'And Just Like That' Star Says Viewers Want a Filtered Fantasy, Not the Messy Truth
Do you hate-watch And Just Like That each week and pray the show gets better? That seems to be on many viewers’ agendas while watching the HBO Max show every Thursday.
The Sex and the City reboot has become appointment television for fans who loved the freeing message of the original series — even if all of the storylines don’t hold up almost three decades later. Still, the sometimes-frustrating direction the writers set Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte in often spawns hundreds of TikTok videos each week — and now, Nicole Ari Parker, who plays Lisa Todd Wexley, has something to say about it.
Parker admitted to Variety that she’s well aware of the discourse, but she also knows that the negativity is delivering solid viewership. “I think they [fans] have not calmed down, but they can’t stop watching,” she said. “They’re mad about age, they’re mad about races, they’re mad about Samantha [Kim Cattrall] being gone.”
The 54-year-old actress offered some food for thought for fans who are upset over the decisions the characters are making week after week. She believes And Just Like That is touching on a tender spot in our society.
“The show has always had this cheeky, subversive quality of showing, in a sweet, naughty way, what you don’t want to admit about yourself,” Parker pointed out. “People don’t always want a mirror. They want a selfie with a filter on it. [Carrie and Aidan] is a girl and her ex-boyfriend narrative, and we love, and we hate that it’s exposed. It makes you nervous.”
For any Sex and the City fan who thinks the streaming show is ruining the series’ legacy, Parker doubles down on what And Just Like That is doing. She added, “I’m like, “We’re wearing kid gloves — are you kidding me?”
From Carrie and Aidan’s bonkers relationship to the divisive fashion, And Just Like That knows how to stir up a conversation — and the cast and crew understand that. The more fans keep on talking, the more likely the writers are to push the buttons even further. Parker confirms that the show is working even if it’s not the perfect storyline viewers were hoping for.
Before you go, click here to see a full timeline of Carrie and Aidan’s relationship.