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Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Sarah Jessica Parker drives And Just Like That fans to tears with Carrie Bradshaw tribute as woke series ends
Sarah Jessica Parker broke her silence on the end of Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That with an emotional and extremely lengthy tribute to Carrie Bradshaw. Parker, 60, who has played the witty writer since 1998, left fans in tears as she posted a video of memorable scenes from the two series and two films - hours after showrunner Michael Patrick King confirmed AJLT's third season would be the last. The show - which saw also saw Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis reprise their SATC roles as Miranda Hobbes and Charlotte York - will wrap up with a two part finale. Sex and The City enthusiasts had long expressed their disappointment in the HBO Max spin-off series, slamming it as ' woke ', 'awful' and 'cringeworthy' and lamenting the absence of Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones. Fans had bashed the show and its writers, with some even alleging And Just Like That... had 'ruined' the once-beloved characters from the original Sex and the City and critics calling it 'the worst show on television'. In the wake of the announcement Parker bade an emotional 350-word farewell to her 'professional heartbeat' Carrie on Instagram, writing: 'Crossed streets, avenues, rubicons, so it seemed. 'She broke hearts, heels, habits. She loved, lost, won, tripped, leaped. Fell short and into puddles. 'Aged. Got wiser. She has made the hardest worst and best decisions. 'Traveled near and far. For the new. The vintage. Friends and love. 'Changed homes, time zones, boyfriends, her mind, her shoes, her hair, but never her love and devotion to New York City. 'She had dates, drinks, boyfriends. A husband and truly great loves and romances. 'She hailed cabs. She ran in heels. And danced with Stanford. She told the truth and she lied. 'She typed. Wondered. Wrote. Published. Grieved. Forgave. Got stood up. Stood strong. Stood out. 'She devoted herself to hats, books, shoes, friends and the promise of a new day in her beloved city and the people she treasured most. 'She has worn shame, pride, honor, optimism and literally countless dresses, skirts, tutus. 'Held onto hands, hopes and the very best of people. Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte, there will never be better friends and what great fortune for Carrie to come to know and love Seema and LTW, most divine new connections. 'Carrie Bradshaw has dominated my professional heartbeat for 27 years. I think I have loved her most of all. 'I know others have loved her just as I have. Been frustrated, condemned and rooted for her. 'The symphony of all those emotions has been the greatest soundtrack and most consequential companion. Therefore the most sentimental and profound gratitude and lifetime of debt. To you all. 'MPK and I together recognized, as we have in the past, this chapter complete. 'AJLT was all joy, adventure, the greatest kind of hard work alongside the most extraordinary talent of 380 that includes all the brilliant actors who joined us. 'I am better for every single day I spent with you. It will be forever before I forget the whole thing. Thank you all. I love you so. 'I hope you love these final two episodes as much as we all do. Rabbit rabbit. Xxx, SJ.' Heartbroken fans took to social media to lament the farewell, with one writing: 'sarah jessica parker 's instagram post saying goodbye to carrie bradshaw. i am BESIDE MYSELF. Others wrote: 'I can't imagine that we'll never see Carrie again. There has to be a new movie or mini season in a few years to see what she, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha (via text messages) have been up to. Not ready to say goodbye! '27 years, 1 unforgettable character. Thank you, Sarah Jessica Parker, for the heels, heartbreaks, and heart. 'new sarah jessica parker post is written like a patti smith instagram caption… oh she was having big feelings. 'Sarah Jessica Parker you did more than anyone ever could for Carrie Bradshaw and I respect you 1000% for it. Thank you for everything and I love you so much. AJLT saw Miranda cheat on husband Steve with non-binary comic Che Diaz, Carrie bizarrely claim 'love of her life' Mr Big was a 'mistake' and agreeing to take a five year break from her on-again romance with Aidan Shaw. The show's viewership had tumbled in its ongoing third season. King said in a statement: 'And just like that… the ongoing storytelling of the Sex and the City universe is coming to an end. 'While I was writing the last episode of And Just Like That… season 3, it became clear to me that this might be a wonderful place to stop. Along with Sarah Jessica Parker, Casey Bloys and Sarah Aubrey, we decided to end the popular series this year with a two-part finale and extended the original series order from 10 episodes to 12. 'SJP and I held off announcing the news until now because we didn't want the word final to overshadow the fun of watching the season. 'It's with great gratitude we thank all the viewers who have let these characters into their homes and their hearts over these many years.' Samantha Jones actress Kim Cattrall notably did not return for the series full-time after a decade of bad blood with her castmates. The original show ran from 1998-2004 with two films in 2008 and 2010. AJLT was first announced in January 2021 - 11 years after the panned movie, Sex and the City 2. It introduced a host of new side characters including Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker), Seema Patel (Sarita Choudhury) and Dr Nya Wallace (Karen Pittman). The series kicked off in explosive style with Big (Chris Noth) dying of a heart attack in the first episode. Noth was later edited out of the series after being accused of sexual abuse by four women - he denied all the allegations and has never been charged with any crime. Miranda began cheating on Steve (David Eigenberg) - who was her true love over six seasons and two films - with Che (Sara Ramirez) before starting to exclusively date women, despite her character confirming in SATC she was 'definitely not gay.' It was claimed Cattrall had 'torpedoed' plans for a third Sex and the City film - but she later denied this. Cattrall shocked fans when it emerged she had filmed a secret cameo for the show's second season, which she did without interacting with any cast member. She had previously hit out at Parker and said 'we're not friends' after her former co-star posted an Instagram condolence message following the death of Cattrall's brother. It was explained in the series premiere that Samantha had moved to London after falling out with Carrie, with the Season 1 premiere finding Carrie reaching out to Samantha via text, making plans to meet in person and reconcile. Samantha's return came in the form of a phone call to Carrie in the season two finale.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
'And Just Like That ...' to end after third season
And just like that, a universe of fun, friendship and fashion is coming to an end. Michael Patrick King, showrunner of the 'Sex and the City' sequel 'And Just Like That ...,' announced on Instagram that the series will end after the third season concludes. Fans have a two-part finale to savor later this month. 'It's with great gratitude we thank all the viewers who have let these characters into their homes and their hearts over these many years,' he wrote. King said he decided to wrap things up while writing the season's final episode. He then split the finale into two episodes. The last episode will drop Aug. 14. In a long, heartfelt Instagram post of her own, Sarah Jessica Parker, who played the iconic Carrie Bradshaw character in both series, called the sequel 'all joy, adventure, the greatest kind of hard work alongside the most extraordinary talent.' She included a montage of Carrie's fashion and moments. Parker added: 'I am better for every single day I spent with you. It will be forever before I forget. The whole thing. Thank you all. I love you so.' Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon returned for the sequel. Largely absent was Kim Cattrall and her Samantha Jones, though Cattrall did make a brief, uncredited cameo in the Season 2 finale. Samantha's absence was explained as a move to London. Reports of pay and personal disputes bubbled over behind the scenes. The original series ran from 1998 to 2004, taking pop culture by storm with the style and drama of the 30-something friends in New York City. They shopped. They brunched. They dated, leaning on each other as Parker's Carrie, a writer, chronicled it all. The sequel picks up their lives in their mid-50s, to mixed reviews. Carrie became a widow. Nixon's Miranda Hobbes came out as queer. Davis' Charlotte York Goldenblatt copes with husband Harry's prostate cancer diagnosis. Fashion remains ever-present, including all those iconic heels still clacking through New York's brownstone-lined streets. In her farewell post, Parker wrote of her stylish Carrie that she, 'Changed homes, time zones, boyfriends, her mind, her shoes, her hair, but never her love and devotion to New York City.' She called Carrie 'my professional heartbeat for 27 years.'
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
What Trump's America looks like to a 10-year-old girl
Readers of Gary Shteyngart's previous work might not be surprised to hear that his latest novel features a Russian Jew living in Manhattan. This time he's even called Igor — the name Shteyngart was given when he was born to Jewish parents in Leningrad in 1972, seven years before the family emigrated to New York. His first novel, The Russian Debutante's Handbook (2002), drew heavily and satirically on his immigrant life, as did his second and third (Absurdistan and Super Sad True Love Story). Next came a memoir of it, Little Failure, after which he vowed to leave off the subject for a while and explore the 'non-Russian, non-Jewish experience' instead. But after doing so for just one book, Lake Success, he returned to his old stamping ground with Our Country Friends, in which the main character was not only a Manhattan-based Russian Jew, but also a writer, which Igor is too in Vera, or Faith. In this case, however, there's a slight twist. Igor is seen through the third-person eyes of his eponymous daughter: a bright, autistic ten-year-old determined to make sense of her family, posh new school and country. To this end, she keeps an ever-expanding Things I Still Need to Know Diary in which she notes words and ideas that she later finds out about and produces in public with a proud flourish, but that ultimately do little to aid her quest for understanding. Then again, her family, new school and country are pretty baffling places to be. The only things she knows about her birth mother (aka Mom Mom) is that she was a Korean whom Igor met at college in Ohio and that she was mysteriously unable to handle having a small child. As for her father, although she tries hard and often successfully to worship him, she can't help noticing that he spends quite a lot of the time drinking 'Daddy's special juice' and passing out on the sofa. In a novel where every chapter title begins 'She had to…', one of the many obligations she burdens herself with is to make sure he and her Wasp stepmother (aka Anne Mom) don't split up. Meanwhile, at school, her ornate vocabulary, fascinating facts and habit of carrying The Chess Player's Bible unaccountably fail to endear her to 'the Populars'. But most baffling of all is what's happening in America — which is where the novel rather loses its way. Or, more specifically, where it provides further proof that not the least of the damage Donald Trump has done to the country is the effect he's had on its literati, whose obsession with the damage he's done to the country may be understandable, but by now feels wearingly predictable. In his defence, Shteyngart does hit out in all directions. As a self-styled 'progressive', Anne Mom holds political salons for 'women in ballet flats', having first paid Vera to make sure that works by people of colour are prominently displayed on the bookshelves. As a self-styled 'left-wing intellectual', Igor has an impressive line in sneering at more or less everything, but is less good at resisting the lure of money, however dodgy the source. • Gary Shteyngart: Want to understand Russia? Then read this novel In his further defence, Shteyngart at least varies the angle of attack on Trump — mainly by never referring to him directly. The indirect stuff, though, is scarcely subtle. The novel is set in a near-future America that's poised to introduce a constitutional amendment giving an 'enhanced vote', worth five thirds of a normal one, to white people not of immigrant stock. Several states have a policy whereby women entering them have to give a urine sample to prove they haven't had an abortion. (How urine can prove this goes unexplained.) There's also a hysterically over-the-top ending that I won't spoil, even though it's quite a book-spoiler itself — a liberal fantasy of how bad things might get. This clumsiness/Trump Tourette's is an especial shame given how sharp, funny and touching the depiction of Vera remains. Shteyngart may not be the first novelist to contrast a child's innocence with the wicked adult world, but he does it with a winning combination of sure-footedness, mischief and a kind of melancholy sweetness that never curdles into sentimentality. The book's title is explained when Vera remembers that her name is the Russian for 'faith'. 'She had to have faith,' she decides. 'But in what?' It's a question that becomes harder to answer the longer the book goes on. The abiding trouble, though, is that her role as an oasis of goodness amid all the wrong surrounding her could almost serve as a metaphor for the novel.
