And Just Like That: Sex And The City's John Slattery Would Return - As Mayor Of NYC?
Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) had a lot of wild boyfriends throughout the original run of "Sex and the City" — and a lot of them were played by some seriously famous guest stars. Justin Theroux, Vince Vaughn, Jon Bon Jovi, Bradley Cooper, David Duchovny, Ron Livingston, and Mikhail Barshynikov all popped up as Carrie's flames or flings... and one of them, John Slattery, said he'd be happy to return to the revival series "...And Just Like That."
During an appearance at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival to promote the movie he directed, "Maggie Moore(s)," Slattery had a wildly positive response when he was asked if he'd ever return to the fictional New York City seen in the "Sex and the City" cinematic universe to play Bill Kelley, a local politician who briefly dates Carrie. "Absolutely, in a hot second," Slattery told Entertainment Tonight. After telling the outlet his character, who ran for city treasurer in the series, could be the mayor by now, Slattery concluded, "Why not!"
What role did John Slattery play on Sex and the City?
Charming and running for local office, Slattery's Bill Kelley first pops up in the Season 3 premiere "Where There's Smoke..." alongside Carrie as he judges a competition of firefighters vying for a spot on a calendar. His inclination to give "half-points" and dogged pursuit of Carrie works, and by the season's second episode, "Politically Erect," they're officially dating, with Carrie following Bill around at political events. Before long, though, he asks that Carrie join him in a kind of unexpected act — and we won't get into it here, but it certainly triggers her fight or flight instinct.
When Carrie says she's not interested, Bill just ends up dumping her because he says his campaign doesn't love that he's dating a sex columnist, which is kind of a pathetically timed lie. Slattery never reappeared on the show, and nor did Bill — but it definitely doesn't feel impossible that Carrie's New York could have elected a Mayor Kelley. If nothing else, hopefully Bill convinced the politically averse Carrie to vote already.
What has John Slattery been doing since his brief turn on Sex and the City?
If you're familiar with John Slattery, you're probably most familiar with his role as Roger Sterling on "Mad Men," the acclaimed drama about advertising executives drinking, smoking, and sleeping around in Manhattan in the 1960s. Slattery played Roger throughout the series' entire run, but he has since reunited with his co-star Jon Hamm; he was at the Tribeca Film Festival in the first place to promote "Maggie Moore(s)," which he directed and appears in alongside Hamm.
Hamm stars in the film alongside Tina Fey — another collaborator of Slattery's, who appeared as a bizarre presidential candidate on "30 Rock" (continuing his streak of playing odd political wannabes) and as himself on "Girls5Eva," on which Fey is an executive producer and occasional guest star. Fans of Carrie Bradshaw's love life, however, remember Slattery as the smooth-talking, ultimately slimy Bill Kelley — and if the universe will have him back, Slattery is definitely ready to return.