{"id":75028,"date":"2025-08-16T22:21:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T22:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/75028\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T22:21:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T22:21:10","slug":"the-and-just-like-that-finale-was-a-huge-disappointment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/75028\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018And Just Like That\u2019 Finale Was A Huge Disappointment"},"content":{"rendered":"

And just like that… it\u2019s all over.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d showrunner Michael Patrick King announced that HBO Max\u2019s \u201cSex and the City\u201d reboot was coming to an end<\/a> after three seasons. The news, while only slightly surprising, was met with mixed reactions from fans, some of whom were sad to say another goodbye to the \u201cSATC\u201d universe, and others (like us) who were happy to see the show finally meet its end.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been quite a journey for \u201cAnd Just Like That…,\u201d which caught up with our favorite gals, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) as they navigated life and love in their 50s. The revival series was initially received as an exciting return to the \u201cSATC\u201d world, but as the seasons dragged on, it earned more hate from viewers than love.<\/p>\n

Much of that has to do with how much \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d was a far cry from its beloved \u201990s predecessor. Between odd storylines, awkward writing and the disastrous portrayal of characters we no longer recognize, the reboot has been one giant mess.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the third and final season, which ended with a two-part finale on Aug. 14, is the last time we\u2019ll ever have to see this poor version of our \u201cSATC\u201d favorites.<\/p>\n

Still, we have plenty to talk about, as the \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d series finale doesn\u2019t quite wrap up the series in a neat bow. Carrie has finally finished her novel and come to terms with being a single woman again after breaking things off with Aidan. However, no one else in the show gets the same finale treatment.<\/p>\n

Below, Erin E. Evans and I discuss our overall frustrations with \u201cAnd Just Like That…,\u201d the worst storylines from the spinoff and why the open-ended finale didn\u2019t feel like a true send-off.<\/p>\n

Our High Hopes And Immediate Disappointment With The Spinoff<\/p>\n

\"SarahSarah Jessica Parker as Carrie and Sarita Choudhury as Seema in “And Just Like That.”<\/p>\n

This is perhaps the first time I\u2019ve been extremely happy and devastated that a television show has been canceled. On the one hand, \u201cAnd Just Like That\u2026\u201d has been a hack job of a TV series and an embarrassing spinoff of one of the best television shows in a generation. Then, for longtime \u201cSex and the City\u201d fans like me, getting to see Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis on TV together felt like a fun but socially awkward reunion with some old friends. I\u2019ll miss them, even though each of their characters \u2014 Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte, respectively \u2014 always felt like shells of themselves in this new iteration. Did I mostly hate the series? Yes. Could I stop watching? Only once mid-season 3, but then I was too curious to just ditch my girls. I kept hoping it\u2019d get better. It got worse. \u2014 Erin<\/p>\n

My thoughts exactly, Erin. I really had high hopes for the reboot after it was announced, mostly because I had just finished watching \u201cSex and the City\u201d beginning to end, just in time to see what the girls would be up to in their middle-aged years. Never has a show disappointed me so much, and so quickly. I never liked how they butchered Miranda\u2019s character or turned Charlotte into a ditzy wife and mother who barely has her own identity outside of her family. Don\u2019t even get me started on how they tried to course-correct history by shoe-horning diversity in a place where, frankly, I could\u2019ve done without it! Especially since the show never honored its characters of color by properly integrating them into the \u201cSex and the City\u201d universe. <\/p>\n

So often it felt like I was watching two different shows, neither as interesting as the predecessor. By this third and final season, I was ready to throw in the towel on \u201cAnd Just Like That.\u201d Thankfully, Michael Patrick King has finally put us out of our misery by choosing to end the show. However, its extremely underwhelming series finale is all the more proof that this show didn\u2019t need to happen. 50-something-year-olds Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda (can\u2019t forget Samantha) could\u2019ve been left alone, but, unfortunately, this stain on the \u201cSATC\u201d legacy will now always exist. \u2014 Njera<\/p>\n

These storylines were particularly bad.<\/p>\n

Carrie\u2019s life still revolves around a man.<\/p>\n

\"SarahSarah Jessica Parker as Carrie in “And Just Like That.”<\/p>\n

I know it\u2019s silly to think that a follow-up to \u201cSex and the City\u201d shouldn\u2019t revolve around men, but \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d (before we actually saw it) felt like the perfect opportunity to explore new territory with beloved characters navigating a new part of their lives. Big\u2019s death in the very first episode seemed as though the writers were finally giving Carrie the space to be an individual again; to explore her identity as a widowed woman in her 50s. Sure, bringing her ex-boyfriend Aidan (John Corbett) back was a nice callback to \u201cSATC,\u201d but it did absolutely nothing for her character development. In fact, it made it worse, because what Carrie was willing to sacrifice for that rekindled romance just turned her into a shell of herself. Carrie never made the best decisions, but I find it hard to believe this \u201cAJLT\u201d version of her is the woman she grew to be. \u2014 Njera<\/p>\n

Who is this Miranda Hobbes?<\/p>\n

\"CynthiaCynthia Nixon as Miranda in “And Just Like That… “<\/p>\n

Oh, my poor Miranda. Every episode of \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d I couldn\u2019t help but wonder, \u201cWhat the hell have they done to this woman?\u201d All of Season 1, the writers had the whip-smart lawyer, the most rational of her, Carrie, Samantha and Charlotte, acting completely out of character. I still haven\u2019t forgiven Miranda for ending her 20-plus-year relationship with Steve to have a flighty fling with Che Diaz that, unsurprisingly, did not last past Season 2. And I\u2019ll never understand how she let her life get so out of control that she had to crash at Carrie\u2019s place. <\/p>\n

As the seasons went on, Miranda got even more unrecognizable, to the point where I just stopped caring about her character altogether. Not even her seemingly healthy relationship with Joy in Season 3 was enough to get me back on board. \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d ruined the Miranda we used to know for no good reason. Unfortunately, I don\u2019t think another season would\u2019ve even saved her. \u2014 Njera<\/p>\n

I will never forgive the writers for what they did to Miranda. Never. \u2014 Erin<\/p>\n

Charlotte\u2019s storylines were not worth watching.<\/p>\n

\"KristinKristin Davis as Charlotte in “And Just Like That.”<\/p>\n

If I could have fast forwarded all of Charlotte\u2019s scenes without missing a beat, I would have done it. There were only like two scenes that were really fun \u2014 and both times she was drunk off some espresso martinis. I also hated how Harry\u2019s character didn\u2019t seem to have anything to do aside from shopping with Carrie and buying those ugly-ass jeans. \u2014 Erin<\/p>\n

Respectfully, Charlotte didn\u2019t add a single thing of substance to this reboot. Nothing about her storylines, this season and others, were truly compelling, which is sad because Harry\u2019s cancer diagnosis this season seemed like a chance to challenge Charlotte and give her some depth, finally. She used to have some edge before she became all about being a mom. I can\u2019t say I\u2019ll miss her too much, but her kids kept me entertained. \u2014 Njera<\/p>\n

The Samantha Of It All<\/p>\n

\"KimKim Cattrall as Samantha in “And Just Like That… “<\/p>\n

With Kim Cattrall\u2019s alleged beef with Sarah Jessica Parker as a backdrop in real life, it was always a long shot that Cattrall would return as her sexpot, straight-shooter character, Samantha. That said, the writers made up a terrible story about why Samantha and Carrie weren\u2019t friends anymore. There\u2019s no way Samantha would have let a PR business disagreement with Carrie come between their friendship. In \u201cSex and the City,\u201d Samantha had plenty of riffs between her friends. Samantha even made up with Charlotte in half an episode after Charlotte called her vagina \u201cthe hottest spot in time\u201d after Samantha slept with her brother. So I\u2019m just not buying this friendship breakup. There\u2019s also no way she only would have sent Carrie flowers for Big\u2019s funeral. My girl would have shown up and sat in the back row! <\/p>\n

There were a couple of moments where Samantha\u2019s presence was sorely needed. When Aidan told Carrie he needed five years to get himself together in Season 2? Samantha would\u2019ve been the friend to say, \u201cGirl, don\u2019t waste your time on that man.\u201d I missed Samantha\u2019s sass and all her adventurous sex moments. But on the other hand, I\u2019m not sure the writers could\u2019ve handled writing her in this revival. \u2014 Erin<\/p>\n

I\u2019m both sad and happy that Cattrall was never a part of \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d in any huge capacity. If we weren\u2019t going to get a full-blown return of Samantha, there was no need to throw her name in the mix other than to answer why she\u2019s no longer around. Her cameo in the Season 2 finale felt like the writers throwing old \u201cSex and the City\u201d fans crumbs to keep us tuned in. But all the \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d gimmicks in the world could never hold a candle to Samantha\u2019s presence in the original show. Thank goodness her character is still intact, unlike the rest of the crew. Perhaps we got lucky that the reboot didn\u2019t destroy Samantha, too. \u2014 Njera<\/p>\n

Che Diaz<\/p>\n

\"SaraSara Ram\u00edrez as Che Diaz in “And Just Like That… “<\/p>\n

I love Sara Ram\u00edrez; they\u2019re a great actor and, I imagine, did everything they could to bring something to the Che Diaz character. But… Diaz was so cartoonishly written that I was so ready for the character to disappear from my TV and the discourse. I can\u2019t even spend any more time thinking about them. Good riddance. \u2014 Erin<\/p>\n

No shade to Sara Ram\u00edrez, but Che Diaz was never needed in the \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d universe. At least, not as the longtime romantic interest of Miranda, and certainly not to fulfill whatever diversity quota the reboot appeared to have. Surely, Che will go down as one of the most hated characters on TV, and the writers are all to blame for making them a complete mockery. \u2014 Njera<\/p>\n

The show tried to fix the original series\u2019 diversity problems.<\/p>\n

\"KristinKristin Davis as Charlotte and Nicole Ari Parker as Lisa Todd Wexley in “And Just Like That… “<\/p>\n

I was always wary of the \u201cSex and the City\u201d universe casting women of color to make the reboot more inclusive. In all three seasons, all they did was prove why they were never equipped to handle Black and brown women\u2019s stories beyond making them sidekicks to Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte. <\/p>\n

Take Dr. Nya Wallace (Karen Pittman), for instance, whose introduction in Season 1 was a clumsy encounter with Miranda based on a microaggression. Of course, she dealt with more of those throughout the show, which saw her exit after two seasons with little regard or character development. I can\u2019t even recall if her absence is ever even acknowledged in Season 3. And that\u2019s a shame because Pittman is an incredible actor who deserved so much more than what \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d did for her.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s Lisa Todd Wexley (LTW, played by Nicole Ari Parker), the documentarian who\u2019s always felt like the outlier of the group because she\u2019s rarely seen outside of that realm. She was introduced as Charlotte\u2019s associate and seems to stay that way throughout the show. All I know is that her life revolves around work, then her kids, and then her husband. She does get some more shine in Season 3 during the funeral episode for her father (yet another fumbled storyline), but not nearly enough to ever make her feel like one of the main cast members.<\/p>\n

Seema (Sarita Choudhury), on the other hand, felt like she was brought in to be Samantha\u2019s replacement. The real estate agent certainly oozed the same confident, no-nonsense, sexually liberated attitude that made Ms. Jones famous. And she does get way more screen time as Carrie\u2019s bestie on the show. However, it felt like it took forever to get to know her as an individual character. Her relationship with Carrie\u2019s gardener, Adam (Logan Marshall-Green), broke down some walls in Season 3, but perhaps too little, too late. <\/p>\n

Bottom line, \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d had no business forcing women of color into the show\u2019s DNA if it didn\u2019t know what to do with them. \u2014 Njera<\/p>\n

The Treatment Of Steve<\/p>\n

\"DavidDavid Eigenberg as Steve in “And Just Like That… “<\/p>\n

David Eigenberg, who portrays Steve Brady, has dealt with hearing loss for the last several years. So the AJLT writers incorporated that into his storyline. But it doesn\u2019t make any sense that they started treating his character like an old man. Steve deserved better. \u2014 Erin<\/p>\n

Not Nearly Enough Sex<\/p>\n

\"JohnJohn Corbett as Aidan and Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie in “And Just Like That… “<\/p>\n

The first season barely had any sex, Season 2 got better and then I don\u2019t know what was going on with Season 3 tbh. There was talk of sex, but not enough doing. Show, don\u2019t tell, HBO. \u2014 Erin<\/p>\n

I honestly stopped asking for more sex from this show after that phone sex scene with Carrie and Aidan in his truck. It wasn\u2019t sexy. It wasn\u2019t needed. If anything, it was just straight-up weird. Then again, I\u2019m also scarred from Miranda and Che having extremely loud sex in Carrie\u2019s kitchen, with Carrie wide-awake and listening from her bedroom. Like many things \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d tried to do, \u201cSex and the City\u201d did it better. \u2014 Njera<\/p>\n

The show fumbled an abortion storyline.<\/p>\n

\"ChristopherChristopher Jackson as Herbert and Nicole Ari Parker as Lisa in “And Just Like That.”<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t surprise me that the one time \u201cAnd Just Like That\u201d had the chance to do something profound, it fumbled miserably. I remember watching Season 2 when LTW revealed that she was pregnant, thinking we were finally getting somewhere with her character. While discussing the pregnancy with her husband, the topic of abortion came up, at a time when the hot-button issue needed to be discussed more widely and matter-of-factly on TV. Yet, \u201cAnd Just Like That…\u201d abandoned ship for a miscarriage storyline, which, while equally important, felt like it got them off the hook. I don\u2019t know if the writers weren\u2019t prepared to open that can of worms or what, but it was a cowardly choice to make. One that robbed LTW of a plot worth exploring. Add that to the long list of reasons this reboot pissed me off. \u2014 Njera<\/p>\n

The Reintroduction Of Aidan<\/p>\n

\"JohnJohn Corbett as Aidan in “And Just Like That… “<\/p>\n

I feel like \u201cSex and the City\u201d fans should be able to launch a class action lawsuit against the writers and showrunner, and hell, John Corbett, too, for bringing Aidan back into the fold after Big\u2019s death. He was insufferable, and he made it impossible to take Carrie seriously, too. It would have been so nice to see Carrie find a new man to date \u2014 hey, whatever happened to that podcast guy from Season 1??? \u2014 but instead we were subjected to her trying to get that old thang back. We are owed a settlement, HBO! \u2014 Erin<\/p>\n

Seriously, why did they bring Aidan back?! All ghosts of Carrie\u2019s past should\u2019ve died right along with Big. This was probably the most infuriating storyline of the entire reboot simply because it was a complete waste of time. Why get Carrie and Aidan back together and have them buy a house, just for Aidan to say he needs five WHOLE years before he can focus on their relationship because his teenage son, Wyatt, needs him more? Old Carrie would never wait around for a man that long, much less barely bat an eye when he admits to cheating on her with his ex. This is also the same man who admitted to having trust issues with Carrie DECADES after her infidelity, yet he gets a slap on the wrist. I\u2019m glad they broke up before the finale, but they really didn\u2019t need to put us through that emotional rollercoaster. \u2014 Njera<\/p>\n

Why We Think That Series Finale Wasn\u2019t Actually Planned<\/p>\n

\"SarahSarah Jessica Parker as Carrie in “And Just Like That… “<\/p>\n

I\u2019m just not convinced that showrunner Michael Patrick King and Parker knew that the series wasn\u2019t going to go on at the beginning of the season. <\/p>\n

\u201cSJP and I held off announcing the news until now because we didn\u2019t want the world \u2018final\u2019 to overshadow the fun of watching the season,\u201d King said after announcing that AJLT would end with a two-part finale. \u201cI have learned not to say goodbye, but to say farewell,\u201d Parker told reporter and influencer Evan Ross Katz. \u201cIt\u2019s such an extraordinary job and you have to honor it and sometimes it feels like an anathema to say we\u2019re not going to do more. But if you love something, you know where to leave it sometimes.\u201d <\/p>\n

So that\u2019s the official word on the series\u2019 end. That two-part finale just didn\u2019t feel like a neat bow on the spinoff. A poop scene? Why? They also aren\u2019t slick for adding the original theme song to the end credits. It stopped me in my tracks. On the AJLT thread on Reddit and other gossip sites, rumors are swirling that SJP is \u201cfuming\u201d about the series\u2019 cancellation. And look, I\u2019d be mad too if I\u2019d invested so much time in a series \u2014 and a network for that matter \u2014 and was unceremoniously canceled. \u2014 Erin<\/p>\n

The fact that the show ends on such a lackluster note is nothing short of hilarious. After three seasons of giving die-hard \u201cSex and the City\u201d fans absolutely nothing, it shouldn\u2019t surprise me that the finale is just as pointless \u2014 the gall of the show to think it needed a two-part finale for Carrie to come up with her book\u2019s one-sentence epilogue. After watching the series finale, King\u2019s announcement of \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d ending seems more motivated by all the hate-watchers (us included) who couldn\u2019t stand to keep up with the show. Season 3 felt like they were running out of ideas and direction for Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and crew, so I\u2019m glad they made the right call. <\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d is going out on a high note, but it\u2019s definitely given us something to remember: Not all reboots are meant to see the light of day. \u2014 Njera<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"And just like that… it\u2019s all over. Earlier this month, \u201cAnd Just Like That… \u201d showrunner Michael Patrick…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75029,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[5861,49,48,15971,75,5863,15974,8977,348],"class_list":{"0":"post-75028","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-and-just-like-that","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-cynthia-nixon","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-hbo-max","14":"tag-kristin-davis","15":"tag-sarah-jessica-parker","16":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}