absence yet. But Parker did hint on Twitter that some fans were close to guessing it.
On Instagram, she (sort of) addressed Cattrall’s noninvolvement; after one fan commented, “Happy to see you back but will miss Kim/Samantha,” Parker replied, “We will too. We loved her so. X.” Loved as in past tense. Well, better to have loved and lost, as they say.
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In a separate comment, per People, SJP wrote of Samantha, “She will always be there.” And when one fan suggested she didn’t like Cattrall, Parker wrote, “No. I don’t dislike her. I’ve never said that. Never would. Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do. X.”
What about Mr. Big? Some fans are rightfully concerned the series will kill off Carrie’s now husband after a journalist claimed Mr. Big died in an unrealized script for the third film back in 2018. However, Chris Noth himself shut down those rumors later that year. “He wasn’t going to die,” Noth told Page Six. “There’s no way he was dying. That was all a lie.”
So who do we believe? There’s obviously no one better to ask than And Just Like That… producer SJP herself. One fan did exactly that in the comments of Parker’s Instagram announcement. “This is insane. My favorite girls will be back,” they wrote, per Us Weekly. “But wait, what about Mr. Big?”
Parker’s response? “Wait and see,” she replied.
And on May 26, we did get more clarity: Chris Noth will be back to reprise the role of Mr. Big, per a press release from HBO Max. “I’m thrilled to be working with Chris again on And Just Like That…,” executive producer Michael Patrick King said in a statement. “How could we ever do a new chapter of the Sex And The City story without our Mr. Big?”
And just like that…here he is! On August 2, Noth was spotted filming with SJP in Chelsea. Here are the pics:
What about Smith Jerrod? Probably not, and it makes sense. Asked by the Daily Front Row if he’d been approached about appearing in the reboot, actor Jason Lewis replied, “I have not, but I would be the last to know! As much as I appreciate the flattery, the conversation is about the girls.” Considering that his character was only involved via a connection to Samantha, and Samantha isn’t in the reboot, we’d say this one was inevitable.
Okay but…the clothes? Sadly, the woman who came up with the series’ iconic outfits will not be returning. Instead Patricia Field will be working on season two of Darren Star’s other project, Emily in Paris. “The main reason was a time conflict,” Field told WWD. “I wasn’t able to be in New York doing that and be in Paris doing Emily in Paris. But I told them to call my very dear friend Molly Rogers…. She did Sex and the City with me from start to finish. She knew it well, so she’s doing it.”
Rogers…put SJP…in Forever 21! According to a fan-created Instagram documenting the brands worn on the series (um, immediately following), one of Carrie’s latest looks is from the same store your cousin wants a gift card to for her bat mitzvah. Carrie does love to mix her highs and her lows, and the highs here are high: heels by Terry de Havilland and a handbag from Gucci and Balenciaga’s joint collection.
Where and when can you watch? It’s fitting that And Just Like That… will launch on HBO Max—and not just because the original series ran on HBO from 1998 to 2004. HBO Max is also hosting the highly anticipated Gossip Girl reboot.
No premiere date has been announced, but Deadline reports that the Sex and the City limited series will begin production in the spring of 2021.
How many episodes? Ten!
Jennifer Hudson is hoping to reprise her role as Louise from St. Louis. When Hudson was asked if Carrie Bradshaw’s assistant from the Sex and the City movie will appear in the reboot, she replied, “I hope so! That would be cool. I’m down.”
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Justin Theroux is down to return too. Theroux actually played two different parts over the course of the series: cool guy novelist Jared and short story writer Vaughn, the, uh, premature ejaculator guy. Asked by E! News if he would be open to reprising one (or both?) roles in the revival, Theroux joked, “Let me check my email or see if anyone called. I still have no email from Sarah Jessica.” He then added, “Yeah, of course I would love to. If they wanted to have me, I’d do Sex and The City again.”
The revival will address the coronavirus pandemic. Parker told Vanity Fair that COVID-19 will “obviously be part of the storyline because that’s the city [these characters] live in. I have great faith that the writers are going to examine it all.”
The cast will reportedly include more diversity. In May, TVLine reported that (around) six new characters will be introduced in the new episodes, three of them series regulars who are also women of color. HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys said that Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick 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.” The writing staff for the reboot is reportedly half people of color, including the hilarious Samantha Irby.
Sara Ramirez will play one of the new characters. Tony winner Ramirez, who is nonbinary, will play the show’s first nonbinary character in a “series regular” role. The Hollywood Reporter revealed on May 19 that Ramirez’s character is “Che Diaz (they/them), a nonbinary, queer stand-up comedian who hosts a podcast on which Carrie is regularly featured. Che 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.”
Nicole Ari Parker, Karen Pittman and Sarita Choudhury are also joining the cast! Parker welcomed four new actors to the series in an Instagram post on July 15, writing, “@justlikethatmax And finally!!!! THRILLED to welcome @therealsararamirez, @NicoleAriParker, Karen Pittman and Sarita Choudhury to #AndJustLikeThat. Can’t wait to work with these brilliant actors who bring so much talent, humor and excitement to our ensemble. X, SJ”
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Charlotte’s and Miranda’s husbands will return. HBO confirmed on June 9 that Steve Brady (David Eigenberg) and Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler) are going to appear in the revival. Plus, that’s not where the love ends: Willie Garson will also reprise his role as Stanford Blatch, and Mario Cantone will return as Stanford’s husband, Anthony Marentino.
“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,” King said in a statement.
They’re back! On June 11, Parker posted a selfie with Davis and Nixon following their first table read! “Together again. 💜 Read through our first episodes,” she wrote, tagging @justlikethatmax. “Alongside all the fellas and our newest cast members. Like an ice cream sundae. X, SJ.”
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The table read went really well. “I think the feeling was, ‘Oh, my God, this is so weird, right?’” Willie Garson, who plays Stanford Blatch, told Page Six on June 30, adding, “And also, ‘Oh, my God, this is so completely normal.’ So at the same time, this is the weirdest thing ever and this is literally just like, ‘Oh, here we are again. Another terrific episode.’” Garson said that he “truly, truly appreciate[s]” fans of the show for keeping interest in it alive for so long, and says that the “updated” new episodes will explore questions like “Where are these people now? How have these people changed, evolved? …Like, how has all the rapid changes in the world affected these people and how are they different?” He continued, “So God bless us for being allowed to do this. And it’s because of the fans.”
SJP shared pics from the set. As of July 9, production has officially begun and Parker is taking us along for the ride. “7:15 am EST NYC,” she wrote in the caption of a photo from hair/makeup. “Here she comes.”
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The first official look is here! HBO Max released the first official image from And Just Like That… on July 9 to celebrate the beginning of production. Here’s how Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte are dressing now:
Bridget Moynahan (a.k.a. Natasha) was spotted filming scenes in New York City. People has photos of the actor shooting on the streets of SoHo, and The Daily Mail got snaps of Moynahan and Parker filming a different scene (different day, different outfit) in a coffee shop. Yep, Carrie and Natasha exchange words yet again.
Charlotte, Carrie, and Miranda are shocked…about something. Here’s a shot from filming in July 2021.
The kids are alright. Charlotte’s two daughters, Lily and Rose, and Miranda’s son, Brady, all appear to be making appearances in a group scene that was shot in New York City in July. In photos from the set, a red-haired young man stands near Nixon and Eigenberg, and two young women are with Davis and Handler.
So, can we talk about what Rose is wearing? She got the accessories memo, but she may have misinterpreted it. Sounds like a job for Aunt Carrie.
Lily and Rose Goldenblatt will be played by Cathy Ang and Alexa Swinton, respectively, and Niall Cunningham will play Brady Hobbes. Deadline reports that Cree Cicchino has also joined the cast as Brady’s girlfriend, Luisa Torres (Brady’s! Girlfriend!), because Brady is, like, 19 now and we’re all just wasting away on the beach from Old.
This post will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Condé Nast
