A week ago, Michael Patrick King announced that And Just Like That’s Season 3 would be the last, that they were adding two finale episodes to the season and that would be that. While my timeline was always full of people talking about AJLT, the actual ratings for the show sucked, and this was a series revival which no one asked for or wanted. As I said, as a longtime Sex and the City watcher/fan, I actually tried to give AJLT a shot. I watched all of Season 1 and it was horrible, unfunny and they fundamentally changed the Miranda character to a crazy degree. I never thought Kim Cattrall’s Samantha was the linchpin of SATC, but as it turns out, Sam/Kim made everything click into place, and without her, AJLT was just a hollowed-out shell. Well, are you interested in more gossip about why AJLT is shuffling off? Enjoy:
The horse was finally put out of its misery, but shed no tears for the cancellation of “And Just Like That” — instead, Warner Bros. shareholders may want to ask why it hobbled along at such great expense for so long. The real reason HBO’s flailing show was canceled wasn’t because it went “woke” and political issues forced the show off the air … but because no one was watching. My insiders say it’s more shocking that it got renewed at all.
The first season of the “Sex and the City” spin-off got a meager 1.1 million viewers… and the following seasons were even worse. Season two debuted at 463,000, and this latest effort had just 429,000.
“It’s a horrifically expensive show to make and it wasn’t justified,” my insider said. “But HBO signed a multiyear contract with (executive producer) Michael Patrick King and Sarah Jessica Parker so… there you go.”
Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon all made $10 million per season, and the rest of production likely tripled the $30 million the stars were making — so the show would have been at least a whopping $90 million to make … numbers that aren’t justifiable in this environment and with the low viewership. Hilariously, King released a statement late last week, making it sound as if he and Parker were the ones who decided to let the beleaguered show die.
However, the show is nowhere near as successful as HBO’s “The White Lotus” (11.6 million viewers), “The Penguin” (7.6 million viewers) or even the first season of “Sex and the City” (2.5 million), which eventually brought in over 10 million viewers.
”And Just Like That” was plagued with plodding and woke storylines and the loss of Kim Cattrall, who played Samantha, and refused to be a part of the show. Cattrall felt bullied and demeaned by Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis during “Sex and the City”, and while she did film one scene for the second season of “AJLT”, she refused to be on set or see with any of her former co-stars, demanded a seven figure check (she got it) and made sure her old friend and former “SATC” stylist Patricia Fields handled her clothing choices.
“Her cameo was the only interesting thing about the second season,” my insider sniped.
The big question now is what will Sarah Jessica do? She hasn’t had any real success since ‘Sex’. According to IMDB, Parker has one movie in the works: “Hocus Pocus 3”
For what it’s worth, SJP has other options, and she’s always worked in theater throughout her career. It’s not like she’s only ever done Carrie Bradshaw, it’s just that Carrie was her most famous and most lucrative character, and SJP wanted to milk this franchise for all its worth, to the very bitter end. This piece answered some questions for me though – I didn’t realize that HBO signed a multiyear contract with Michael Patrick King. HBO probably hoped that King would be able to recapture just a fraction of SATC’s old charm with this series. Instead, it was a bait-and-switch. As soon as AJLT was greenlit, King and SJP made the most dour, depressing, awful, legacy-destroying series they could do.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
-
- , New York, NY – 20210920 – Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker Shooting on location for HBO Max Sex And The City’s reboot series And Just Like That -PICTURED: Sarah Jessica Parker -PHOTO by: ROGER WONG/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
-
- New York, NY – Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon on the set of HBO Max series, And Just Like That, the Sex And The City 10-part revival. Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon BACKGRID USA 9 JULY 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New York, NY – Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Cynthia Nixon on the set of the HBOMax Sex and the City reboot series ‘And Just Like That’ in New York City. Pictured: Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon BACKGRID USA 20 SEPTEMBER 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New York, NY – Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Cynthia Nixon on the set of the HBOMax Sex and the City reboot series ‘And Just Like That’ in New York City. Pictured: Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon BACKGRID USA 20 SEPTEMBER 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New York, NY – Sarah Jessica Parker slips into an extravagant Alexander McQueen dress as Cynthia Nixon awaits inside of a car as the girls film “And Just Like That” in New York City. Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker BACKGRID USA 20 OCTOBER 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: T.JACKSON / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New York City, NY – Actress Sarah Jessica Parker on the set of “And Just Like That” in New York City Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker BACKGRID USA 26 JANUARY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New York, NY – Sarah Jessica Parker, John Corbett, David Eigenberg, and Niall Cunningham, film a scene on the Coney Island Boardwalk for ‘And Just Like That’. Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker, John Corbett BACKGRID USA 21 FEBRUARY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: T.JACKSON / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New York, NY – Sarah Jessica Parker, John Corbett, David Eigenberg, and Niall Cunningham, film a scene on the Coney Island Boardwalk for ‘And Just Like That’. Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker, John Corbett BACKGRID USA 21 FEBRUARY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: T.JACKSON / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New York, NY – Sarah Jessica Parker, John Corbett, David Eigenberg, and Niall Cunningham, film a scene on the Coney Island Boardwalk for ‘And Just Like That’. Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker, John Corbett BACKGRID USA 21 FEBRUARY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: T.JACKSON / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
IDK, maybe I’m nuts but I grew to really enjoy AJLT … after three high-potency gummies and an espresso martini or three!
Same! 😂😂 truly the only way to actually enjoy it
I enjoyed it too. It was eye candy to distract from all the awful things that are happening now.
i haven’t watched a single episode but clips come up in my reels all the time and it just seems…..stupid and unnecessary.
when I see clips or remember scenes from the original series, i remember how really, truly, Carrie Bradshaw was the worst. she was selfish, self-centered, obsessed with Big (would she have been so obsessed if he wasn’t rich?) and always excused her bad behavior. And it seems all that is just even worse in AJLT.
What ultimately cancelled the show for me was the idea of making all the main characters stratospherically rich. That’s just a very lazy, very boring Cinderella shtick that adds nothing to the original show which celebrated real women living in a real city. I didn’t watch it.
yes! that annoyed me too. Okay we know Charlotte had money that was part of her whole deal. And Miranda and Samantha were well off but they worked very hard for their income so it wasn’t just rich women swanning around NYC.
Agree, plus I hated how they shoehorned in Seema’s financial struggles this past season, it was handled weirdly since she suddenly became wealthy again without any explanation
🎯!
I think it would be considered successful if it wasn’t so expensive to make? That’s a lot of money per episode. SJP lives in NYC which is expensive sure but she has to have a lot of money by now? I think she’ll be fine. And I can see a spark being gone or missing without Samantha/Kim Catrell but I haven’t watched much of the show except for clips so I can’t say for sure.
I think SJP sits on a board or two, so yes, she will be fine!
The British writer, Duncan, seemed to be played up as Carrie’s love interest ( I thought the novel plot was a bad idea). After yet another breakup of Aiden and Carrie, it looked like Duncan would be Mr Right. After a night together with Carrie, Duncan announced he was leaving and going to the UK to live. There seemed to be no where to go then. Aiden’s writing was inconsistent, He was so concerned about Wyatt then when he saw Duncan, all of a sudden Wyatt would stay with his mother and Aiden would be “free.” It made no sense to bring back Aiden for yet another breakup scene. The plot with Brady is very bad. He had no real relationship with Mia not a significant other or girlfriend, just a one night stand. Brady was supposed to have matured since Season One. Steve should have remarried. He returned for the Brady scene. Seema’s plot was the best and most promising of all,
I loved the first series. I was in my early twenties when it was on and we would all get together to watch it. I tried to watch this version and couldn’t get through an episode.
Even if Sex and the City never existed, And Just Like That was a terrible show. Three NY women in their 50s suddenly discovering “diversity”? The storylines were silly and the fashion was embarrassing.
Look at the photos supplied here in this article – look at the pier with Aiden photos of SJP. ….atrocious outfit.
I can buy Miranda and Charlotte finding diversity. Miranda was the only one during the original series that had some type of interaction with non-white people. Plus with her moving to Brooklyn and quiting her job for social justic work, she would’ve made her acquaintance with nobody non-white.
Charlotte I can buy because Charlotte has a non-white child and she would’ve wanted her child to connect with their culture (remember, she was doing this during the original series when she was trying to learn Mandarin when she wanted to adopt a Chinese baby with Trey). I can see Charlotte befriending the other mothers at her children’s school and some of those mothers wouldn’t be white.
Carrie, no. I don’t see Carrie venturing out of White Woman Land. She would just be hanging out with other white women and that’s find because I really don’t see any non-white women trying to be Carrie’s friend. At best they’d regard her as an annoying Karen and be about their way.
It was a long term deal? Now it makes sense it went for 3 seasons. Most people who watched it hate watched it because they were former fans of SATC and had interest in the characters. I admit it did get better with each season after that truly disastrous first season but nowhere near as good as what the original show had been. Rest in peace.
I’m actually ok with season 3. I like the arcs with Harry’s cancer, Charlotte is working now with Gen Z competition, grandma Miranda could have been interesting. I love Seema and Lisa. What is a dud is Carrie/Aidan and now Carrie’s whole “what now schtick”. Carrie just needs to say I’m SINGLE AND HAPPY. Whyyyyyy do SJP/whoever keep giving her shitty men? Just be single and fabulous. The end.
The way Warner Brothers have been DECIMATING HBO…and looking at what HGTV did with SUCCESSFUL shows with legacy…I figured AJLT was getting canceled whether or not it had magnificent ratings or not…it’s too expensive…amazing since the last HW strike where the deplorable 😡studios have to pay a few extra pennies to the TALENT…all of a sudden we have Warner/Paramount DISAPPEARING shows/movies from streaming…
Sigh a😬
I liked, not loved the original.
It was around the time I went from tv watching to mostly consuming media online.
I discovered there was a whole world out there of entertainment from so many different countries, not just what was being shown on tv.
I associate SATC with that switch, as I found women whose life centered around dating men was boring and did not reflect my own life or that of my peers.
The other media I associate with that switch is Bridget Jones.
This and the original series are pretty much unwatchable to me now.
I know some online like Seema but I thought her character was so trite. I hated what they did to Charlotte’s and Miranda’s characters. They were like cardboard.
I was happy to see Charlotte and Harry still happy after 20 or so years of marriage. The storylines were mostly boring and it took too long to get rid of two of the worst characters, Che and Aidan. Carrie was as shallow as ever – no growth in her character. And that novel she was writing in Season 4 – it was awful.
Won’t miss any of it.
After the first movie was a steaming pile of trash, I knew not to trust these people not to wreck my mostly enjoyable memories of the show’s first run, so I never intended to tune in. Never regretted it. To me, this show never happened to these characters.
There never should have been a revival and letting Cynthia Nixon turn Mirana into Cynthia Nixon was a HUGE mistake. The viewers didn’t care about Cynthia, we don’t know her. We care about the person we know, Miranda. We liked Miranda and Steve and if you were going to break them up, it should have been for someone way better than Che. They kept trying to turn dislike of Che into bigotry but they wrote an awful, rude, entitled, selfish, UNFUNNY character then got big mad because the viewers didn’t like it.
The character of Che, and Miranda’s complete personality change turned me off. Also, why does Charlotte always talk like she’s speaking to someone who’s intellectually challenged? All the kids are the worst spoiled and entitled brats. They didn’t do anything interesting with the new characters. If Aidan and Carrie weren’t going to be end game, why bother? That was painful. They didn’t NEED Samantha, they needed BETTER writers. What a waste.
AJLT was fueled by SJP’s delusional ability to separate herself from Carrie Bradshaw. The shoe lines, the Met Gala appearances, her “fashion” choices – it’s hard to keep up with which pieces are real and which pieces are fan fiction written by SJP so she can continue to feel special and idolized as an iconic character. Unfortunately, they should’ve ended on a high note, such as ending with the series finale. The movies and this spin-off just soured what was a celebrated series.
I hope Kim enjoyed hearing that news today! She was always the best part of the show, and the way she was treated sounded terrible.
I would’ve stopped watching after the first few episodes, but my roomie wanted to continue hate watching. Season three was a little bit better, but the writing just sucks. One of the great things about the original was how all of the plot lines came together or followed a theme. The plots on this series are all over the place, really have anything to do with each other. I laughed maybe two or three times this whole season. The rest of it is just boring.
That’s not true. I was watching every episode and so were my friends. I will miss the girls and their fashions.
I thought it was canceled after the 1st season