"And Just Like That"-Thread 5

Thread 4

The finale will be the most disappointing finale of all time.

I love how HBO didn’t bother changing the preview to say “series finale” instead of “season finale.”

The closing shot will be of the back of a stylish blonde walking through a busy London restaurant, her cell pressed to her ear.

We hear Kim C, “Carrie Bradshaw? Never heard of her. Anyway, what fun I'm having here in London…” We see her arrive at a table of smart, sophisticated people, a gorgeous man taking her hand lovingly to lead her to her chair.

… and that man is Duncan.

Has someone considered what will happen to Kristin Davis after this is over?

SJP and CN will both work. KC never stopped working. KD is shito out of lucko

Kristin Davis also is a single parent of two kids, a 14 year old and a 7 year old. She needs the money.

“She needs the money” as if she’s a minimum wage worker…

She can't act in this, who the fuck would hire KD for anything else?

Charlotte and Harry will do just fine once they land an erectile dysfunction medicine advert.

R3

Because it’s not, they are doing two extra episodes to wrap everything up now

[quote]Kristin Davis also is a single parent of two kids, a 14 year old and a 7 year old. She needs the money.

She made $33 million for doing AJLT.

Damn

Is Kristin Davis “on assistance”?

I agree this finale looks lame.

You just know she's moving back to her old apartment.

Did that girl buy the apartment from Carrie?

The writing is so bad, it won't surprise me if Carrie trades her townhouse for the tiny apartment.

I think Carrie is just leading it to Lisette, right?

If so, wouldn’t Lisette have needed Carrie’s permission to subdivide the unit?

^You can lead a Lisette to your quarters but you can't make her think.

No, she sold to Lisette at a great price, which is how Lisette could afford it

What did KD do between SATC/AJLT ventures...nothing much. Somehow she survived. Her kids are little--she'll be able to spend time with them.

They can look cold and waif-like as unemployed mommy shakes a tin cup at Grand Central begging for coins.

Is Lisette that grubby looking woman who makes hobo jewelry?

Tomorrow’s the day!

What will we do with ourselves afterwards?

I guess we can hate watch “Landman.”

I got the impression the English writer had been coming to NY and renting that apartment off and on for awhile. Why all of a sudden is he not ever returning? Did I misunderstand or did he bolt from Carrie?

Wouldn’t you bolt from Carrie?

Is he going to claim he can’t write there any more because Carrie is too much of a distraction?

[quote] Maybe you imagined Miranda peacefully partnered and living in Brooklyn? Alas, Miranda spiraled into alcoholism and embarked on a journey of sexual self-discovery that included an interlude with one of the most justly ridiculed TV characters ever.

I haven't followed the show, so can someone explain more about that justly justly ridiculed TV character referred to? Thanks!

You haven’t followed the show but have commented on every thread?

R29, this is my first time on any of these threads. I read something in the Times on the show and thought I'd ask what they were referring to.

I’m not ready. What could have been.

I’m ready for it to be put down. A disaster filled with vain, egomaniacal actresses.

SJP seems to truly believe she is supermodel gorgeous. It is really baffling.

The writing was terrible, but I did admire SJP’s willingness to play downbeat and subdued at times. I wish they had done more with that.

I don’t think there has ever been a character as overindulged as Carrie Bradshaw. Usually the lead gets knocked down a peg or two by their costars. Typically they are injected with their own doubts and humility. But Carrie has always been an untouchable. It would actually make a lot of sense if we learn that this entire thing, since 1998, has been her fantasy fiction, considering reality has never controlled her behavior or others’ behavior towards her.

R28 sure if you’ll pay me my going rate!

Today’s the day. Sigh. Even though I enjoyed the series, AJLT could’ve been so much more. It is stunning SJP, who I believe is smart, allowed for such shoddy writing. It’s mind boggling. I’ll be sad to see this go, though.

I thought the last episode was a two parter? That means next week will be the final episode.R35 is right about Carrie. Once SJP became a producer, Carrie had zero flaws both in looks and personality in the world of both shows. Everyone around her was awful, but never her.

Wasn't last week Part 1, R38?

[quote] What did KD do between SATC/AJLT ventures...nothing much. Somehow she survived. Her kids are little--she'll be able to spend time with them.

She was having mad, passionate sex with her heterosexual lover John Travolta. The heat from their coital sessions was so inferno-like the fire department had to called on several occasions. They lost count of the mattresses they’ve gone through so far🔥.

R39 yes

It’s almost over!

“Somehow she survived”

Again, she isn’t a minimum wage worker. She made millions off SATC the show and then was paid millions for the films. She also makes a lot off royalties.

You seem to think she’s working for $10 an hour.

It will never be over. Not as long as Sarah Jessica has anything to say about it!

In tonight's episode, she wakes up in bed next to Matthew.

I figure we’ll be on Thread 6 in record time tonight!

Did you bitches pick up some yogurt, bananas and Mexican Cokes for tonight's viewing party?

Prediction for tonight

Carrie is told she is fabulous

No Kim Cattrall

Carrie ends up with London guy

Miranda is humiliated for old times sake

I assume Miranda is found wandering the streets of New York, naked and crying out "Baby Mama, where are you, Baby Mama???"

Finale is only 34 minutes…

It also contains “sequences of flashing lights, which may affect photosensitive viewers”.

Be warned.

***Spoiler***

Harry gets a hard-on 🍆🍆

The Baby Mam is crazy and manipulative. Carrie really needs to ditch the shoes when she's at home. Miranda 's girlfriend seems less of a psycho.

They wrapped things up in the best bow possible. Not the worst episode, but not very good.

R48 “the London guy” Duncan’s last episode was episode 10. He isn’t in 11 and 12 because these two episodes were filmed a few months after the rest and they couldn’t get him back.

We are 7 minutes from the end of the entire franchise, and we have shit coming up out of a toilet.

The end credits gave me a lump in my throat, I’m not going to lie. Nice touch, if not a little too late…

What a shitty ending

well, that was a lovely meh. Adios, bitches of AJLT.

An extended pie metaphor?! Oy vey.

R46 there ain’t enough shit to make this thread last that long.

I would like the record to reflect, I ain't going anywhere near that shit.

I did crack up when that ditsy queen started voguing. Stupid, but you have to take what you can get here.

Was it necessary to show that shitty toilet for a full 30 seconds (or however long it was)

good riddance, AJLT. you were the crème de la crème of excrement tv. i will miss hate watching you.

Interview with MPK about the finale.

[quote] Whenever anyone in this universe, “Sex and the City” or “And Just Like That,” stands on a soapbox to make a speech, the soapbox breaks. We cannot take ourselves too seriously. For the gorgeousness of Carrie’s pink, sparkly top and tulle skirt — that’s the high — the low is a toilet filled up with shit. Because guess what? Being single, there’s a lot of shit, and relationships are a lot of shit. It’s the comedy, with the drama, with the romance, with the fairy tale. I guess it’s a response to the fairy tale.

Deadline interview with MPK, which includes [bold]spoilers[/bold].

And just like that, he admits how bad this series really was.

Sweet fucking Christ MPK, what was that?

He stole the plot from DL;

Spoiler alert: Poo - Shoes!!

Wow, MPK is so deep.

Not forced to marry anyone and I got to show my naked ass.

Winning!

Another interview with MPK in THR. He is shoveling more shit tonight than Epcot!

This is also where we wanted to leave Miranda, cleaning a toilet.

Too bad the robot didn't attack her in the Chinese restaurant.

"For a show that tended to treat its characters, plotlines, continuity, and viewers like shit, it was rather fitting, I suppose, that And Just Like That… would go out with one final turd. I just didn’t expect it to be so literal."

Miranda’s woke Thanksgiving came complete with a grumpy pregnant teen, her trans friend EPCOT, and a cartoonishly loud gay stereotype — the kind that could be used in a PSA about how gays for Gaza since Che is no longer available to do it.

I think we all know who committed literal violence tonight!

EPCOT was less annoying than the rest. Brady must have been massively drunk to fuck Mia.

It was my favorite TV finale ever!

I had just started eating my lunch when the toilet scene started.

Seriously, all that fucking bullshit about her nobility just so that bitch could hand out a bunch of pies to fuckers all over town.

This is Spike Einbinder, who played Epcot tonight, the character who provided the most unforgettable part of tonight's finale. He is Laraine Newman's FTM son.

His sister in Hannah Einbinder from "Hacks."

Epcot was played by Hannah Einninder’s sister-brother

WTF did I just see? Honestly, I thought they'd at least end the series with everyone around a table. No Carrie delivering pies and then all the characters having separate festivities, disastrously.

Lisa and Charlotte’s arcs end with perfect marriages where they are more in love than ever with perfect families and they never have a financial care in the world. So relatable!

Rock is going to be many people throughout their life. (Pan away to KD family all looking interested and close knit).

Even my deaf cat could hear the sound of my eyes tolling at that bullshit.

This is pretty terrible trying to stitch everything together at the end.

We're back to "I have to accept that I may be alone." Carrie did this in SATC. They should have had her sitting at an outdoor cafe drinking a glass of red wine like she was the first time.

[QUOTE] They should have had her sitting at an outdoor cafe drinking a glass of red wine like she was the first time.

Or walking into the ocean to commit suicide like Joan Crawford did in Humoresque.

So Carrie walks in to her house after being out for the day and the cat isn’t at the door waiting for attention? Does she lock Shoe in a room when she goes out?

Or getting finger banged by Che ending with, “ and just like that, I’m the one who’s a lesbian.”

R82. Please God, don't let Spike anywhere near his/her sister's show, Hacks.

Yeah, I quit that bitch. I'm living with Samantha and Duncan now, in swinging London!

[quote]We're back to "I have to accept that I may be alone." Carrie did this in SATC.

She was back with Big at the end of SATC..She wasn't married but she was partnered. At hhe end of SATC, all four ladies were happily partnered. Having Carrie be on her own is far better than that bullshit SATC ending.

Are Brady's baby momma's friends supposed to be funny?

A lot of pissing, shit, and reference to shit smells in this episode. What an odd way to go out.

Who did Victor Garber piss off (pun intended) to deserve this?

Poorly executed show goes out with a whimper. There is no way that (1) King and Parker voluntarily chose to end this show this way; and (2) Parker doesn't work like hell to continue this somehow/somewhere else.

Im curious about the IP ownership and rights to all of Carrie et al. Who has the call about future projects? Could Candace Bushnell state this thing was so lousy and assert an IP right to stop King and Parker from future efforts? AJLT did real damage to the value of this franchise.

[Quote] My parents are huge Disney fans. - Epcot

Well they dropped the ball by not naming you Goody.

^Goofy

R99 Too late, sweetie. I was about to burst out laughing.

That was VERY underwhelming - even for AJLT. I get it, they have to account for everyone and show us where they're at as the series ends. It's just not well-executed. I never really took to the show, but didn't hate watch it - I wanted it to take off and be better. It had a few pretty good episodes, but was pretty lackluster overall.

Excuse me, we didn't all get closure! Who am I fingerbanging now? And whose kitchen am I in?

It should have ended like this.

I felt bad for Carrie having to spend Thanksgiving with Miranda and Brady, Charlotte's boss and those Gen Z freaks. If she were on DL, she would have material for a great post for our annual Let's Pretend We're Thanksgiving Dinner thread!

Who were the unknown characters in that quick shot of Miranda and Joy early on - late teens who I swear called Joy "Mom". Maybe they were explained in something that hit the cutting room floor. I thought that Joy's whippets were her only babies.

New York Times recap.

On the bright side - Victor Garber is obviously getting plenty of hydration.

My friend and I were watching at the same time and talking on the phone, and when the toilet started overflowing, we lost it. She said it was like there was a turd for every horrible plot line over the last three seasons.

One of my favorite things was this bitch wanted to change her garden...and says so at the end of November in New York.

Indiewire.

I was hoping Aunt Gladys would show up at Carrie's door. Or Miranda's door.

The finale was truly awful.

No attempt to tie up much of anything, yet we spend a lot of time visiting pie woman, hearing about Joy’s dogs, visiting a bridal fashion show (?!), and of course hanging out with three brand new Gen Zs and an overflowing toilet.

Didn’t some website publish a story a few days ago saying the cast only found out the show was ending a day before the public found out? So, not a planned ending.

It’s kind of hilarious how this blew up in SJP’s face.

Even though she acts like in every interview that she has no idea that reviews are bad and people hate watch the show, she had to know that this kind of ending for a legacy reboot is literally right down the shitter!

Kim was right to run far away from this mess.

Perhaps the worst episode of the entire reboot. What the fuck was that?

And no New Yorker in 2025 is going to go from neighborhood to neighborhood in a cab to hand off pies.

Why did Miranda’s guest bath open right into her dining room? One of a hundred questions—was it all intentional, to make this ending as awful as possible?

I’ll miss the show due to the discussion here and elsewhere. Sometimes the phenomenon is better than the product. Can’t wait for the next iteration. Until then!

R115 and be the last one to leave at the end of a very log day, yet the sun was still streaming into her townhouse when she got home. In November. And there was no traffic to hinder her deliveries—when there’s a huge fucking parade on the streets…

And among many other ridiculous things, why did the karaoke song have singing on it?

And who the fuck throws a bridal fashion show uptown in Central Park during Thanksgiving week? And why would any designer care if those women were in the front row? And why were they having two separate conversations—why were they taking at all during the show? Why were those designers gowns so ugly?

Does anyone actually plant bulbs in November?

What kind of karaoke machine is loaded to play back the original song with vocals?

How many separate turds were there? One for each HBO executive?

What a shame. We could have gotten a great sequel to SATC. I’ll miss this, though. As bad as it was it was still enjoyable.

Seema’s boyfriend had an autistic brother he was deeply protective of — even having him work alongside him when they first met. It was almost as if he was his guardian. Then, the moment Seema entered the picture, the brother vanished without explanation. Why even include him in the first place — just to tick another DEI box for “underserved groups” on the show? It ends up looking like the boyfriend simply dumped his brother to be with Seema. At the very least, they could have kept him in the story so the two could share the rent-controlled apartment their mother left behind. Talk about a loose end. No Emmy nod this year, or at least one would hope.

Shit jokes equal shit writers. Using physical shit as a joke in anything is never funny. Just gross, stupid, cheap and lowbrow. Wouldn’t someone of Carrie’s wealth have a private driver? Such bad, bad writing on this whole series. 2/10 overall. It makes SATC look like a masterpiece—and it had flaws.

Does anyone know for sure if SJP or Kristin Davis read The Data Lounge? They must be absolutely plotzing over some of the criticisms.

R82 Jesus, did Laraine have any cis or het kids that survived?

Coming next year, spin-off with Brady and his new Gen-Z friends with Special Guest Star Sarah Jessica Parker. They all move in with Carrie and new shitty highjinks ensue

[quote]Seema’s boyfriend had an autistic brother he was deeply protective of — even having him work alongside him when they first met. It was almost as if he was his guardian.

He’s his nephew, not brother.

[quote]Or walking into the ocean to commit suicide like Joan Crawford did in Humoresque.

Or rocks in her pockets and a nice long stroll into the East River R88.

[quote]Does anyone know for sure if SJP or Kristin Davis read The Data Lounge? They must be absolutely plotzing over some of the criticisms.

R125 if anyone does it’s SJP because CUNT Andy haunts this site and has probably told her.

Who would ever give someone a pie without the box??

The show about that bitchy, vogueing gayling would've been more interesting.

R131, that’s what I thought!

So she’s in a cab, taking each pie out of the carrying case,and walking it around the streets and elevators and hallways uncovered. Of NYC. On Thanksgiving Day. Yum!

[quote]His sister in Hannah Einbinder from "Hacks."

Not anymore. We disowned him for that poop scene alone.

Delivering pies throughout Manhattan without a box or any sort of cover.

[quote] Does anyone know for sure if SJP or Kristin Davis read The Data Lounge? They must be absolutely plotzing over some of the criticisms.

"Excuse me, Matthew and kids, but I have to go check out yet again what those anonymous gays who always compare me to a horse think of the season finale! I follow them regularly! "

[quote]Poorly executed show goes out with a whimper. There is no way that (1) King and Parker voluntarily chose to end this show this way; and (2) Parker doesn't work like hell to continue this somehow/somewhere else.

Agreed on #1; diametrically opposed to #2. This was the end. The show was cancelled for valid reasons, the main one being boring-but-real ratings: AJLT rarely had more than a million viewers per episode (assuming same day +3 for streamer viewings). "The Last of Us" averaged 36 MILLION viewers each episode last season, and its production costs aren't that much higher than AJLT's. (On a per-capita basis, and after factoring in that AJLT's usually a half-hour show.) "The White Lotus" was north of 25 million viewers per ep this past season.

What *actually* happened is the same thing that's been quietly happening on scores of TV shows: the network insisted on a massive budget cut for future seasons. It *might* have been possible to continue the series with minimal changes had the cast & showrunners been willing to settle for less, but given that the "girls" have been making close to $2 mil per episode – each – they were either too stubborn, or too spoiled, to accept less. This is also why the networks have started cancelling – even if framed as "ending the series on a high note" – scores of series, including all the cancelled NCISes, FBIs, 9-1-1s, and "The Equalizer." (And well beyond. Also Colbert, even if Paramount moved up the announcement of "The Late Show's" end to please that fuckwad Trump.)

OTOH the above was also true for "Succession": despite its buzz, it never garnered huge ratings. Even its series finale had less than 3M viewers, though it did better on delayed streaming. The only reason it stayed on for as long as it did was because it was a critical darling and a halo series for the entire network, and reliably hauled in truckloads of Emmys. If AJLT had *that* level of writing (and acting), it'd likely be a very different story, but you can't really "create" gravitas for a show's that's always been inherently absurd & lightweight (even the original).

Like it or not, this is the new reality. I'm frankly stunned AJLT made it even *this* far, but as a reminder this was originally intended to be a limited series! MPK wanted to do a single season focusing on Big's death, which he'd wanted to do in the movies but couldn't. But since it was a "hit" (kinda sorta, in the pre-TLOU times), they decided to keep going, despite having far too little good material to work with.

[quote]Im curious about the IP ownership and rights to all of Carrie et al. Who has the call about future projects? Could Candace Bushnell state this thing was so lousy and assert an IP right to stop King and Parker from future efforts? AJLT did real damage to the value of this franchise.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, hon. Candace Bushnell had zero involvement with the show, and really had only minimal impact on SATC: once your book is optioned for a series or film, you rarely have a chance to dictate what they do & don't do with it (unless you're already established talent). Darren Star developed the original series, but the original book was in a big way essentially Candace's nightlife journal. Mr. Big is referenced in it, but Samantha is only a minor character in the book (and nothing like the televised version).

Finally, I'm truly curious what you think could be *done* with the show's IP at this point. After six SATC seasons, two movies, and now three AJLT seasons, there is truly almost ZERO remaining material for plots. Absolutely no one wants to see "Geriatrics in the City." I could see a revival of the original show – either as a late '90s/early aughts period piece, or updated to reflect whatever NYC is like in the present (or future-present I guess) – but not remotely soon.

P.S. I'm thinking of AJLT as the equivalent of "The Golden Palace": an attempt to recreate the OG's show's mojo despite the absence of one of its core ensemble members. Didn't work then, didn't work now.

R136=SJP

So, Anthony went from having an expensive wedding with LIZA as the entertainment to living in a shitty little apartment with an eat-in kitchen? I get that he sunk a lot of money into that stupid bakery, so its probably realistic that he had to downsize, but all the other characters have these big inspirational homes and Anthony’s set looks like a college dorm.

The funny thing is that the show was always hate-watched. I remember in the early 2000s how people would post here complaining about how shallow and self-centered Carrie was, how judgmental Miranda was, how unrealistic it would be that Carrie could afford that wardrobe, how Samntha seemed like a gay man. And it was made fun of on "SNL" and "MadTV" more than almost any other scripted TV show.

It also was lambasted for being gross when MPK took over. I remember there was a whole episode centering on the skidmarks on Miranda's partner's underwear. I think MPK has always had a poop obsession.

R137 thanks for a rationale, succinct, explanation of what’s happening with “prestige” TV—the new golden age of television is muerte.

/s/ the corporate bean counters

rational*

R140 the original series was witty and fun. It was able to capture a moment in time here in the big city. This last gasp was a slog for $, nothing more.

r143, I stand 100% by what I posted. I saw what I saw on DL and on other TV shows back in the day. AJTL is much worse, but "Sex and the City" was mocked back then too.

Don’t just stand there!

With all the brown that appeared in the finale, it should have been titled ‘And Just Like Scat’.

They did nothing with Patti Lupone this season. What a bizarre cameo.

And Logan Marshall-Green: I enjoyed him, but what was the point? Why launch all these new characters and plot lines that can’t go anywhere in the few remaining episodes?

All signs they thought there would be another season.

I think most viewers would have preferred to see the original three girls interacting more and reflecting on how their friendships, lives, and philosophies have changed over the years.

The marriage conversation between Seema and Carrie was interesting but very brief, and I think viewers would have preferred to see more of this type of conversation among the original characters.

One big omission: Miranda and Steve probably should have at least mentioned that Brady was following in their own “unplanned pregnancy” footsteps. But I don’t think they acknowledged this at all.

R144 Christina Aguilera nailed Samantha in this parody.

Why was Carrie just roaming around in …Flushing? ? Did I miss something?

Oh, Now I get it

So Anne Meara played Steve’s mom, and her granddaughter played his son’s baby’s mother. And Miranda couldn’t tell him that Mia actually reminded her of his mother?!

That’s how bad these writers are…it was sitting there, waiting for them.

R147 re your second para: because they were cancelled! That’s why —they thought they had another season…and just like that it all went in the shitter.

The lame PR-spin in this NYT interview is hilarious.

Why end the show now? Because that’s where the story ended.

Because it sucked!

There is no way this was meant to be the end. It was a season finale with the Carrie is “on her own” piece tacked on. You will never convince me otherwise.

And honestly, what a shitty arc. So we had this happily single gal with a dramatic lover in Big. Married and happy. But when that great love that spanned 2.5 decades up and dies, we are to believe that happily on her own was always her destiny. Okay, maybe. Fine. But it feels like a really unsatisfying payoff.

No one has mentioned the pie in the face. Would anyone ever do that in real life?

I just watched the finale and it's not really that bad. Or maybe because my expectation is already lowered? It does feel more like a regular season finale but otoh all the storylines seemingly wrapped up. They were probably told renewal may or may not happen from the very start of filming s3.

I kinda like the ending of Carrie of being alone and ok about it.

Lower than low.

Least Expectations—

Pie? When die I eat pie?

Finale or not, I still can't believe they let the camera linger over an overflowing toilet...

Linger? It ogled!

It’s been forever since I watched the first season, but I don’t remember Carrie going relatively quickly from “Big is dead” to “Maybe I’ll go back to my true love, Aiden.”

Yet, that’s how Carrie presented it to Charlotte in the finale.

Plus— as someone who had a few Aidens in my past— it is so fucking annoying that she tried to portray Aiden as some great love.

He was an annoying “I guess he’s ok” guy she was killing time with in between bouts with Big.

Even in that very limited capacity, Aiden was annoying as hell.

The original show portrayed Aiden in a “we’ve all made this mistake” way, and now they want to portray him as some great love for the ages.

I wonder if this show was the last time we'll see Kristin Davis or John Corbett appear regularly on a TV show. Neither of them are much in the acting department, although they both are adequate, they mostly worked when they were younger because they were so attractive.

Cynthia Nixon is of course still working, and SJP can at least likely get character work. Maybe if they ever re-make "National Lampoon's Vacation" she can play eccentric Aunt Edna.

[quote]Not forced to marry anyone and I got to show my naked ass. Winning!—Naked Gardener

It was a highlight of the season

Corbett is usually pleasant and he's done a ton of voice work, mostly on commercials. Davis is the one who seems not to have a career beyond this and lacks talent, as well.

Heard but not seen🤙🏼

Thriller—er I mean Filler!

While maybe a weird comparison to some, I liken AJLT to the horrid reboot of the Real Housewives of New York. Not sure why no one seems capable of capturing the modern NYC zeitgeist, but both shows fail in similar ways (i.e. taking weird stabs rather than giving the viewers what they want).

Didn’t capture the NYC zeitgeist??? Didn’t you see those wonderful new characters we introduced at Miranda’s Thanksgiving Dinner? They representing the REAL NYC!

R89 what a weird this to complain about.

I’ve been a cat owner since I was a kid. We always had cats. Cats aren’t dogs. Our cats rarely waited for us by the door

R115 I am born and raised here (unlike you) and yes, plenty of people hop around NYC on Thanksgiving or Christmas

R118 the parade is very early and doesn’t go into Park Ave.

R119 those expensive high end karaoke machines allows you to download versions with singing on it.

You wouldn’t know. You’re used to the cheap shit.

Jackie Hoffman and Patti Lupone should get together and sue the hell out of the production company for such basic roles.

R137 source for your numbers?

R139 STANFORD funded the wedding. STANFORD was rich. Not Anthony.

Anthony was never depicted as rich because he wasn’t. He was working class.

R144 you were born in 2005

John Corbett is 64 years old and very rich. He’s also a born again Christian now.

He works all the time btw

[quote] Not sure why no one seems capable of capturing the modern NYC zeitgeist

My partner commented on this last night--that NY felt like a character in the original and that you could always tell it was filmed on location in NY. The reboot, however, felt like it could have been set almost anywhere and looked like it was filmed on a studio backlot.

Tbh, I blame MPK for this. The original show was aspirational but achievable--Carrie had a fabulous wardrobe but she lived in a shoebox, made a modest income, and frequented places that average New Yorkers visited. This show, by contrast, was set in a fairytale world of the ultra, ultra wealthy where money was literally no object and that isn't even a remotely realistic portrayal of NY. That was also a big problem with the second movie--which was universally reviled--so you'd think MPK would have learned his lesson. But no. Instead, he doubled down on it and insisted this is what the audience wants. Meanwhile, we literally laughed out loud during the finale when Carrie was delivering her pies and said she had to run because her taxi's meter was running. When would this version of Carrie ever care about a taxi meter? When would she even take a metered taxi??

He’s married to Bo Derek. She was a phenomenon in the 1970s for a hot minute

The show's setting was generic and luxe; it had all of the character of South Coast Plaza Mall.

“Not sure why no one seems capable of capturing the modern NYC zeitgeist“

Because NYC isn’t what it once was. It has lost most of its character. Even many of its buildings, being replaced by tall skyscrapers that all look the same.

The people of NYC were all different. Tons of natives and the people who moved here moved here with reason usually. A lot of business minded people and artsy people and unique personalities etc. now??? Have you met young people today? NYC feels like “little boxes” of white suburbia, but in skyscraper form. NYC isn’t what it once was

R179 we know.

Well, Some of the younger posters might not know

I checked out John C IMDb work history, he has worked nonstop

Also, he was very cute and charming in My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Why didn't they ask Charlotte if the turkey was done when she stopped by?

R171 the parade slices right through the middle of Manhattan —dozens of blocks are closed off. You’re daft

How long could Brady have been gone that he couldn't have just put the turkey back in the oven?

Jesus this show was bad.

Miranda doesn’t live on Park Ave…neither do 90% of the pie recipients —which pies came from the back of a never-ending Uber ride and were unboxed and uncovered.

Get real

R185 Park Ave isn’t one of them.

R186 Carrie took it out of the oven. Not Brady.

At least pay attention

Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade starts on West 77th Street and moves its way down to the Macys on 34th street, where it ends.

The Upper East side isn’t closed off for it.

Also, there is not crazy traffic on Thanksgiving on the UES etc. it’s actually pretty quiet

R189 yes I know. Which strengthens my argument that it couldn't have been out of the oven for hours.

[quote] Also, he was very cute and charming in My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Yes, he was. But that was a full twenty-three years ago.

R192 no one said it was out for hours. Brady said it would take two hours for the turkey to be done because it was still raw in the middle.

Why the fuck did Carrie take it out of the oven? She is so useless.

Ditsy and helpless isn’t cute when you’re pushing 60.

R194 You are as stupid as the writing on this show.

Let me break it down for you.

1. Brady leaves to get his baby mama seaweed and whatever else she demanded. We're to assume the turkey is nearly done since everyone has arrived. Do you think all these people are expected to hang out in Miranda's apartment for hours before they eat?

2. Carrie and other guy think turkey is finished because the skin is browned -- which would also imply the bird is nearly finished cooking.

3. Putting 1+2 together, how long could Brady have been gone for it to take another 2+ hours to cook and not be "raw in the middle"?

R196 RETARD, a turkey takes HOURS to cook. They aren’t chicken. You cook them for a long time at a reasonable heat so it doesn’t get too dry.

Everything was probably timed wrong.

Brady also made a comment about running around to find the right foods for them so MAYBE, being that it’s Thanksgiving, some of the usual places they shop for food are closed already.

If the turkey needed hours to cook, why was Brady making the mashed potatoes when Carrie walked in?

Well, in the last episode, AJLT managed to become a literal shitshow.

R198 PROBABLY A MISCALCULATION OF TIME.

It’s made clear in episode 11 this is the first time Miranda is hosting and cooking for Thanksgiving. Jesus. Mistakes happen all the time while cooking.

I can tell you’ve never had to cook a large meal. Well, you do live off your family still so yeah

Brady is a fuckup. You think he knows how to time a large meal with several dishes to prepare?

I know he’s a cook, but he’s also 20 years old. I couldn’t boil water when I was 20.

[quote] Brady is a fuckup.

Miranda only had Brady after accidentally getting knocked up during pity sex with Steve. And they were grown ass adults at the time. The fact that neither of them acknowledged this while laying into 20 year old Brady for not being sufficiently careful felt like major hypocrisy.

[quote]Miranda only had Brady after accidentally getting knocked up during pity sex with Steve. And they were grown ass adults at the time. The fact that neither of them acknowledged this while laying into 20 year old Brady for not being sufficiently careful felt like major hypocrisy.

Her rationalization for not using protection at the time was that she had a lazy ovary and he had one ball.

R203 we know.

R202 who throws that in their child’s face? Miranda chose to have Brady and ended up falling in love with her son. She loves her son. You fucking reject

Why did we have to see two male characters urinating in the one episode? Or was that from splicing together separate episodes in a rush to finish. It feltlike they were still editing 48 hours ago.

R205 MPK is into piss play.

Yes, r175, but in season 1 of this shitshow, STANFORD, his husband, gave Anthony his apartment and all his money and belongings when he left Anthony to became a monk.

If STANFORD was so rich, why is Anthony in that shitty apartment.

R200 is strangely overly defensive about my comment. You could not be more wrong about me. However, you have 100% outed yourself as a troll. Blocked.

Well, you can all hate the ending, but I'm just glad that sixtyish Anthony ended up with the Italian guy with the big (uncut) dick who adored him. There is justice in eldergay heaven.

[quote] who throws that in their child’s face?

I didn’t say they should have thrown it in Brady’s face. But they should have been nicer given their own history. Also, go fuck yourself.

Stanford was disinherited because he was a "fruit".

Ed Harris? You mean Ed Has No Harris!

I'll watch when it's Carrie Bradshaw's funeral. Enough with this outdated show. No one wants it anymore.

Kill a dead horse (face).

R208, there has been an oddly defensive troll on all of these threads that I’m somewhat convinced is MPK or maybe Cantone. R170–R172 seem to be the same troll.

And on that note, R170, no one said people don’t hop around the city on holidays. The absurdity is Carrie bopping around from neighborhood to neighborhood, during the parade, delivering what seem to be unboxed pies in a cab that she apparently leaves running and full of pastry. Ridiculous and no New Yorker would do that.

Fully agree, R181, but that’s why it’s even more important for shows to capture the feel of the city now. None of the current NYC focused media seems to get it quite right. Maybe Succession was a little closer, but that was so specific to one rarefied family.

Oddly enough, the new Dexter captures the feel of 2025 New York far better than AJLT did. Maybe they should have combined the two shows.

[quote]Finally, I'm truly curious what you think could be *done* with the show's IP at this point.

At this point we should shoot it and bury it out back!

MPK is a nice goofy gay guy. Sure, he's a multimillionaire now, but he's fairly homeely, never was cool, never was part of any of-the-moment NYC scene and can only press his butter-faced nose up against the glass to portray anything that should be cool, or edgy.

His NYC of the moment is full of box-checkers like Mx. Einbinder, and other oddities whose troubles and issues he exploits as some sort of badge of coolness. It is all so misguided and disturbing, yet still phony and dull.

Does anyone know longtime producer John Melfi?

R218: Homely is too polite, although his angular yet leprechaun-like features work better now than when he was younger. I suspect he's the kind of a bumpkin despite all his time in NYC, the kind of provincial who comes to the big city but has no imagination.

[quote] His NYC of the moment is full of box-checkers like Mx. Einbinder, and other oddities whose troubles and issues he exploits as some sort of badge of coolness.

That’s essentially the mission statement of the show.

I talked shit (literally) earlier in the thread, but on the flip side the very ending was lovely. SJP looked great in that fuschia getup, and I liked seeing her say fuck it and have a dance in her massive apt.

I’m still just flabbergasted at how awful the ending was.

It also seemed like some of the bits were tacked on— the pie delivery bit seemed a lame attempt to “visit” each character in a lame attempt at wrapping things up.

Otherwise, several new plots and characters were full steam ahead right up until the last episode.

Adam and Seema, Miranda and Joy, Miranda’s grandchild, the never-ending documentary, Seema’s new business, Anthony’s engagement and possible cold feet, the specter of Patti Lupone’s meddling mama… etc

Carrie Bradshaw’s Story May Be Over, but Her Clothes Live On

This episode is definitely being added to those .”Worst Series Finales Ever” lists as we speak.

Possibly at number one.

Carrie Bradshaw’s Story May Be Over, but SJP’s Delusions Live On

[quote]This episode is definitely being added to those .”Worst Series Finales Ever” lists as we speak.

Possibly at number one.

Nope, definitely at number two.

How long until the HBO/MAX movie?

Carrie meets Duncan in London at Samantha’s funeral.

R227 that’s brilliant! Maybe we will see it in theaters!

[quote]Oddly enough, the new Dexter captures the feel of 2025 New York far better than AJLT did. Maybe they should have combined the two shows.

I would have enjoyed watching him kill all the characters of AJLT.

r6 She got millions for this show including executive producing credit. She is in her mid to late 50s. She will be fine.

Will Che Diaz get a spinoff?

Everyone is underestimating SJP's role in all this. She's very sensitive about her perception and reputation, and she also happens to be a very nice person, no matter all the mockery that goes on here. (I worked with her on a short-term project once. She was terrific to work with. ). Industry buzz was that she was really upset with King after season one, at how far afield the show had gotten, and they had a rough time patching together to get to season 2, which really wasn't received much better. My guess is she's sort of "3 strikes we're done" and wanted to pull the plug. All the Catrall nonsense got to her, because Catrall kept implying SJP wasn't nice like her image, and I'm sure HBO loaded up the dumptruck of cash to Kim to get that minute out of her, and calm that story down to appease SJP. SJP is now a "brand" so it's a different way of thinking, and having the albatross of heavily mocked series probably doesn't fit in anymore. I'll be she'll head to podcasting next.

I'm sure the horribleness of the finale was MPK's "fuck you" to the critics and regular show watchers who had complained about the show. He has regularly adjusted the content of the show to react against criticisms of it (by having the focus group talk about how much they disliked Che, by having Miranda talk about hate-watching a TV show, etc.), so this is just one more instance

R232, hard to feel sorry for her in this. After the first season she hadn’t seen enough to know it wasn’t working? Two seasons?

She was the star with all the power that affords one on that business, which is a lot. (I know a writer on Roseanne and if she didn’t like a script, they stayed all night rewriting it.)

Her friendship with MPK was clearly a stumbling block, but she didn’t have the wherewithal to sit down with him and say, hey, I love you, we’ve done great work together, but this is a different show from the original and it’s not working.

Adulting is hard, eh, Carrie? I mean, SJP.

The “crazy, chaotic Thanksgiving” trope is a sitcom staple and makes sense as a season finale. Slightly “special episode,” but nothing too heavy.

This was clearly NOT meant to be a series finale (I guess we established this already.) Some parts seem to have been shot afterward in an attempt to patch together something resembling a finale.

For one thing, I would think “the girls” would have spent more time together in a series finale. And no mention at all of Samantha?

We spent a ton of time with new characters (Victor Garber, Joy, the Zees) and big chunks of time at random events (bridal show, futuristic cafe.)

It was awful. I’m not a writer by any means, but I think I could have written a better finale.

I have a very hard time believing that this is what they came up with if they knew this was a series finale

I’ve been listening to Kristin Davis’s podcast, and I just heard the truth out of her own mouth. She talks about being in Paris for this season’s premiere and wanting to go to Chanel but stopping herself because she “doesn’t know if they’re getting picked up yet.” She goes on to say that she thinks they will be picked up, but nothing’s official so as a single mom, she wanted to save money. So she certainly didn’t know the plan to end this year.

It’s the episode from June 20 of this yeah, for anyone who cares.

Also, have we talked about how the producers wanted to demote Charlotte to a recurring character? Kristin talks about it all the time on her podcast. Apparently during season one filming they tried to give her a new contract that would take her from series regular to recurring, and likely would write her out eventually. Her lawyer advised her to just ignore it, which she did.

Wow that’s pretty fucked up to possibly oust charlotte.

R237, the woman is getting at least a million per episode.

Pretty disingenuous for her to suggest she can’t afford to shop at Chanel one time off three seasons’ earnings.

Carrie could enroll at Columbia, only to get clocked in the head with a Snapple bottle while trying to run in heels from Gaza protesters. In a panic, she calls Seema to borrow her car and driver to get her the hell out of there—only to spiral into a full nervous breakdown, retreat to Great Neck, and develop an Ambien addiction. Honestly, that would be more believable than Anthony’s storyline this season—with Patti LuPone as his future mother-in-law, of all people. Good God.

AI wrote the script for the finale. It’s a plausible excuse and the only one I can think of for this dreck.

R238, R239: They obviously had no idea what to do with her.

They shouldn't have even bothered with that last episode.

Leave everything hanging. That last episode was a steaming pile of shit on the legacy of the show.

[quote]Also, have we talked about how the producers wanted to demote Charlotte to a recurring character? Kristin talks about it all the time on her podcast. Apparently during season one filming they tried to give her a new contract that would take her from series regular to recurring, and likely would write her out eventually. Her lawyer advised her to just ignore it, which she did.

Written out of SATC or AJLT?

SATC. The writers didn't know what to do wih her character which us why season one Charlitte us a bit more feeewhweling than later, uptight, traditional Charlotte.

As Kristin explains it, Charlotte is really not in Candace Bushnell’s book at all, and Darren Star and MPK and whoever didn’t know what to do with her. Which seems nuts to me that just because they are gay men they can’t conceive of a woman who wants to get married, but that is her framing. According to her it wasn’t until Jenny Bicks came in as a writer. She grew up on the upper east side and understood Charlotte.

The end point of this show is that if you are wealthy, you never really have any problems.

This season showed the three main characters as almost completely disconnected from each other, and with fairly untethered and random lives (at least for Carrie and Miranda.)

That’s a bit scary. You don’t need a man, by any means. But Carrie’s life is so weirdly scattershot.

She doesn’t seem connected to anything professionally or even to her old friends. She’s spending time with her gardener and her tenant.

She tries to convince herself some mouth breather who was a tedious moron the first time around was her “great love.”

It’s weird and, frankly, spooky.

Was that the point of the show? If so, I could get behind that. But somehow I don’t think it was intentional.

I hate to be pedantic but if Epcot eas having an intense bowel movement wouldn’t her “release” in Miranda’s toilet be more of the diarrhea variety and not turds with a solid appearance? Maybe VFX wasn’t up to the task? Asking for a friend.

Carrie ended up with the level of friendships she deserved. Would you want to be friends with her?

Bouncing off of r249 post,, maybe it was a statement on childless women as they age.

R249

Not connected to anything professionally: I'm not defending the writers or the plot, but Carrie upped her productivity and finished a book quickly, got it to her publisher, took notes to add to the ending. A published author finishing the next book is an achievement, no matter how you look at it.

Not connected to her past: She went back to her "jewel box" apartment, and discovered you can't go home again. She held down the fort at her old friend Miranda's house, entertaining the kids there, as a favor to Miranda.

This show fails the Bechdel test in every fucking scene.

Ha. I had the same thought, R250.

R253, you are being way too kind. First of all, no publisher in the world would publish that garbage. The whole storyline was completely unbelievable.

Meanwhile, somewhere in London, Duncan is at a pub with his friends talking about a woman he fucked in her bra, whose work was any second grade level, but how he wound her up just to get into her pants

Duncan, to his drinking chums: "And, get this - her character wears a scrunchie! In the Gilded Age New York!"

The idea of Kristen Davis having a podcast seems surreal--------I can't imagine many actors with less to say about anything. The content is very random, like talking to Christie Brinkley about Steve's character on SATC.

More proof that this was never supposed to be the finale - numerous times on the writers podcast MPK and Co. refer to this episode as the season finale, not series. He would have had plenty more to say if this was the intended wrap up to the show.

I was disappointed that the series didn't end with Jack Berger crashing the Thanksgiving dinner and saying "I'm just not that into any of you, bitches!" before whipping out a gun.

So, R254 did you NOT see the scene where Miranda comforted Joy in veterinarian's office?

It is unsettling to see Carrie lamenting her new “boys are no longer that important” phase of life… at age 60 plus.

Most women go through that transition around age 40.

[quote] The idea of Kristen Davis having a podcast seems surreal.

Has her heterosexual lover John Travolta been on to discuss their wild, unhinged lovemaking? They could spend hours detailing the countless sexual positions they’ve employed during their inferno-like coitus.

What's the podcast called, R263? A Couple of SuperHets?

Kristen is a lesbian, right? I’ve always assumed. I’ve never heard of her having a credible hetero relationship.

She was in a LTR with Aaron Sorkin.

R266 wrong Kristin. That was Chenoweth. He used their dating material for scripts for his tv show that bombed with Sarah Paulson

Interesting how the show earnestly, albeit at times awkwardly, tried to incorporate the Gen Z cultural sensibility at the outset only to be completely exasperated and contemptuous of it at the end. That this entire project concludes with a charmless gender goblin whose violation of its own stated boundaries leaves a trail of shit in its wake pretty much says it all.

The extreme wealth on this show is a big part of what ruined it. Remember in the original when they sat in the stands at a Yankee game? Would the women of the current version ever attend a sporting event? And if they did, would they sit anywhere but a luxury box? How about when Samantha scammed her way into Soho House? Is there now any club too expensive or too exclusive for these women to access? The original inspired a generation of young women to move to NY because what they saw was aspirational but attainable. The lines at Magnolia were literally around the block because people wanted to experience what they saw on the show. But now the characters are regularly dining at five star restaurants and being driven around in chauffeured Mercedes. Their lives are no longer attainable. Instead, they're cartoonish and, frankly, cringey.

And speaking of cringey, the extreme wealth has meant that the biggest challenges the characters now face are humiliations like overflowing toilets, visible menstrual blood, and armpit odor. And when it's not something humiliating, it's something preposterous like not being able to wear high heels at home or the modern glass in your mansion not catching the light like the antique glass. And they wonder why people were hate watching?

Imagine if after Big died, Carrie had discovered he was actually broke and was forced to move back to her old apartment and figure out how to support herself again. That could have been a good show. Instead, she's now hugely wealthy and living in a multimillion dollar townhouse. Poor her?

^^I meant to also mention, the article above is a great piece on how the show over-relied on humiliating its characters.

THANK YOU R269. I was the one who earlier posted that the overall message of this series is that if you’re wealthy, you will never really have any problems. Cancer can be cured and it’s ok to miss work, because you’re rich! The kids never fight, have depression, are bullied, do poorly in school, do drugs or get caught with alcohol. Everything is perfect, because their families are rich! I will stop here, but there are certainly more examples.

AJLT was wise to avoid financial insecurity as a major plot point. Very few shows handle that well and it was clear given how poorly executed so much of this show was, the creative staff neither had the talent nor the insight to do that topic justice...especially today when the audience is more hyper sensitive to it. Better to wallow in the trappings of easy wealth - which has always been essential to this show's appeal - and deal with the other common pressures of middle age.

The show didn’t handle that well. There was no stakes.

It was three rich, entitled jerks.

I would have expected more “is this all there is?” themes.

The three main characters could have said more about “remember what our lives were like when we were young and having daily adventures? The city has changed, we’ve changed, etc”

That’s a normal part of aging that all viewers could relate to, even if the girls’ wealth made them different.

[quote] The three main characters could have said more about “remember what our lives were like when we were young and having daily adventures? The city has changed, we’ve changed, etc”

And that was one of the biggest problems with this awful show.

“Sex and the City” fans were primarily in their 20s and 30s during its initial run. Those people are in their 50s and 60s now and are very different people. The characters on the show, though, did not evolve and were the same vapid, materialistic, narcissistic cunts they were in 1998. Only now it’s not cute and they’re not funny anymore.

That seems to be an unforced error SJP and the “creative” team made: the audience evolved but the characters didn’t and the result was just pathetic.

They could've injected some drama and/or intrigue into the storyline by having someone publish anonymous dirt and the secrets from their past (and present) and threatening to destroy their social standing. As it is, it was a boring show about well heeled ladies without any existential drama or real problems.

R376 that show is called The Gilded Age

Which is why that show is NOT getting canceled. I don't find spending 5 minutes on some clueless lady with a funny hat buying a pie all that interesting.

I’m amazed at those diehards who insisted they loved every minute of this show and that they don’t know what they will do without their fix of their women.

I agree that the extreme wealth is the problem, but I also think there was an interesting show that could have made most of the characters wealthy and also had stakes. This show did not find any of them. If there was an issue with any one of them, in any setting, they dropped the plot before the stakes ever heightened. They didn’t find the drama or the heart in any of it.

TLDR: An interesting show about wealthy NYers is possible, you just can’t have the wealth remove every obstacle from their life.

Would have been interesting to see some hot young piece try to smooth up on Carrie, forcing Carrie to question his motives.

They could have done more with Miranda wrestling with Brady being an idiot. That is very hard on the ego for smart, successful women. Relationship-wise, Miranda should have always been with a Joy-type girlfriend. The alcoholism plot could have been really interesting.

They could have shown Charlotte being bullied by the young, hip moms and / or being ostracized for having a “weird kid.”

Those are just the super obvious possibilities.

Joy's enmeshed relationship with her dogs doesn't make her prime relationship material.

Joy was anything but.

Joy looked like her dogs. That happens.

R275 On the other hand the last shot of Carrie, enjoying her own company in her elegant home, and in the end agreeing that "on her own" is not "alone"... essentially is a shift from a foundational plot point of the whole series.... finding the right man.

If you want a real insight into how the writers weren't just drinking their own kool-aid, they were bobbing up and down in it like seniors in a water aerobics class, listen to the last episode of the podcast. I love show podcasts but couldn't take theirs because all they do is stick their tongues down each others' throats and agree with everything MK says, and wallow in their own shallowness. But because it's the "last," I thought I would return, and it's mind-boggling to listen to them and all their self-reference and complete blindness to how off the show has gotten. And like the writer above alludes, they clearly don't know it will be the final season.

I will write this, however, that will all its deep flaws, and blinding shallowness and money porn, I did feel they always got Carrie's wrestling with loss and the consequence of widowhood really well. The Aiden thing made total sense to me because it wasn't about Aiden, it was about getting over Big and not being alone. Also, the season 1 scene where the 3 of them are at the park bench, and the fight breaks out is one of the best in the entire series, original and AJLT.

But yeah, they all need to move on because the first season was so bad with Che and all the stupidity, there was no way to recover.

[quote] On the other hand the last shot of Carrie, enjoying her own company in her elegant home, and in the end agreeing that "on her own" is not "alone"... essentially is a shift from a foundational plot point of the whole series.... finding the right man.

It's a shift from the plot, but not from the theme--which was that the women were fabulous even without a man. When the original ended, there was definitely discussion about whether it would have been better for Carrie to be happily single in the end rather than getting back together with Big.

Was shocked to learn that the actress who plays Lily is almost 30.

While, I have no real issue with the closing beat, it seems way too simplistic. Carrie was committed to Big, presumably monogamously, from 2004–2022. Plus, she was coupled with big or at least half of the original series. So in the 27 year lifespan of this story, at least 20 of those years had Carrie and Big together, with her having several other partners in between. Yes, now she is on her own (and I do like the distinction from being alone), but it’s not like some big epiphany or her goal. It’s just how her life played out. It doesn’t feel thematically strong, or something that would last if we continued to follow her.

R289 ... while not being the best script for a TV series, it's kind of what life is, no? As John Lennon said, life is what happens to you while making other plans.

Revisiting old loves is a common thing middle-aged people do after death of a spouse or a divorce.

But it always seems desperate and typical of a really limited worldview and limited options. I wouldn’t think this would apply to Carrie.

And I don’t even think this was a planned arc or theme (“Carrie’s grief causes her to make the terrible decision to look up Aiden.”)

It was just “kill off Big” then “I guess the fans would like to see Aiden again, let’s bring him back in some way.”

There didn’t seem to be much connection between the two events, although the finale tried to imply there was.

Agreeing to take a five-year break is totally normal. Haven’t we all done that, lol?

On Kristen’s podcast she keeps saying that they didn’t realize the show was a hit until they got nominated for an Emmy in their third season. Only problem? They were nominated every season from the first year on. SJP was also nominated in season one. It’s weird that no one has corrected her.

R293: Perhaps she's as dumb as she is talent-less.

Perhaps?

[quote] Agreeing to take a five-year break is totally normal. Haven’t we all done that, lol?

Except they didn't take a five year break. I literally spent the entire season scratching my head as to why they kept talking about the five year thing when they were clearly just dating long distance.

Making Miranda a lesbian was the single worst choice of the series. The interesting thing about Miranda is she seemed the most likely to be gay, but was very much not. They even did an episode where she tested and confirmed that. SATC Miranda didn’t seem even slightly closeted.

Had they not made that choice, we could have been spared the abysmal Che. Steve, who was beloved by viewers, could’ve stuck around, even if you put them into a divorce scenario or something. And, most importantly, Miranda would have remained the character we remember.

I realize the girls didn’t want to be portrayed as “old,” but trying to inject them into Gen Zee scenarios and “shoes and sex” plots made it impossible to show the characters maturing, which is what many viewers were interested in.

Think about how often we say “I’d love to see a ‘Mad Man’ reboot to see what 1980s Joan is doing!” We don’t want to watch Joan gliding around, sucking up to men 1950s - style.

Omg, I would love a 1980s Joan show! I would even take a Peggy.

I’d kill for a good late 70s early 80s show with Joan and Peggy running their own agency or something. With Sally Draper as a new employee.

Bob Benson could come back as long as he’s shirtless every episode.

In retrospect, Liz Lemon on "30 Rock" was probably a better representation of what navigating a dating life in NYC while working in a demanding job was than SATC.

The biggest mistake besides making Miranda a lesbian was having her get with Che who ended up basically dominating the show for 2 seasons (?) I felt like I was watching the Che show and she wasn't that interesting though they tried to make her this dynamic, irresistible to men and women character. Yuck.

They should have never stopped going to that coffee shop.

I think they underestimated the effects of the change in format.

They made the episodes longer, they lost one of the most important characters, they did away with the voiceover, etc. The rhythms were different, the chemistry was different…

And they didn’t have a whole lot to say.

R297 Steve and his creepy man-baby voice was not beloved.

Say what? I can’t hear ya!

R304 I agree completely.

R305 Steve was loved, but this bumbling deaf idiot on AJLT was a slap in the face to his character.

Che! I watched the first episode again and Che is unwatchable and worse than I remember. Che is such a repugnant character.

R299 - I AGREE! Can someone who knows how to write and how the industry works please write a script treatment and pitch the idea to studios?

It would have to be Matt Weiner, R308. I’m assuming he owns the characters.

Mad Men set in 2025 - Joan is the new Ida Blankenship.

A shame nobody ever thought to do a SVU crossover.

It would have been hi-larious if Joy had taken her dog to the vet that CliCHÈ works at.

R310, The DL is a business of sadists and masochists. You know which one you are.

R304 that last point is THE point.

They didn't have a lot to say. It was just spinning around and around in a circle.

It had no consistent theme. SATC sure did: Dating in your thirties, in NYC, is a wild ride.

Also, it wasn't funny/silly like a sitcom. It was void of any relevant stakes that makes a good drama. It wasn't heartwarming enough for a dramedy. It was just lost.

Nailed it, R314

Charlotte is bullied over her “Joker” plastic surgery, breaking down to Harry that he has to pay for better doctors so she can fix it. Seema, ever blunt, mentions to Carrie that Charlotte should ease up on the procedures because she’s starting to look like an aging woman trying too hard. This puts Carrie in an awkward position, caught between defending Charlotte and acknowledging Seema’s brutal honesty.

Meanwhile, LTW confides to Carrie that Anthony looks absurd parading around with his much younger Italian boyfriend. That, she explains, is exactly why she’s steering clear of her own temptation—a Diddy-esque “freak-off” male escort turned documentary producer—and instead choosing to stay married to someone closer to her age.

Through it all, LTW emerges as the show’s voice of reason, grounding the chaos and keeping the balance between satire, self-awareness, and the series’ trademark wokeness. Emmy please.

They can still do an SVU crossover with Wyatt

The Miranda character was so desperate to find a lesbian romance (not just having sex), it was extremely pathetic.

If Miranda is a reflection of Cynthia Nixon, oof she’s a fucking hot mess. Poor Rojo Caliente

Consider that Cynthia ran for governor and had zero idea what she was talking about on the vast majority of issues.

Humongous ego.

(I do love that Candace Bushnell apparently hates SJP and says the only cast member she speaks to is Kim.)

This thread made me revisit Mad Men. This is my first rewatch since the show ended. I can't believe how much I didn't remember.

They could have killed it with a Zohran cameo tacked on. Hey, Cyn—how’d that primary run against Andy work out. 🤣

She walked so he could run? 🤢

Miranda was always annoying in some slightly unidentifiable way. I think it’s because she was so rude.

You can be blunt but charming, like Samantha. Or you can be blunt and unnecessarily rude— which Miranda often was.

They made Charlotte into a complete idiot. Perhaps some of that was the bad acting. She was always bug eyed.

There will be a spinoff. “AJLT Carrie On Her Own”

“ I’ve always wondered are Charlotte and Miranda holding me back? Perhaps it’s time to strike out on my own and throw caution to the wind. I need to be in New York City on my own and be carried away to destinations unknown. Pun intended.”

“Also Samantha died of AIDS and just like that I am on my own.”

Also, there's this weird thread with Patricia Fields. When Catrell made her very expensive cameo, she insisted that Fields be brought back, and they posed for some red carpet pics. That must have driven Michael Patrick King mad.

They got the whole thing with the clothes wrong.

In SATC, Carrie was trendily fashionable, but the fashion was generally incidental to the scene.

I think they started to believe that if they put these women in memeable fashions, they would be giving the audience what they wanted. “Their favorite characters looking like a million bucks or at least how they wished they had the courage to dress…”

I really think they thought they had the luxury of getting lazy with the writing.

K Davis made her an idjiot. No one else.

[quote] When Catrell made her very expensive cameo, she insisted that Fields be brought back,

Kim was filming Netflix's "Glamorous" at the time, which Field was the costumer designer for.

Why does Candace B hate Sjp

You cannot convince me after that final episode that MPK does not hate SJP and everything she stands for. She is a prude who has always hated crude humor. No way did she want the next to last scene of her beloved show to be a closeup of swirling poop.

MPK loved toilet humor

He had Marky mark have explosive diarrhea during one of Valerie Cherish’s confessionals in The Comeback

⬆️ He did the same with poor Mickey.

For sure he has always loved poop but actually showing it is unnecessary!

R333 Sounds like the hate fuck equivalent to ending this show, or as close to a hate fuck a gay man and straight woman can presumably get in TV form. I haven't seen this season, not sure if I will as Ive followed (mostly) all 5 bloody threads, although they had to be more entertaining than this last season.

It’s conventional wisdom that Kim dodged a bullet, however there’s another way of looking at that. Had season one been a critical and ratings hit that matched the quality of the original, it’s easy to believe that Kim would have returned in season two.

R338 Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda!

It’s easy to believe she would not have returned. She made it abundantly clear she was done with those bitches.

She DID come back.

She came back in a brief cameo on a closed set without interacting with her costars. That’s nowhere near close to returning to the series.

She grabbed that huge payout for a couple hours’ work and hightailed it out of there, reveling in the knowledge that MPK and SJP were surely furious that HBO had to bring her in to attempt to boost viewership.

Kim’s Glamorous featured a gay/nonbinary character who was an influencer and, by a twist of fate, ended up working for CEO Kim Cattrall. The show included a diverse cast but didn’t feel like it was force-feeding the entire “woke” checklist to viewers every week. It was handled with much more balance and authenticity, and I doubt it attracted the kind of hate-watching audience that And Just Like That did. Kim, you made the better choice.

[quote]I doubt it attracted the kind of hate-watching audience that And Just Like That did. Kim, you made the better choice.

You are correct R343, it didn’t attract any hate watchers or any actual watchers for that matter.

We DESERVE an apology for this abomination. HBO threw so much money at them. What the fuck did they spend it on? It sure as hell wasn’t writers.

I demand an expose on why, why, why this was so fucking bad.

( but, thanks, AJLT for allowing me to be angry at something other that that motherfucker Trump.)

I WANNA KNOW WHHHHHY ……

WHHHHHHHHHHHHY?!?!?!

I know she made it clear, but if the show had been like a prestige reboot that everyone was raving about, I can imagine Kim wanting in on that. We will never know because the shitty writing and creative decisions doomed everyone and everyone from the jump.

SJP/Carrie Bradshaw have become insufferable. Does she think she's actually the character? I wonder.

Why would Kim want to do that? Thought she did a good job making it abundantly clear at her stage of life, working with assholes is not worth it.

R349 Money talks.

I saw this interview with some of the writers. They are still clueless as to why this show was hated. Still not addressing the elephants in the room i.e. the whole Che show arc and doing the characters dirty.

If they don’t get why the show was disliked, it is because they are too ensconced in a wealthy bubble. The characters had perfect lives with just a tiny little fixable issue coming up now and then. Average People can’t relate to millionaires

The writers’ savage treatment of the young wokesters in the last episode seemed totally at odds with the show’s reverence for progressive themes throughout the series. I couldn’t help but wonder, she wrote, if they secretly hated Che, too.

The writers just sound like they're rationalizing their choices, post-hoc. They wrote this junk in a bubble as writers usually do.

It was written by AI

AJLT writers: We don’t understand why everyone hates us!

Every article written by every media outlet for two years going in depth as to why we all hated them

AJLT writers: We still don’t understand!

The wokesters were just the cheap cliche joke that gay men in the series were in SATC.

[quote] Thought she did a good job making it abundantly clear at her stage of life, working with assholes is not worth it.

I find it weird how many people assume Kim is the nice one in this situation. I get that Samantha is beloved but Kim in real life always comes off as kind of cold and humorless. SJP, on the other hand, strikes me as a typical needy actress but not as a bitch. She gets along with all of the other cast members and, other than Kim, no one has ever had a bad word to say about her. Even Jason Lewis, who had nearly all of his scenes with Kim, came out to say how much he liked SJP—and he’s not even on the show anymore and would have no ulterior motive to publicly support her. Someone upthread also said they worked with SJP and had a good experience. So I’m team SJP in this one.

I absolutely hate myself for saying this : I will miss the hate watching tonight.

You CAN watch again…just so you know.

I don’t recommend it, however.

MPK has cast Mamma Mia in The Comeback S3.

Jason Lewis would kiss the ground SJP walks on for a chance to be invited back. He’d throw Kim Cattrall under the bus and roll over her again if it meant returning to the show. He knows exactly where the influence lies. So it’s no surprise he’s saying such glowing things about Ms. Parker.

Or maybe SJP is actually just nicer than Kim?

sure Rose, much nicer

🤡

That deserves the ultimate “ Sure, Jan”

The role of a lifetime: SJP was born to be a Patty, NOT a Carrie

[quote] I get that Samantha is beloved but Kim in real life always comes off as kind of cold and humorless.

R358 This may be [italic]your[/italic] impression of her (to which you're entitled), but my understanding of Kim's reputation more generally is that she's mostly kind and gracious when folks meet her.

[quote] Jason Lewis would kiss the ground SJP walks on for a chance to be invited back.

Except he came out as "Team SJP" back in 2018 when the third movie was already dead and long before AJLT was even in the works

[quote] "When asked by one of the anchors if he was “Team Sarah,” Lewis admitted that he was. “What a gracious lady,” Lewis said. “She was always so good to me.” Did that mean other people weren’t so good to him? “Sarah was amazing,” Lewis responded in answer to that question.

Jason Lewis does not seem to be working anymore. What happened?

Sam was a great character, but Kim is a cunt. Not that it means SJP can't be a cunt as well. All this doting over Kim is ridiculous.

SJP comes off as an egomaniac and oddly conceited. Kim does not.

R368, Jason Lewis still understands that SJP has more power and cultural capital than Kim Cattrall and is the one who could potentially hire him for something in the future. This is the nature of the entertainment industry; people generally side with who is higher up on the food chain.

Candace Bushnell just reposted on her Instagram story a fan’s observation that she only follows Kim on social media.

For what it’s worth, a friend of mine who worked on SATC said Kim was very nice to him and while he didn’t have anything negative to say about SJP, it was clear they didn’t like each other, so Sarah pretending that she has no idea why there’s beef is BS.

Less talk of Kim and SJP and more talk about me. Did you know I’m a lesbian?

Patricia Field, who is wonderful, is also a friend of Cattrall’s.

Chris Noth wished Kim a happy birthday yesterday.

Admit it bitches, who is rewatching the season?

I am grateful to AJLT. It made me rewatch the original series and enjoy how incredibly well written and it was - with great dialogue. Silly as it was.

Yes I rewatched it a few years ago and it definitely holds up. The first movie was fine, but the second movie and AJLT are abominations.

Congrats to SJP and MPK. They ran these characters into the ground.

Sorry to resurrect the pie storyline so late in these threads, but...

In the prior thread, folks were saying it was unrealistic that Carrie would have bought so many pies during the pandemic, that Carrie is too self absorbed to have thought of such a thing.

The pie lady said that Carrie had bought all kinds of pies, and then flaked on picking them up. That to me is self absorption worthy of Carrie's storyline, and the writers did it right. She's no saint. She has an idea, pays money for it, because money inexplicably grows on trees for her, and then forgets to pick up the items entirely (or maybe was weirded out by catching COVID by doing so)...

As for the EPCOT toilet disaster, if she was lactose intolerant, that toilet bowl would have overflowed with fully brown liquid....not polite stools.

You could have skipped the post ….honest 🤷🏻‍♂️

No, the pie story was just bizarre.

R383: You're right, it made no sense. A business with stuff it doesn't whether to throw out or give away because no one picked it-up. She was no Samaritan.

She could have donated money to keep them going (there was a restaurant in the West Village that went through tough times and they did a gofundme). I would have gone with a variation on that.

Just the one? We all kept alive the WV by ordering takeout from our favorite places.

Either Carrie or the shop owner could have donated the pies to a homeless shelter. Both of them are selfish, unthinking cunts.

There was that British place on Greenwich (where the owners were renowned for being assholes to many customers) and they got way behind in their rent, but I take your point.

Paying for items that they are still going to have to make and then throw away is a weakest way to support them. It also probably doesn’t feel very good because you were doing the work and it’s all for nothing.

R380 Maybe the intent was to make Carrie appear generous, madcap, and whimsical despite the waste and wealth involved in this iteration of the character. An attempt at infusing a bit of Breakfast at Tiffany's charm into the rather dry, flat, and over-the-top, self-absorbed naval gazing aspects of Carrie.

After all this time, I finally looked up who wrote on this abomination. The two main women behind MPK worked on Smash and SJP’s Divorce, both of which were also poorly written. But they also both wrote on Odd Mom Out, which actually was a fun and accurate satirization of NYC.

We’ve discussed so much on here (much more fun than the show), but it really does all come down to the writing. It was abysmal from episode one.

Agree r390. But, overall the acting wasn’t great either

SJP and Meghan McCain are both friends of Andy Cohen, ickkkk. Imagine their convos.

Mr. Big, aka, Chris Noth is TEAM KIM CATTRALL! SJP must be smacking the shit out of someone right now.

Chris Noth publicly wished Kim Cattrall a happy birthday on Thursday, making him the only person on the “Sex and the City” cast to do so.

“Happy Birthday Kim!” the actor, who played Carrie Bradshaw’s love interest Mr. Big on “SATC” and “And Just Like That…,” commented beneath the actress’s celebratory Instagram selfie.

At least Harry could get an erection again. So glad he and KD ran off into the bedroom in front of the kids and the turkey to fuck. Such a heartwarming storyline.

Because women pushing 60 are SO horny and cannot get enough sex!

For women, sex is virtually nonexistent— in a good way— after the mid-fifties.

Though, ironically, Mr. Logan Marshall-Green did stir my loins a bit in this show.

What are the chances Cynthia Nixon will get Sarah Jessica a juicy part on the Gilded Age Season 4? She could play Mrs. Astor's pet horse.

SJP can play a jolie laide courtesan from the continent.

She can play a whore in one of the stalls at the Haymarket.

R399: Old gray mare is probably too niche and kinky for The Haymarket or "The Gilded Age".

Miss meeeee ?????

The horse jokes about SJP are so fresh and original.

People are just having some unbridled fun. Stop sticking the spurs in R402 and just enjoy the ride.

The same old, old tired joke is hardly unbridled fun. It's just stupid.

Unclench, r402.

God help me, I miss it!

Someone on DL remarked during the W. Bush years that W. only truly came alive when discussing something terrible.

After AJLT, I think I suffer from the same condition.

Not to worry, r404.

I take them with equineimity.

I don’t miss the show, but I miss the discourse about it. It was far more entertaining that what was on screen.

Matthew has a movie and an off Broadway play lined up. Either he wants to get out of the house or SJP told him to get off his butt and earn his oats.