Candace Bushnell Judges Woke ‘And Just Like That…’

It’s been weeks now since the first season of And Just Like That… ended and we know you’re all missing the Che Diaz memes that rocked the internet. For those who felt that the introduction of characters like Sara Ramirez’s Che Diaz into the lives of Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte was a bit heavy-handed, it’s no secret that you’re not alone.

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Dialogue has happened at length regarding the incorporation of Che, Seema, Nya, and Lisa to supplement the void that has been left behind by Samantha Jones. Not only did these four new characters bring feminine energy and sexual prowess, but they each shook things up for the lead characters to see if they could rise to the occasion in today’s woke culture full of millennials and Gen Zers. 

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With these new characters, Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte were faced with situations dealing with inequity, generational struggle, and more importantly white privilege. Even Rock, Charlotte’s child, brings up the conversations about the gender binary that nearly shatters on-screen relationships.

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For fans of the show, there was something familiar about seeing these three out dining and socializing in New York City again. But for others, many of the conversations that were brought to the table by new characters just barely scratched the surface. It is a bit unreasonable to think that over ten episodes Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte can fully evolve into the woke and inclusive women we need them to be. Yes, this is fiction, but are these situations too much of a departure for the Sex and the City girls?

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Placing Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte into a changing world is realistic since they are approaching 60 and the New York they remember has shifted into a new generation. What does seem to be apparent, though, is that writing them into 2021 sometimes backfires in calling out how unaware they are about their whiteness and their privilege.

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Even AJLT writer Samantha Irby, faced scrutiny for the show being tone deaf and received death threats from overly critical fans who felt the show missed the mark.

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In her newsletter, Irby shared:

i have to admit that i’m a little broken. i don’t think i understood, when offered the opportunity to work on a show whose VHS tapes were my constant companion when i was 19, the enormity of what i was saying to.

i obviously understood that the show had a major cultural impact and was beloved across a wide spectrum of people, but i was not ready for the magnitude of…………….discourse there would be? and that’s on me.

the title change signifies a show that isn’t about the big things that make life glamorous, but rather the way that life hits you the struggle to exist and remain relevant as culture, friends, love, and life passes by. the only thing that remains constant for the show’s three heroines is an onslaught of indignities. what is and just like that if not the humiliation of life persevering?

Today’s And Just Like That… writers see the necessary changes for Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte to continue to survive and exist.

Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City, disagrees with the new chapter of the story she once knew. In an interview with The New Yorker, Bushnell was asked about her opinions on the reboot of the series and she had some choice words about the direction it has taken and the obvious whiteness and straightness that consumes the main characters.

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Bushnell says:

I’m really startled by a lot of the decisions made in the reboot. You know, it’s a television product, done with Michael Patrick King and Sarah Jessica Parker, who have both worked with HBO a lot in the past. HBO decided to put this franchise back into their hands for a variety of reasons, and this is what they came up with.

I mean, Carrie Bradshaw ended up being a quirky woman who married a really rich guy. And that’s not my story, or any of my friends’ stories. But TV has its own logic.

When asked about if the show is more white than her own lived experiences, Bushnell says:

Was my own world only white people? No, of course not—that’s just not New York. But, for the show, that was how people cast things then, it was the way that people in TV were. I don’t think anyone was consciously trying to be nasty about it; they just really didn’t think.

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As of the writing of this piece, And Just Like That…has not been renewed for a second season. That decision does not seem to be in the hands of HBO, however. It seems Michael Patrick King and Sarah Jessica Parker have the ball in their court according to TV Line.

HBO and HBO Max’s Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys tells TVLine:

It’s honestly Michael and Sarah Jessica‘s decision. They need to make sure they want to keep going. I believe they will. They came to us with this idea of Big dying as a way to get into a story about women in their 50s. I think they want to make sure they have something they’re equally excited by… They’re talking about story. I believe they’re going to come to us with something they’re excited about.

Does that excitement translate to more teachable and sobering moments for Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte? Let’s see where they go from here. Also, more Che Diaz.

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Source: Samanta Irby, The New Yorker, TVLine

2 thoughts on “Candace Bushnell Judges Woke ‘And Just Like That…’”

  1. I love the series! The 3 women do the best they can in a ever evolving world. This is a challenge that we are all trying to muddle through.
    Please give us more…🙏🏾

    Reply
  2. Is anyone even watching this anymore ? I suffered through 3 episodes of this garbage and threw in the towel. Then I started getting “reminders” from HBO Max that new episodes were up a couple of weeks later. The viewership must have cratered big time.

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