Cynthia Nixon and More 'And Just Like That's Cast Respond to 'Politically Correct' Criticism

The cast of And Just Like That is clapping back at critics who say the Sex and the City reboot is too "politically correct."

Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and more members of the hit HBO Max series sat down with Andy Cohen for a special SiriusXM Town Hall where they discussed the series and the possibility of a second season.

"I feel like people have watched it and they know it so well, inside and out. And when you know something that's so familiar, it becomes tame. But I think that people forget how incendiary the show was and not just only because of the sexual frankness and the conversations and the scenes of sex, but how revolutionary this was to show back in the day four women having a lot of sex with a lot of different partners. Marriage was kind of out there in the ether, but not necessarily something they were pursuing or even had made up their minds about," Nixon began, touching on how revolutionary the original SATC series was. 

"And I think I remember so well the initial chatter about this show, the first couple seasons saying, 'These were not real women. Women don't really have sex like this. Women don't really talk like this. These are not women. These are gay men in drag,' and I think that because people know it so well, they've sort of enshrined it in nostalgia. But this is a show that has always pushed every kind of boundary," she continued. 

The ability to push every kind of boundary is what Nixon told Cohen is what's "so magnificent" about the new show.

"And I think that's what's so magnificent about the new show, about how many different directions we're going in and pushing boundaries and shaking people up," Nixon stressed. "And I think most importantly, shaking the characters up because we don't wanna see these characters, either the familiar ones or the newly introduced ones. We don't wanna see them comfortable. We wanna see them out of their comfort zone."

Davis seconds Nixon's explanation, stressing that in many ways, And Just Like That is a whole new show.

"I think Cynthia was right when she said, don't think about it as the old show, that will free you to experience it," Nixon said. "I give all of our writers and Sarah Jessica and Michael for coming up with the idea in the first place so much credit, because it gives so much possibility, and we are living in a different time and it brings all of that in a way that I found very organic, because the three of us are still there struggling, as you see, to roll with what's happening. And I hadn't really realized that I can't think of another show that's done that."

The show revolutionized the way it handles its famous sex scenes too, with Sarita Choudhury, who plays Seema Patel, one of the reboots new characters, telling Cohen her sex scenes reminded her of some of her own intimate moments.

"William [Abadie] was an easy partner, French, hot, like easy, but what I loved about my scene was it reminded me of so many times in my life," Choudhury shared. "The scene was actually about me and Carrie on the phone, but it resonated so true to me. And I was thinking, I was literally trying to think back at moments I did that. And I was like, 'We do so many things more often than we realize that when we see them in a script, we see it as fiction.' But it felt very true to me. So, for me, my love scene was also really catching up with Carrie and I mean, that's hilarious to be on the phone as you're [having sex]. So, I love that."

Whether diehard SATC fans agree with the changes, And Just Like That has become one of HBO Max's most watched originals, begging the Watch What Happens Live host to ask if a second season of the show is coming.

"Well, I'd love nothing more than to give you the scoop, Andrew, but I think it would be premature," Parker said. "But you know, I think it's a healthy, enthusiastic conversation."

All ten episodes of season 1 of And Just Like That are available to stream on HBO Max, now.

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