Every And Just Like That… character, ranked by how terrible they are
Who's the worst of the worst in Max's Sex And The City sequel?
TV Features John Lennon
If you’re anything like me, you have an And Just Like That… problem. I don’t subscribe to the concept of “guilty pleasures” (if a piece of media brings you pleasure, it’s a pleasure, full stop!), but I make an exception to that rule when it comes to this latest addition to the Sex And The City extended universe. The show has precious little of the Emmy-winning original’s charm and subversiveness; let’s just say there’s a reason that the word “sex” isn’t in the title, because And Just Like That… takes precious few trips to bonetown. (This probably has a lot to do with the absence of one Samantha Jones—but more on that later.)
In their fifties, the three remaining leads—Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon)—have become profoundly entitled and deeply unlikable people. And without the brilliant eye of Sex And The City lead costume designer Patricia Field, even the fashion isn’t good.
So please tell me why I sit down with a freshly chilled Cosmopolitan to watch it the very day a new episode drops. (Just kidding—Cosmos have gone the way of the dodo.) Perhaps And Just Like That… scratches a similar itch for me as, say Real Housewives does for other viewers: There may not be an ounce of charm to go around the brunch table anymore, but there is plenty of dish. So ahead of the season-two premiere on June 22, let’s rank the characters in Darren Star and Michael Patrick King’s sequel series from least to most despicable.
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The only thing that aged well about Sex and the City was the early sex-positive attitude of the women in the first seasons, which I remember the papers at the time saw as being very progressive. But as time went on, SJP’s real-life aversion to sexy stuff bled into the show, and Carrie became a lot more conservative about her life, and this continued into this new series. I mean, I think it’s a quite realistic dynamic for a person to become more Kareny as they get older, especially if they’ve not got much self-awareness, it’s just that that isn’t much fun to watch.
Agreed. The first couple of seasons (25 years ago), Carrie and Co. were all interested in sex and were very sex positive. But by the fifth season, Carrie couldn’t even get off with handsome Berger because she was so far up her own *ss. This show is merely the continuation of that proctólogical journey. Not fun.
Excuse me but Berger sucked. He was the one up his own ass. Carrie’s always had her issues but that one wasn’t on her.
That is an Absolutely fair comment. But Carrie from the first season still would have found a way to have a good time with a good looking guy, even if he was a neurotic, insecure mess. As long as he could last longer than five seconds (apologies to Justin Theroux’s character), she would have banged him and moved on, realizing that his unresolved emotional issues weren’t hers to fix. Late season Carrie and AJLT Carrie can’t get out of their own way and seem to view sex as a means to a relationship. Not just a way to have a good time.
Hear you; Carrie is also growing and changing so I wouldn’t expect her to react the same way as S1. Acknowledge she brought her own baggage bc she was def still hung up on BOTH Aiden and Big. But Berger was a total manchild and also couldn’t perform in the sack. He was cute (I adore Ron Livingston) but nothing else about him was appealing.
Here is the best cultural context I can give about why the sex positive white women of SATC were considered progressive:
Remember Friends? In one of the first episodes Monica basically has a one night stand (he leaves a watch). It is documented production history that there is a fight about this as a script point and if it makes Monica “unlikeable” to the audience. This was considered a BIG THING in character development.
The 90s were what they were, but the idea of women as subjects of their sexual experiences and not just objects was not particularly mainstream.
Which character is most likely to enjoy the smooth sounds of THE SPR3 is what I want to know. My guess? Samantha Jones!
Let’s not forget that Steve cheated on Miranda back in the day.
I didn’t recall him being a fireman (“A kind-eyed bartender who’s also a fireman?”), though.
Yeah… he plays a fireman on Chicago Fire EYEROLL
That was the most hilarious mistake ever. They might as well have said, “Mr. Big was still grieving over the loss of his old partner, Lennie Briscoe, when he, too, suffered an untimely death.”
And then Tom Hanks came back from the island and complicated it even more.
Okay, so that parenthetical (“A kind-eyed bartender who’s also a fireman?”) is complete nonsense when talking about the character Steve Brady, right?Great job, AV Club.
“job, AVClub” has me on the fucking floor
I wish I could take credit, but I wasn’t the first to think of that.
Pretend it’s your resume and embellish
That was a shitty B-plot they put into the first movie to give Miranda’s character something to do. The TV series version of Steve has been a stand-up guy.
Yeah. The movies are so much worse than the show (especially #2) that they might as well be in a different continuity (just like the new show!)
Steve cheated because he was deeply lonely and his wife made no time for him, his needs, or their marriage. They re-committed to one another on the Brooklyn Bridge and it was a gorgeous moment. Miranda cheating on Steve with Che so callously and then dumping him is such an asshole move and makes me think Miranda never really deserved Steve.
Steve was ALWAYS too good fro Miranda. Hell, being honest, I think most of the love interests were too good for the main characters. The only exceptions being anyone who was with Samantha because she was always honest about what she wanted and if they couldn’t handle it (Smith) that was their fault and Trey; he was never the man he pretended to be for Charlotte.
I think Charlotte and Harry are actually good together. Except of course in the new series where they bicker a lot. I’ve been with my husband for two decades and we don’t bicker. I find it very off-putting for a supposedly happy couple to pick at one another.
Let’s not forget that Carrie could very possibly have saved Big if she’d called 911 and done CPR until medics arrived.
Doesn’t CPR work like 1% of the time? As if Carrie was about to break some ribs.
I’ve read that it’s about 10%, but the real trick is to get the patient somewhere in time to actually stabalize them (because this seldom does) and that can be difficult.
Who doesn’t call the door man to see if they have a defibrillator? She’s so helpless as a person. It was all about performative grief. The poor man was alive when she got there. But not after she got done performing.
Carrie is really the only story arc I am interested in! I wish they didn’t add so many new characters. I feel like it takes away from the original 3 and there’s just way too much going on for only about 10 episodes. For example, as you mentioned, the storyline about Nya’s pregnancy struggles – is that really necessary! I have to say though that Seema is my favorite out of the new cast additions, with Che being my least favorite. My least favorite thing about season 1 was Miranda! That is all.
The new characters are my favorite characters at this point (except Che). Ironically, I always hated Carrie and found her self-absorption to be vomit-inducing, but this new version of her is actually the most likeable original character (other than Samantha who chose not to show up and can’t be ruined). Miranda went from my favorite to my least favorite really fast, though.
I’ve never seen this series and clicked the article just out of general curiosity. Made for a quick read since I only know half the characters, and it doesn’t sound like I’m missing anything.
Same. I’ve seen about 5 minutes of one episode. I have no regrets.
I have sadly seen every episode and both movies (shudder), mostly not of my own volition. As a woman of certain age, I have found the cultural reference points a useful social lubricant, but as a woman who has dated for decades in NYC, I scoff even more than most.
I had a roommate who owned the first several seasons on VHS (that is how long ago this shit started). She was never the best roommate, and moved out and left a LOT of shit. Had a temp roommate who, the day before a 2 week vacation, let a friend with a legit crisis come stay with us and use her room while she was gone. Came out to the living room one day to find that friend with fresh popcorn, newly bought beer to share, and slowly making her way through the series on tape while trying to sort out her housing and other stuff, so I basically absorbed the first 4 seasons or so while building a new friendship and getting free beer. That person would end up back on my couch with DVDs of the last couple of seasons when she moved back in as my roommate a year later. So, I can’t completely hate the series because it was the background for what is now one of my closest and dearest friendships, which is probably a fitting tribute to the series.
But nothing can justify that train wreck of a second movie and I have no interest in AJLT.
Every time Cynthia Nixon & the rest of the cast badmouths Kim Cattrall it makes me even more on her side for bailing on this trainwreck. She really is a Samantha & I respect that
Please point to where they have badmouthed her compared to what Kim Cattrall has gone around spewing.
Hard disagree on 1-2. You comment that Carrie is working through the grief of losing her husband (and the horror of hearing Miranda and Che in her kitchen, BARF) and yet you give her no grace. I might even drop her below Charlotte.
Swap Miranda and Carrie. Carrie’s neighbors are dicks and Carrie’s self-absorption and lack of dating might be connected to her DEAD HUSBAND (just throwing that out there).Carrie’s real sin is just a passive-aggressive inner monologue.
What I REALLY can’t get over is the fact that Miranda’s cheating on Steve with Che, cheating on Che with Steve, seems incapable of sacrificing the relationship she developed with either one, and when Che and Steve realize she’s cheating on them both they BOTH offer her an open relationship — and she decides she’s not into it anymore….Like…come on, she’s definitely #1 on this list.
Miranda and Che are definitely tied for first. but, really, everyone on the list except for Steve and Samantha are indistinguishably awful. Mr. Big gets a pass for dying early (though his garbage toxicity is represented by his survivor actor.)
I haven’t watched since Season 2 of the original show (so 24 years ago), but Miranda was always the worst and it sounds like she still is.
I didn’t even watch the show, only followed the reviews here like a creeper in an alley watching a dumpster burn, and I was like “so Miranda’s #1, yes?”
Saaaaaaame.
What a bad choice to feature a non-binary character on the reboot of a popular TV show, but then have them be terrible and obnoxious. I also found it kind of silly that they made Nixon’s character come out just because the actress had. But that’s old news to argue about, I guess.
I can’t believe this series is still going! I guess Sex and The City fans are pretty dedicated.
Carrie was always the weak center on her own show.
This list omits a bunch of characters in season 1 (Lisa, Harry, Big, Stanford, Brady, Natasha, Jackie, Andre, and Peter) and includes Samatha who isn’t really in the show. Strange choice. Miranda and Che are the worst characters in this show. Watching both of them act like giant assholes was not entertaining. I feel like Miranda’s good sense is all gone.
I don’t think she ever had good sense as far as her own life was concerned. She seemed to have everything put together and is obviously intelligent but that didn’t translate into sound personal decisions.
The worse is yet to come.Aidan is a drip.
I can’t get past him on some movie I watched, romcom or something, where he played the male lead and referred to himself as “a sexy man of God”. Ugh. Most awkward, cringy sentence – it never leaves my brain.
We also need to talk about Stanford.Yes, it’s absolutely awful that Willie Garson passed away, who was, by all accounts, an uber-mensch who was beloved by everyone.But, man oh man, did they do that character dirty. They could have just written him out of the show for the back half of the season and have him on a business trip and then gave him a dignified death between seasons.Yeah, yeah, MPK (who really, truly is the worst) explained that, given what happened to Big, they didn’t want to saddle the show with another big character death.But there were a hundred ways they could have handled it better than “Stanford runs off to Asia manage a TikTokker’s career and unceremoniously dumps Anthony for absolutely no reason.” It was like the fucking Mad Libs. Just atrocious and, if not for the fact that we’re leaving Stanford off the list out of respect for Garson, he really would deserve a spot in the top 2 or 3 because of that.
OMG, I totally forget about the atrocious handling of Stanford! That was disgusting, honestly. Stanford was a bit of a snob sometimes, but otherwise, he was a delight, so it made no sense for them to choose to handle Garson’s death this way. They could have said he had to go take care fo a sick relative or just that he was traveling with clients, and then say he died tragically while doing so, but leave out the part about him abandoning Anthony. It is as if MPK wants us to hate every character on this show.
Exactly! I wonder if he’ll even get a name-drop in the current season.
I am the most terrible for watching Season 1. Season 2 won’t get a second of my time.
I felt less sorry for Karen Pittman when she played a woman possessed by a demon undergoing an exorcism on “Evil” tv show. This shit show can’t be saved by 60 seconds of Kim Cattrall. Did King and SJP intend on making everyone (except Steve & Harry) such flaming assholes? If so, A+ for succeeding on that.
My biggest issue with this show is that they worked so hard to force in every single hot-button social issue ever to exist, whether they fit organically into the show or not. SATC was always a gay-positive show, even if some of the dialogue in certain episodes was awkward, so sure, continue to have gay and lesbian characters, but be more sensitive, no problem with that. I somewhat understand the desire to be more bisexual and transgender-positive, since they did drop the ball on that in the original series, but shoving that in via Miranda and Roc’s storylines, along with early widowhood, aging concerns, racism, parenting teens, infidelity, loss of friends, moving a million times, menopause and everything else I missed, is a LOT for 10 episodes of any show to handle, no matter how well written and this show has never been one of the best written out there. It’s no wonder that many of these storylines felt forced, came out of nowhere and weren’t handled well. Not to mention all of the new characters. Everyone didn’t need to have a new friend! It will be interesting to see if any of these issues are fixed in the second season, but I am not holding my breath!
Naw, the only way this show even vaguely worked was by Grey’s Anatomy-ing it and just giving the secondary characters their own storylines and then tripling the main cast size until the old heads were overwhelmed with stuff they couldn’t connect to at all but which actually matters in the real world outside of their bourgeois Gen X/Baby Boomer white lady bubbles.Was it awkward and ham-fisted? Yes. So was Sex and the City.
You lost me at START SLIDESHOW, but I can only assume everyone ties for worst character?
Carrie was not even *vaguely* a “Karen” to her neighbors. She only asked them to be base-line respectful of people trying to sleep at 3am because they were being hella rude… Have to deeply disagree with the last four. It should have been 4- Charlotte (who has gotten SO much better and SO much more fun and SO much naughtier since the first show. She is nowhere near a “prude” in this show. As Carrie said “I love you so much right now”). 3 – Carrie (she’s always been who she is, but isn’t evil. Just lives in her own Carrie-world.). 2 – Che (kind of a jerk and way too loud and bombastic for me. I do love how they show vulnerability and cry, but they’re also just kind of a jerk). 1 – Miranda…. my gosh. What did they do to her?? She’s awful. She was always kind of a dick about having a kid and about Steve, but instead of redemption, she just jumped off the deep end. She’s loud. She NEVER stops talking. She’s needy and clumsy and selfish, except when chatting with Nya. I sincerely with we had Samantha back, and not Miranda. Her character just became an awful waste of space.