‘And Just Like That”s Michael Patrick King on Kim Cattrall, Death, Willie Garson – WWD

This article contains a major plot development in the first episode of “And Just Like That,” the reboot series of “Sex and the City,” on HBO Max.

It may have been a shock for fans of “Sex and the City” to confront the death of Chris Noth’s Mr. Big at the end of the first episode of “And Just Like That.”

But killing off Big — the source of so much romantic angst for Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw through six seasons of the original HBO show — was executive producer Michael Patrick King’s plan from the beginning. It was the only way, as King puts it, to “play with darkness and light.”

The new 10-episode series — which bowed its first two episodes Dec. 9 on HBO Max and will drop new episodes every Thursday — reconnects with Carrie, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) more than two decades after the show wrapped — and a decade after the second of two pilloried movies. Kim Cattrall, of course, declined to reprise her role as Samantha Jones, apparently because of a rift with Parker.

The new series course corrects the original’s lack of diversity by introducing four new characters, all actors of color. Sara Ramirez plays a nonbinary comedian and Carrie’s boss at her podcast job, Nicole Ari Parker is a private school mom Charlotte is desperate to befriend, Karen Pittman plays a Columbia University human rights professor with whom Miranda has a series of awkward encounters. And the excellent Sarita Choudhury stars as a dauntless real estate agent, and a character clearly written to fill the Samantha void.

“The world has shifted,” says King, who wrote and directed the first two episodes. “Where is society now versus when they were 35? What are you talking about now versus what you were talking about 20 years ago? We’re reflecting a new reality. And the way to do that was to add enough new elements to represent change or represent things that were outside the frame in the other show.”

King talked with WWD about Kim Cattrall, the death of Willie Garson (who played Carrie’s friend Stanford), that Peloton scene and the (negative) reviews.

WWD: Tell me about the pressure of relaunching a show that was so groundbreaking for its time, and has such a rabid fan base now. Did you ever think, why are we doing this?

Michael Patrick King: You know, there’s this thing called creative amnesia when you have a good idea, or what you think is a good idea. Whether it’s a good idea remains to be seen in other people’s eyes. But the whole idea of how people would respond to it goes away because what you’ve got in front of you is this beast of a story, and character. I knew that Mr. Big would die, and that Carrie Bradshaw, the single girl [chasing] after that enormous quest to find love, would once again be single at 55. We can tell stories now because we’ve already had a relationship with these people. It’s not just a storyline about, do you dye your hair or do you let it go gray? Miranda is gray and the person challenging her is perfectly quaffed and dyed Charlotte. So it becomes less of a polemic, more of a personal story.

WWD: Television, as a medium, is not necessarily friendly to middle-aged women. Do you think you could have done a television series about women confronting aging if it weren’t these women?  

M.P.K.: No. You could, but it wouldn’t have the impact.

WWD: But would it even get a green light?

M.P.K.: People in charge [at HBO Max and WarnerMedia] were hesitant because the franchise means so much to them. And yet the great thing about HBO has always been that they are wildly creative. So the first guardrail was, it’s too important to risk and we have no interest in doing a reboot. And I was like, neither do I. Reboot sounds like rerun, sounds like reheat. I have no interest in anything with [the letters] r-e. But when I said, Big dies and Carrie is single at 55. They were like, talk to me.

WWD: Peloton came out with a lengthy statement about Big’s “extravagant lifestyle” being the cause for his demise, not his 1,000th ride on their $2,000 bike.

M.P.K.: Big died because he had a heart problem. He died because it was his time. To do a series, that’s why he died. He’s on the Peloton because he’s current and powerful — and trying to stay healthy. He died so Carrie could have a roller-coaster ride that hopefully we can all enjoy. Because what is television now? The world is very complicated. People are not used to simple anything, right? And as much as people think they wanted the old show, meaning the familiar show, they don’t.

WWD: Samantha’s absence is explained in a way that mimics the real-life feud between Parker and Cattrall. Was that intentional?

M.P.K.: Everything in this show reflects a reality. Samantha and Carrie’s fallout reflects fallouts that other writers in the room have had. And they’re usually about crossed wires, professional, personal. And sometimes they’re about money, friendships and money. So the storyline is really only there because Kim decided she didn’t want to play Samantha again. And I, out of respect for the audience and my love of Samantha, didn’t want to kill Samantha. Why can’t she move to London and have a fabulous life? So what do we do? How do we reflect the reality of what the audience is feeling? Like, what a shame! So put it in the show. Carrie says, “What a shame.” And also, I don’t want to leave people in a dark forest of death. I don’t want to leave friends apart if they’re meant to be together in spirit. So it was a big thrill for us when we realized, oh, yeah, people don’t even talk anymore. They text. So Samantha can be alive and texting. They’re 55, they do pick up the phone and call. But Carrie and Samantha are in a place where it’s a little more tremulous, a little bit more tender. So they’re texting. It’s almost like a sweet breakup.

WWD: It was obviously heartbreaking to lose Willie Garson in real life. That must have been very difficult to write into the storyline.  

M.P.K.: It was a surprise. The first six scripts were written. The first three episodes were filmed. Willie thought he could continue longer. But then he had a turn for the worse. You can just imagine us filming the [Big’s] funeral with Willie knowing that he was sick. And yet, he is f–king hilarious and turning it on and being funny and filled with energy and light and doing jokes about how Carrie is our Jackie Kennedy. I mean, it’s crazy. It really, really was a shock. And we all, including Willie, did our best to keep going. And the miracle is that he’s alive in the show.

WWD: How do you feel about the reviews?

M.P.K.: I’m on a press blackout. I’m in bliss. I know what I did. And me and Sarah Jessica and Cynthia and Kristin all wanted to do this. We’ve been on for two episodes, right? “Sex and the City” was on for six years. And if you looked at the first two episodes of “Sex and the City,” you’d go, what is that?! Which is what everybody did. So I’m trying to be in the moment. No one has a view these days. Everybody has an opinion. It’s powerful. It’s not. It’s leftovers. So you don’t like the meal? Sorry [shrugs]. It’s our feast.