Darren Star thinks ‘And Just Like That’ is “a very separate animal” from ‘Sex and the City’: “The original ended when it ended”
And just like that, Sex and the City creator Darren Star is weighing in on HBO Max‘s revival/sequel series four months after it wrapped its third and final season.
Created by SATC‘s Michael Patrick King, And Just Like That… brought Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis back together as Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte. For those who don’t know, Star left SATC after Season 3 and wasn’t creatively involved in AJLT, so Decider was curious if he felt the sequel series honored the original’s legacy. Though the shows share worlds and characters, Star said he views them as two separate entities.
“I thought it was very — to me, it was a very separate animal. I think the original ended when it ended. And this was something else,” Star told Decider while discussing the latest season of his hit Netflix series, Emily in Paris.
After a controversial run, And Just Like That… received criticism for its series finale, which ended with Carrie Bradshaw (Parker) alone — not to mention, a literal pile of shit. As Decider’s senior critic Meghan O’Keefe wrote in her recap, “Personally, I hate it. Carrie doesn’t seem to love being single; she seems to just begrudgingly accept it. If she defiantly laughed off Tommy Tomato (IYKYK.) or pointed out how great she has it being alone, I could accept this sort of ending. However, the Carrie Bradshaw I’ve known since 1998 is defined by her desire to connect romantically with a partner. That has not changed.”
While Star didn’t share specific opinions on the ending of And Just Like That…, when chatting about Sex and the City‘s ending in an interview with Vulture, he previously said he felt Carrie and Big ending up together was a betrayal of the show.
“I’ll preface it by saying that Michael Patrick King was really creatively in charge that final season. He did an amazing job,” Star told Vulture. “Shows evolve and Carrie certainly evolved. But I always felt the show was never about a woman getting her man: That’s a traditional romantic comedy. It was about how women can define themselves 100 percent, that they didn’t have to be defined by marriage. But if that were the ending, I’m not sure the audience would’ve loved it. The show had a real audience-pleasing ending.”
From the sounds of those comments, it’s possible that Star supported Bradshaw’s solo sendoff in And Just Like That… But for those who felt unsatisfied after the sequel series wrapped, the SATC creator said, “I think the characters live on everyone’s mind, so you can sort of choose bring your own adventure.”
While Star wasn’t interested in rebooting Sex and the City, there is a reunion he said he thinks about regularly: Younger. The seven-season dramedy starring Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff, Miriam Shor, Nico Tortorella, Peter Hermann, and more, ran from 2015 to 2021, but recently found a new fanbase while streaming on Netflix.
When discussing his frequent thoughts of a Younger reboot and where the stars are today, Star said, “They’re all such talents. I love to see them doing well.” So fingers crossed that Younger fans haven’t seen the last of that world yet, and that if it’s ever revisited, it leaves the story off on another satisfying note. Want to hear more from Star? Check out Decider’s full interview with the creator here.
Emily in Paris Season 5 is now streaming on Netflix.
