And Just Like That... - What We Know So Far

And just like that, "Sex and the City" fans were given the best news they've heard since they learned about that two for one sale on Manolo Blahniks. The show's 10-episode miniseries spin-off which is (natch) titled "And Just Like That..." released its first preview image on July 9. That signals that the show is currently filming, which means the date of its release looms ever larger.

The original "Sex and the City" focused on Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), a columnist living a shoe-loving, cocktail-sipping high-class life in New York City, who journeyed through a number of romantic relationships with the constant support of her three close friends — Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), a bitter and realistic lawyer, Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), a perfectionist romantic and art gallery worker, and Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), a sex-loving PR person who wasn't looking for love so much as really good sex. Hovering over it all was Carrie's true love, Big (Chris Noth), who resisted committing to her even as she dreamed of marrying him.

What will the sequel miniseries offer, and when can you expect to see it? Take your cosmos and keep scooting down the page as we let you in on the lowdown.

According to Harper's Bazaar, "And Just Like That..." has no current airdate. The miniseries is, however, currently filming in New York City as of press time, according to US Magazine and updates on Sarah Jessica Parker's Instagram. Shooting began in early June and is expected to continue throughout the summer. 

What that means for the show's debut date will largely depend upon marketing, editing, and whether or not New York City stays open in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. If everything goes smoothly and editing proves a breeze, we might see "And Just Like That.." streaming up on HBOMax by either the winter of 2021 or the first quarter of 2022. 

That said, HBO has also tended to favor spring release dates for the "Sex and the City" films, and "The Carrie Diaries" was mainly a mid-season event on The CW during its two seasons on the air. Don't be surprised if "And Just Like That..." debuts on the streamer sometime in the late spring of 2022, perhaps around May.

First, the bad news: Kim Cattrall will not be reprising her role as Samantha Jones. Cattrall has repeatedly been firm that she would "never" return to do any further reunions or movies related to the franchise after the second "Sex and the City" film was released in 2010. "You learn lessons in life, and my lesson is to do work with good people and try and make it fun," she told The Daily Mail in 2019.

"Just as in real life, people come into your life, people leave," HBO's president of programming, Casey Bloys, told TV Line about what Samantha's absence from the miniseries might mean. "Friendships fade, and new friendships start. So I think it is all very indicative of the real stages, the actual stages of life."

The good news, however, is that many of the characters fans love from the franchise will appear in "And Just Like That...". Obviously, Parker is back as Carrie, with Davis as Charlotte and Nixon as Miranda. Charlotte's husband, Harry, and Miranda's husband, Steve — as played by Evan Handler and David Eigenberg respectively — will both reprise their roles, as will Noth's Mr. Big, according to Deadline. Also per Deadline, returning are Mario Cantone and Willie Garson as Anthony Marentino and Stanford Blatch, respectively. 

There will also be some new characters added to the mix. Sara Ramirez will portray Che Diaz, a nonbinary, queer stand-up comic who co-hosts a podcast, according to Deadline, and will be a new regular on the series. According to TV Line, there will be five more new characters added to the series, and two more of them will be POC  and series regulars.

A summary from Deadline tells us that "And Just Like That..." is about our three protagonists "navigat(ing) the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s." That leaves room for interpretation when it comes to the loss of Samantha (perhaps to Covid? Perhaps to political differences? Maybe they all grew apart?), the fact that Miranda and Charlotte must both be raising adolescents and teenagers by this time, and the fact that romance and what it means definitely shifts and changes as you enter your 50s.

As for future confirmed plotlines, we know that Covid-19 pandemic will play a part in the series' onscreen events, according to an interview with Sarah Jessica Parker in Vanity Fair. The pandemic, she says, will "obviously be part of the storyline, because that's the city [these characters] live in. And how has that changed relationships once friends disappear? I have great faith that the writers are going to examine it all." Whether that means that our characters have lost loved ones, or if their lives have simply been pinched by the situation, we'll have to wait to see.

We also have the first episode title confirmed, thanks to a post on Sarah Jessica Parker's Instagram: it will be called "Hello, it's Me." Also, thanks to details announced surrounding casting details, we do know that Carrie regularly guests on a podcast hosted by Che, which is an update from her article writing gig in the original series.

Wherever the miniseries takes its beloved characters, fans of the show are sure to be thrilled by its fresh direction!