Fans who are still processing the heartbreaking premiere of the "Sex and the City" reboot “And Just Like That…" — including Jonah Hill — should prepare for the shocking death of a beloved character to heavily impact the rest of the season.
Warning: This post contains spoilers!
The joy of having “Sex and the City” back in our lives was shortlived when the series premiere of the reboot ended with Chris Noth’s character Mr. Big dying. After his 1,000th Peloton ride, Big suffered a heart attack and the second episode showed Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie beginning to grieve the loss of her husband.
Although Noth currently stars on the CBS drama “The Equalizer,” he reprised his role for the reboot along with most of the characters from the original HBO series, excluding Kim Cattrall. While some questioned if Big being killed off had to do with Noth’s busy filming schedule, creator Michael Patrick King shut down that suggestion.
King spoke with Extra and explained the decision, saying, “It was really about creating something that was bold that would shift the landscape for Carrie Bradshaw, and also I wanted to explore the idea: is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?”
The creator acknowledged that fans relate to and love Carrie, but he added they can experience Big’s death “in a fiction way and not a reality way.”
“And Just Like That…” will air a total of ten episodes and King revealed that the rest of the season will tackle Carrie’s journey toward healing.
“I don’t want the audience to think I want them to feel bad… I’m not leading them into a dark forest and leaving them there — Carrie has a lamp, she’s gonna get us all out,” King teased.
He also hinted at Carrie finding love again, but he said “there will be many obstacles along the way.”
Speaking about killing off Big, King called the move “daring” but explained that the series is known for taking risks.
During an interview with Deadline, King opened up more about filming the emotional funeral scene and revealed that Noth “even put on a suit and came to the funeral when we were taping” to throw off suspecting fans.
“And I wrote a fake scene, so he and Sarah Jessica (Parker) put on costumes,” King shared. “He said to me, ‘You really want me to put a face of makeup on and come down and shoot a fictional scene at my funeral?’ I go, ‘Yeah,’ because I really wanted the audience to be as surprised as possible before we did it.”
He joked, “I mean, if you’re going to die that’s the episode to die in.”
The showrunner also said that he would not have chosen to go ahead with the storyline if Noth did not return to the show.
Referencing Miranda’s eulogy in the second episode, King said all the characters will be impacted by this major plot twist. Carrie, specifically, will revisit the theme of wanting what she can’t have.
“So what it’s going to do is bring up and try to prove the thesis for what this series is about — the last voiceover of this series,” he recalled. “Carrie is walking down the street and Mr. Big calls and says, ‘Get ready, I’m coming.’ But the voiceover says the most significant, emotionally challenging relationship you will ever have is the one you have with yourself. And if you find somebody else who finds you, that’s fabulous.”
So what can fans expect to see in the upcoming episodes?
“And Just Like That…” will focus on “this significant, challenging emotional relationship that Carrie has with herself, and also the evolution of somebody who’s had love and what it does to you.”
HBO Max will release weekly episodes of “And Just Like That…” every Thursday.