Ramirez will play Che Diaz, a non-binary podcaster.
Sara Ramirez Just Joined the 'Sex and the City' Reboot
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…”
https://twitter.com/cynthianixon/status/1348405011068448768
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.
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.
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.
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!
Did any other cast members post about it? You know it! Davis shared a similar message as Nixon on Twitter. Meanwhile, SJP didn’t pass the chance to invoke Bradshaw in her Instagram caption, writing, “I couldn’t help but wonder…where are they now?”
How are fans reacting? Aside from the obvious screams of joy, let’s just say Samantha was trending on Twitter on January 10. People are pretty hung up on Kim Cattrall’s absence.
https://twitter.com/therealkimj/status/1348419485728837637
https://twitter.com/evanrosskatz/status/1348408642865942531
https://twitter.com/willtbh/status/1348416421596983306
https://twitter.com/gaybonez/status/1348415396001492995
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.”
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 non-binary, will play the show's first non-binary 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.”
This post will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Glamour