When Sarah Jessica Parker first became Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City in 1998, she never knew that the character would become part of her. Now, she’s feeling a similar sentiment, stepping back into the main role in the revival, And Just Like That.
“I think qualities don’t leave you. It’s not like I stop playing her and therefore, anything that I like or if I was interested in or inspiring leaves me,” Parker, 56, told Us Weekly exclusively at the Wednesday, December 8, And Just Like That premiere in New York City.
The HBO Max revival series, which dropped its first two episodes on Thursday, December 9, follows Carrie, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) as they venture through life in their 50s as best friends. Kim Cattrall, who played the fourth friend, Samantha Jones, is not part of the new series.
However, it’s the women’s bonds that the Divorce alum loves the most — and aspires to have.
“I love the friendships. I love the time that they have for their friendships. I don’t really [have that]. Most people don’t have time to meet that frequently for brunch or lunch. So I’m envious,” the designer added on Wednesday. “I wish I could somehow integrate that into my life, but I think the thing that has always touched me the most is our relationships and how necessary they are — and that is certainly true in my life as well.”
Davis, 56, also gushed over the characters’ friendships and the new ones in And Just Like That.
“We’re standing right next to one of the most gorgeous and talented women on the planet Earth, Nicole Ari Parker, who I am very lucky, plays my friend,” the Emmy nominee told Us at the event at the MoMA. “Sara Ramirez, Karen Pittman and Sarita Choudhury [are here]. I mean, it is a dream in every way to be with them and learn about them and act with them. Then to watch them is incredible.”
The new cast isn’t the only change in the revival, showrunner Michael Patrick King recently said in an interview.
“I always believed that the success of the first series was because there was a villain, and that villain was a society that said that single people are lepers. ‘If they’re not married, they’re outside of what we like,’ and the outsider in me, the one who was never chosen, the one who was like, ‘I don’t fit society,’ linked in to the idea of defending the rights of people to not be married but also to show that that is beautiful, comic and a choice. So, that was their 30s. Now? The villain is again society,” he explained to The Hollywood Reporter. “‘You’re over 50. It doesn’t matter if you’re married, it’s over. Women of a certain age should act a certain way, and they should be felt sorry for.'”
The writer noted that in Sex and the City world, not being married meant “not worthy,” while now that comes along with being 55.
“So, to me, there’s still something to fight in a comic, honest, completely surprising way,” he added. “Plus, the city’s different, the world’s different and the conversations are different.”
The first two episodes of And Just Like That are now streaming on HBO Max.
