Key Point Summary – And Just Like That canceled
- HBO’s And Just Like That will end after its current third season
- Critics and fans blasted the series for “woke” characters and bad writing
- Sarah Jessica Parker shared an emotional farewell to Carrie Bradshaw
- Viewership dropped sharply, with a weak Season 3 premiere
- Cost overruns, declining buzz, and cast exits likely sealed its fate
‘Carrie Bradshaw Is Hanging Up Her Manolos’
After 27 years in stilettos, Sarah Jessica Parker says goodbye to Carrie Bradshaw for good. HBO’s And Just Like That — the controversial Sex and the City reboot — will officially end after its third season, showrunner Michael Patrick King confirmed Friday.
While King insisted the ending was planned, fans and insiders say the abrupt wrap is anything but graceful. Ratings were down. Characters were disliked. Critics branded the show as trying too hard to be “woke” — and failing spectacularly.
From Cosmopolitans to Cringe
Parker paid tribute to her beloved alter ego on Instagram, calling Bradshaw “the heartbeat” of her career. But for many fans, the character’s final chapter lacked the charm, wit, and sparkle of the original.
Instead, they got forced diversity, wooden dialogue, and plotlines that felt more like moral lectures than storytelling. Miranda’s transformation into a confused “late-in-life lesbian” and her romance with non-binary comedian Che Diaz drew particular ire.
“Che Diaz set non-binary representation back 70 years,” one fan raged. Even comedian Bobby Lee, who had a role in the show, admitted some of the “woke elements” had to be cut due to fan backlash.
Big Mistakes and Bigger Bills
The show never recovered from killing off Mr. Big in the very first episode. Viewers were furious — and Peloton stock tanked after the brand got dragged into the death scene. Then, assault allegations surfaced against actor Chris Noth, pouring gasoline on the fire.
Add to that a bloated budget — with Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis earning $1 million per episode — and it became clear that the Manhattan-based production was just too pricey for its middling returns.
Insiders told Page Six the budget couldn’t keep up with the show’s slipping popularity. The Season 3 premiere drew just 429,000 households in its first three days, a steep drop from earlier seasons.
‘Unwatchable,’ ‘Cringe,’ and ‘Unrealistic’
The writing came under fire, too. Reddit threads and social media posts tore into the show’s clunky dialogue and eye-roll-worthy plot twists. One standout goof? A major character’s father seemingly died twice — in the same season.
Fans also couldn’t move past the absence of Samantha, played by Kim Cattrall, whose larger-than-life persona had anchored the original show. Despite a brief cameo, Cattrall refused to return full-time, and her absence left a gaping hole.
Meanwhile, newer characters like Karen Pittman’s Nya Wallace quietly disappeared. HBO blamed “scheduling conflicts,” but fans smelled a quiet character purge.
A Franchise That Lost Its Way
Originally launched in 2021, And Just Like That tried to revive the Sex and the City magic while pushing modern themes like gender identity, race, and social activism. But critics said it came off as pandering — not progressive.
“Che is like an annoying Twitter account come to life,” one viewer wrote. Another summed it up bluntly: “Unwatchable and cringey.”
Even King’s attempt to pivot couldn’t save it. Characters were dropped. Storylines were tightened. Still, the audience never came back.
Farewell to the City That Never Sleeps
Though flawed, the show was never short on ambition. And for Parker, it marked the end of an era. “She aged. Got wiser. Traveled. Loved. Lost,” she wrote of Carrie in her farewell. “But never her devotion to New York.”
With HBO’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, undergoing a major restructuring, the network seems ready to close the book on Carrie Bradshaw — and her costly crew of aging fashionistas.
For fans still clinging to Sex and the City’s golden era, this final chapter may feel more like a mercy kill than a love letter.
