‘And Just Like That’ Team Offers Up Explanation as to Why Character Was Seemingly Killed Off Twice
- HBO's revival series And Just Like That features original Sex and the City stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis navigating life in their 50s, but without Kim Cattrall returning as Samantha Jones.
HBO's revival series And Just Like That has continued to hold on to a loyal fan base, mostly composed of die-hard Sex and the City fans.
The sequel show is currently airing its third season with original stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis returning as Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbes and Charlotte York-Goldenblatt, respectively, to the streets of New York. This time around, we see the women tackle life, love and friendship from the perspective of their 50s — though Kim Cattrall has declined to return as the iconic Samantha Jones .
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Without Cattrall, SATC boss Michael Patrick King made the decision to welcome some newcomers into the fold , with Seema Patel (Sarita Choudhury) and Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker) introduced to fill the Samantha-shaped hole.
And while not as critically renowned as the original series, And Just Like That has effectively covered myriad mid-life complications for the women, including the death of Mr. Big (Chris Noth), a recent cancer diagnosis for Harry , rediscovering sexuality, and raising children while balancing a career in an increasingly digital world.
But in the latest episode that released on July 3, a plot point appeared to get recycled, and the AJLT team were later forced to offer up an explanation.
Fans of the show took to social media to discuss Lisa losing her father, whose funeral takes place in episode six, "Silent Mode." Audiences watch Ari Parker's character tearfully phone up Davis' to say her 90-year-old dad died suddenly after a stroke. His funeral is held in a local theater, where Lisa is tasked with delivering a eulogy.
However, eagle-eyed viewers noted that Lisa had previously, briefly spoken about losing her father in the first season of the show. She told Charlotte in relation to Big's death in the premiere: "I was exactly the same when my father died last year." But Lisa's father was later introduced in season two. In episode four — interestingly titled "Alive!" — Star Wars hero Billy Dee Williams guest starred as Lawrence Todd at a dinner party hosted by his daughter.
AJLT viewers were quick to question the writers' decision to kill the character twice. "Did ChatGPT write these episodes?" one scathing comment read. Susan Fales-Hill is listed as the main writer on the episode (while Darren Star is credited as creator, King is showrunner and runs the writers room).
On Monday evening, however, the production team on AJLT clarified to THR that the dead dad referenced in season one of the show was referencing LTW's stepfather.
The season three premiere of And Just Like That averaged 429,000 households during the live-plus-three-day viewership window, a 7 percent decline from the season two premiere (463,000 households).
This story first published July 7, 8:04 a.m. and has been updated with response from production.
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