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‘And Just Like That...’ producer reveals Willie Garson’s storyline before actor’s death

The show's executive producer is offering details on what he originally had in mind for Garson's character before he found out the actor was sick.
Willie Garson died at the age of 57 in September.
Willie Garson died at the age of 57 in September.HBO Max

Many fans of “And Just Like That...” have wondered how Willie Garson's death affected the plot of the "Sex and the City" reboot, and they now have answers.

In a new interview with Variety, the show's executive producer Michael Patrick King sheds light on how the direction of the series changed after he learned that Garson was sick. As it turns out, his character, Stanford Blatch, was originally supposed to be in all 10 episodes and he was going to have a pretty interesting storyline.

"Before I knew that Willie was sick and couldn’t complete it, Stanford was going to have a midlife crisis. Stanford’s character always had a borderline career as a manager, and we were like going to explore the fact that it wasn’t a real career. It was going to be Carrie and him, feeling the shifts," King explained.

Much like Cynthia Nixon's character, Miranda, Stanford was also going to experience some relationship woes.

"Anthony and him were probably going to have split anyway," King continued. "Then we would keep both of them in, and everybody would be relieved that they were divorced because it was not pleasant for anybody."

  Stanford Blatch was always known as the loveable best friend of Carrie Bradshaw in the original "Sex and the City" series.
Stanford Blatch was always known as the loveable best friend of Carrie Bradshaw in the original "Sex and the City" series. HBO Max

Stanford and Carrie's deep friendship was also supposed to be on full display in the new series.

"But there was a series of really fun, flirty, hilarious confidante scenes with Carrie that I loved. That old, old, very specific chemistry that Carrie and Stanford have, which is based totally on the uniqueness of Willie and Sarah Jessica’s history," King noted.

The executive producer acknowledged that even he wasn't pleased with the way Stanford's storyline actually turned out, given the circumstances.

"Life and death is one thing in fiction: When it’s real, it’s not funny or cute. I didn’t want to even flirt narratively with cute business about where he is. I knew the audience would never invest in it, because they knew he was never coming back," he said.

Garson died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 57 in September and his co-stars were quick to send loving tributes in his honor. The writers of the show addressed his departure in the fourth episode when Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) found a note that announces that Stanford has suddenly left on business.

“By the time you read this, I’ll be in Tokyo,” the letter reads. “I couldn’t tell you — not without crying. And you have had enough crying.”

King called it "the most threadbare writing I’ve ever done just to move him along without much without much maneuvering, because it was just so sad."

"There was no way I could write myself out of that in any charming, cute way," he added.