Sarah Jessica Parker Reveals How COVID Led to the Creation of 'And Just Like That...' Series

The 'Sex and the City' spinoff has a super surprising origin story.

The Gist

• Sarah Jessica Parker opened up about the popularity of Sex and the City and the unlikely backstory behind And Just Like That...
• Parker, who played Carrie Bradshaw, revealed that an unexpected event led to the origin of the Sex and the City spinoff during a July 7 episode of The Best People podcast.
• The star also revealed she "felt greedy" once the spinoff was greenlit.

Ever since Carrie Bradshaw made her Sex and the City debut in 1998, the Manolo-wearing sex columnist has captured countless fans—equally drawn by the journalist’s boundary-pushing fashion choices, as her relatable yap sessions with her longtime best friends Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda. Now, Sarah Jessica Parker, who brought Carrie to life in the original show as well as two follow-up films and a spinoff series, is sharing the unlikely origin story that led to the creation of And Just Like That… in a new interview.

Parker revealed that Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte’s latest chapter (complete with an Aidan reunion) almost didn’t happen. It was an unexpected turn of events during COVID that actually led to the series. While making an appearance on the Tuesday, July 7 episode of "The Best People" podcast, host Nicolle Wallace called Carrie’s close relationship with her best friends the real “fantasy” of Sex and the City that’s kept fans coming back for more. In response, Parker revealed that the world’s desire for connection during the pandemic was a driving point in bringing And Just Like That… to life.

Parker, who remembered her family leaning into nostalgic and other feel-good movies during lockdown in New York City, said she began advocating for making And Just Like That… happen in April 2020. She argued, “People are reaching for these things that make them feel good, even as they are in their own homes.” What better remedy than bringing back a show that, in Parker’s words, “was based on connection?”

The designer admitted that once the show was greenlit, she had a moment where she “felt greedy,” explaining, “I was too afraid to say it … Like, ‘Haven’t you been given so much already with her?’ But it was because we were home trying to connect, when we couldn’t be with our friends. We were trying to make it feel like we were with our friends. Gosh, everybody was missing each other, like, so much.”

The actress attributed the franchise’s enduring popularity to its relatable story of “women talking intimately to one another, and needing each other, and testing … friendships” shown in Sex and the City and its spin-offs, explaining, “You mess up, and you come back, and you fall short, and you betray…you go to the guy, then you come back…that's, like, how those long friendships go.”