Latest news with #AJLT
New York Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘And Just Like That' star believes he was cut from the show for being ‘woke'
Bobby Lee thinks wokeness is to blame for his exit from 'And Just Like That.' The comedian, 53, spoke to Entertainment Weekly at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend about why he wasn't asked to reprise his role as Jackie Nee, Carrie's (Sarah Jessica Parker) podcast cohost, on the third season of the show. 'Some of the woke elements of the show, they got rid of, and I think I was a part of that,' Lee stated. Advertisement 7 Bobby Lee in 'And Just Like That.' 'I think Sara [Ramirez] didn't come back and some other people,' he added. 'They tried to put minorities in, and — I don't know. I never saw the show.' The Post has reached out to HBO for comment. Advertisement Lee departed 'AJLT' between Seasons 2 and 3, as did Ramirez, who played Miranda's (Cynthia Nixon) non-binary love interest Che Díaz, and Karen Pittman, who played Dr. Nya Wallace. 7 Ali Stroker, Sara Ramirez, Ivan Hernandez, Bobby Lee and Sarah Jessica Parker in 'And Just Like That.' 7 Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw. HBO Advertisement Season 2 wrapped up Carrie's podcast storyline, which allowed the show to write off Lee and Ramirez. 'Number one, I don't even know why they asked,' Lee told EW about being cast in the HBO Max series. 'And I was super scared to do it. Because it wasn't my brand, really. You know what I mean? But I did it. I walked through the fear.' 7 Bobby Lee on 'Fast Foodies.' Anna Maria Lopez Lee added that getting to work with Parker, 60, was a highlight of the experience. Advertisement 'Sarah Jessica Parker is the nicest person I've ever met. She made me feel so at ease,' he shared. 'I like everyone on there. It was fun. I never have bad blood with anybody. You know what I mean? I am nice. I show up on time.' 7 Bobby Lee spotted getting coffee in Los Angeles on July 21. Phamous / BACKGRID Lee previously revealed that working on the 'Sex and the City' reboot pushed him to get sober. 7 Sarah Jessica Parker in 'And Just Like That.' HBO MAX 'I was in Hawaii and I was blackout drunk and my agent called and said, 'They need you in New York,'' he recalled on Rachel Bilson's 'Broad Ideas' podcast in 2023. 'This is one of the reasons why I'm sober … On the plane, I thought, 'I'm just gonna get s–t faced,' so I was in a blackout when we landed in New York.' Lee said that he learned he was expected to film 'AJLT' that day when he realized that his driver wasn't taking him to his hotel. 7 Bobby Lee on a coffee run in Los Angeles. Phamous / BACKGRID Advertisement 'I remember going and being so high and drunk,' Lee revealed. 'When I was reading the script, I couldn't even understand what the f–k it was even saying. It was a nightmare. I remember thinking, 'This is never going to happen again — I have to get sober.'' New episodes of 'And Just Like That' stream Thursdays at 9 pm ET on HBO Max.
Buzz Feed
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
23 Bad TV Character Storylines
We recently asked the members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us what storyline completely ruined a TV character's growth. Here's what they said: When Ginny became more like her mother on Ginny & Georgia. "Ginny started off kind and a bit unsuspecting. She was always headstrong and had issues, but had a likable vulnerability. Then she became almost menacing. She started to treat Maxine (her supposed best friend) terribly, lied to her dad over and over, manipulated Simone, blackmailed Cynthia, hated Paul without knowing the whole story, and although Gil was an abuser, setting him up as a murderer was just diabolical because he really did love Austin. Poor Austin was just a ploy in her web of lies. Even Georgia realized that she was becoming different. Ginny was becoming Georgia."—vibrantshield91 When Miranda cheated on Steve in And Just Like That. "On SATC, Miranda was the anti-romantic who fell in and out of love with Steve. Her being a lawyer and his being a bartender and later bar owner were worlds apart, yet in real life, love doesn't know anything but love. In the first movie, Steve confessed to cheating, which ruined Carrie and Big's initial wedding day. Continuing with AJLT, Miranda cheated on Steve with Che, Carrie's boss. Seeing Miranda as a person who disrespected her marriage with cheating and chasing Che made her look desperate and whiny, not to mention a hypocrite. Miranda is so cringe now, I can't stand her. The fun, sarcastic Miranda is gone and replaced by someone else. I wonder if, at some point, Miranda had a lobotomy."—Anonymous When Eric cheated on Adam in Sex Education. "He effed up their whole relationship, which will never fail to infuriate me."—famousphone424 When Fiona let Liam get into her drugs, which almost killed him on Shameless. "I was done with her and the show after that."—creepster When Michael turned out to be alive on Jane the Virgin, but had amnesia. "It just absolutely ruined his character. I'm not over." —emwren When Olivia Pope became head of B613 on Scandal. "She was always a strong, independent woman who did what was right (well, most of the time). She spent three seasons trying to end B613, and in the last season, she became the head of B613 and became everything that she hated."—itsmeshahbano When Quinn was obsessed with getting Beth back in Glee. "Everything about it was so wrong. Also, PUCK HOOKING UP WITH RACHEL'S (AND BETH'S) MOM was horrible. That whole part of the season just ruined so many characters."—Anonymous When Topanga turned down a scholarship to Yale so she could be with Cory in Boy Meets World. —sf4581 When Haley got back together with Dylan on Modern Family. "Haley going back to Dylan was definitely one of the worst because she had grown so much."—rbd89 When Spike attempted to rape Buffy on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "That was a very bad decision."—matdyjames When Debbie tricked her boyfriend into getting her pregnant at 15 on Shameless. "She was doing so well before that, then she just became trash."—A_Panda When Rory dropped out of Yale on Gilmore Girls. "She stole a boat, dropped out of Yale, lived with her grandmother, and ignored Lorelai for months because one guy told her she didn't have what it took to be a journalist. That's something you do when you're 15, not when you're 20."—s463b03bd4 When Jaime left Brienne for Cersei in Season 8 of Game of Thrones. "When he said he did everything for Cersei, it didn't make sense because it was established in previous seasons that he did what he did for the people and saved millions of lives. It completely ruined his character arc and I pretend the last two seasons never happened."—districtrue When Andy sailed away on the boat without Erin on The Office. "I have no idea why they took his character in that direction. I can't believe how he treated Erin by leaving her to be on the boat and all the lying he did to Robert California to cover his own ass. The whole series he was portrayed as caring (if sometimes incompetent) to his coworkers and then he randomly did that. He did have an anger issue when his job was stolen, but it made sense because a total stranger stole his job! They just randomly turned him into this selfish person for no reason who only cared about himself."—irwhite1993 When Danny's regressed to a sexist jerk on The Mindy Project. "He was always super supportive of Mindy and proud of her work as a doctor but then as soon as they had the baby, he started gaslighting her, tried to trick her into getting pregnant again and generally shaming her for wanting to keep her job!"—sunshine193 Everything Sabrina Spellman did in Seasons 3 and 4 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. "She used to be a smart, ambitious, independent and likeable character in the beginning. She even defied her father, the devil, by refusing to rule Hell with him. In Season 3, she became OBSESSED with ruling Hell and made the most selfish decisions, like creating a cheap clone of herself to rule Hell, no matter who she hurt in the process."—a402635290 When Anya started doing coke on Degrassi: The Next Generation. "I quit watching Degrassi (after YEARS) immediately after the shot of Anya doing coke at a club. Anya? ANYA? Student Council Anya? Cheerleader Anya? Anya who had a HUGE falling out with Holly J. because Holly J. was always forcing her into bad situations and getting them in trouble? LARPer Anya?? Nope, NOPE, do not buy it."—chelseajack When Toby leaked classified information on The West Wing. "He leaked classified information on a military space program so the US would be forced to send help to some stranded astronauts. It was so out of character for him and it was heavily implied that he was covering for someone else like CJ. Not only did it completely blow up his storyline by forcing him out of the White House, but he turned into a total ass afterward."—annpricot When Guzman became a classist jerk again on Season 4 of Elite. "The show had him go from a dumb jerk to a better man to make his growth part of his journey. Alas, they erased said growth by making him a dumb jerk again to make the Guzman, Ari, and Samu love triangle work."—superkay When Schmidt cheated on Cece and Elizabeth by dating them both at the same time. "I couldn't get past it."—kthomas8836 When Cordelia slept with Angel's son Connor on Angel. "From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Angel we watched her go from a spoiled teenage girl to a wonderful strong, caring young woman, only for her to turn evil and sleep with Angel's son. She got 'pregnant' by Connor, went into a coma and died. It was an unforgivable character assassination. Cordelia deserved better!"—itsspeltpauline And finally, wjem Alex Karev left Jo and Meredith to get back together with Izzie on Grey's Anatomy. "Alex Karev's departure from Grey's Anatomy was utter, utter rubbish. Look, I understand that the actor wanted to leave to pursue other projects, fair enough. However, they didn't have to ruin his character in the process, but my god, did they ruin all of that wonderful character development and growth and then some."—ravenbard"Why create one of the best character developments in TV HISTORY only to have him backtrack and exit the show how he did."—Anonymous"It ruined 16 seasons of character development."—Anonymous What's a storyline that ruined a TV character? Tell us in the comments or use the anonymous form below.
Sydney Morning Herald
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
And Just Like That recap: Silly sex, big decisions and a time ‘pre-Lena Dunham'
After watching them chat at work, I'm not quite sure I see it. What I do see is him going to town on a papaya, which feels like both a bit from a classic Sex and the City episode and a dangerous lunch option considering they're sitting on expensive editing gear. By the end of the episode, LTW's gone from having a sex dream about Marion to confirming there's a mutual attraction. She turned down his invite to see a movie then flip-flopped, then flipped back and ended up pitching her project to the Obamas' producer from the grocery store. Is it bad that I really want to watch her blow up her life and have an affair with Marion? Everyone's rolling around in bed this episode. Seema and Adam the gardener have fun, silly sex and we see the most gorgeous skin ever captured on film. Everything works and feels easy-breezy, until they go to dinner, and she's annoyed by every single thing about him. Namely: he uses crystal deodorant and his last name is Karma. Honestly, I get it. No amount of banter and orgasms can cure such a severe case of The Ick once it sets in. We get a fun gallery plotline with Charlotte this episode – and an appearance from her boss, Mark Kasabian (Victor Garber). Char and her gallerinas are installing a Tracey Emin-style artwork 'from a time pre-Lena Dunham'. While setting up My Bed, Char gets vertigo, of course. These women are falling apart at the seams! It's all an elaborate set-up for her to collapse on a prop condom while shouting for Miranda not to chance a sip of champagne at the gallery opening. Turns out Joy is so fun and chill she forgets her girlfriend is sober and wants to leave a bottle of her favourite gin at Miranda's place. Wanting to be just as cool and sexy as Joy, Miranda wonders if maybe she's just 'alcohol-ish', and doesn't need that sobriety after all. For the first time since Harry told Charlotte he had cancer, I was genuinely affected by a scene in AJLT this week, when Miranda goes to the pantry for her choccie biccies while she works (and watches Bi Bingo) late at night, and tests her resolve against the bottle of gin. She takes it out, puts it back. She opens it. She thinks. Sniffs. Pours a shot. Tips it out. Just when I exhaled, she went back for it. Oh no. But she didn't even trust the rubbish bin where her infamous slice of cake still got a look-in in season four of SATC. No, the bottle goes down the trash chute, which she doesn't close until she hears it smash. Seems dangerous, but I won't judge. For once.
The Age
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
And Just Like That recap: Silly sex, big decisions and a time ‘pre-Lena Dunham'
After watching them chat at work, I'm not quite sure I see it. What I do see is him going to town on a papaya, which feels like both a bit from a classic Sex and the City episode and a dangerous lunch option considering they're sitting on expensive editing gear. By the end of the episode, LTW's gone from having a sex dream about Marion to confirming there's a mutual attraction. She turned down his invite to see a movie then flip-flopped, then flipped back and ended up pitching her project to the Obamas' producer from the grocery store. Is it bad that I really want to watch her blow up her life and have an affair with Marion? Everyone's rolling around in bed this episode. Seema and Adam the gardener have fun, silly sex and we see the most gorgeous skin ever captured on film. Everything works and feels easy-breezy, until they go to dinner, and she's annoyed by every single thing about him. Namely: he uses crystal deodorant and his last name is Karma. Honestly, I get it. No amount of banter and orgasms can cure such a severe case of The Ick once it sets in. We get a fun gallery plotline with Charlotte this episode – and an appearance from her boss, Mark Kasabian (Victor Garber). Char and her gallerinas are installing a Tracey Emin-style artwork 'from a time pre-Lena Dunham'. While setting up My Bed, Char gets vertigo, of course. These women are falling apart at the seams! It's all an elaborate set-up for her to collapse on a prop condom while shouting for Miranda not to chance a sip of champagne at the gallery opening. Turns out Joy is so fun and chill she forgets her girlfriend is sober and wants to leave a bottle of her favourite gin at Miranda's place. Wanting to be just as cool and sexy as Joy, Miranda wonders if maybe she's just 'alcohol-ish', and doesn't need that sobriety after all. For the first time since Harry told Charlotte he had cancer, I was genuinely affected by a scene in AJLT this week, when Miranda goes to the pantry for her choccie biccies while she works (and watches Bi Bingo) late at night, and tests her resolve against the bottle of gin. She takes it out, puts it back. She opens it. She thinks. Sniffs. Pours a shot. Tips it out. Just when I exhaled, she went back for it. Oh no. But she didn't even trust the rubbish bin where her infamous slice of cake still got a look-in in season four of SATC. No, the bottle goes down the trash chute, which she doesn't close until she hears it smash. Seems dangerous, but I won't judge. For once.
Time Magazine
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Now 'AJLT' Is Just Gaslighting Us About Carrie's Awful Novel
For those of us who have stopped worrying and learned to love And Just Like That, the absurdity of the Sex and the City sequel is part of the fun. Over the course of three seasons, we've guffawed our way through Mr. Big's death by Peloton, basked in the pure cringe of Miranda's romance with Che Diaz, and stanned Charlotte and Harry's dorky The Americans standom. Just a few episodes ago, we indulged shoe-maven-slash-ankle-masochist Carrie's refusal to remove her stilettos at home after incurring the wrath of her downstairs-neighbor-slash-inevitable-love-interest, Duncan Reeves. But in Thursday's seventh episode of Season 3, AJLT crossed the fine line separating the willing suspension of belief from full-on gaslighting. All season, Carrie—a recovering sex columnist, erstwhile podcaster, and sometime memoirist—has been dabbling in historical fiction. Episodes are often framed by Sarah Jessica Parker's voiceover, in a callback to SATC's quippy narration, reading snippets of the novel that mirror her character's own life. They are bad. Which isn't necessarily a problem; as the 'I couldn't help but wonder' meme demonstrates, we all know Carrie is a hack. No, what finally finished me on this subplot was this week's exchange of manuscripts with Duncan, a highbrow biographer. His rhapsodic response to her pages destroys any illusion we might've had that Carrie's stilted prose is an inside joke between the show's writers and its audience. Apparently, we're supposed to believe the novel is good. The episode opens with a distressed Carrie showing up at Duncan's door. 'I hate you,' she tells him. 'Your first chapter is thrilling. It's polished and it's ready to publish and how am I supposed to hand you my work-in-progress now?' But, of course, she finds the courage. And by the time she visits him again, to deliver a (rude) last-minute party invitation, he's devoured it. The verdict: 'It's brilliant.' (I mean, sure, it may well be publishable, given the success of language manglers like Colleen Hoover and E.L. James. Brilliant, though?) 'The opening sentence: 'The woman wondered what she had gotten herself into.' It just stopped me dead in my tracks.' (Same. But only because it reminded me of every formulaic 'attention-grabbing' intro from every undergrad creative writing workshop since the beginning of time.) As for the plot? 'The way it flows is so propulsive.' (We wouldn't know; AJLT only gives us the vibey, introspective passages.) Now, maybe Duncan is trying to flatter his way into Carrie's conveniently nearby bed. He seems too prideful for that, though. (That said, his whole deal makes little sense to me. He comes to one of the most expensive, not to mention distracting, cities in the world just because he doesn't know anyone there, to hole up in an overpriced basement and write about Margaret Thatcher? Has this man never heard of renting a cabin in the woods?) Besides, the idea that he'd be lying feels like the kind of 4D-chess plot AJLT typically avoids. So let's assume he's genuine. Could he possibly be correct? We all know art is subjective, after all. So we owe it to Carrie to take a closer look at the most substantial chunks of the novel AJLT has provided to date. Consider the passage we watched her type out in her back garden, during a work session that was soon interrupted by a cavalcade of rats: Sitting in the sunlight, the woman felt the fog of the last few nights lift. She realized her tossing and turning and insecurities were remnants of another time. This is a new house, she reminded herself. A new life. This wasn't her past… It was the present. May, 1846. Here we have several classic elements of bad writing. There's an overreliance on weather as a metaphor for the mood of a protagonist who is, pretentiously, only ever identified as 'the woman.' The thoughts to which Carrie's close third-person narration gives us access are rote exposition masquerading as an internal monologue—one so shallow, it suggests that our nameless heroine is very stupid. Who has to 'remind herself' that her house is new or that, good lord, she's living in not the past but the present? Alas, in the absence of time machines, everyone who's ever walked the earth has been doomed to live in what is, to them, the present. Also: surely there are more eloquent ways to inform the reader that your story is set in May, 1846. Episode 5 featured an even longer excerpt: The woman threw open her windows to let the city in. She could hear the horses coming and going with their carriages, each one bringing an exciting possibility. The unexpected cool breeze on this hot afternoon reminded her that each day need not be an echo of the one before. There are endless adventures to be taken, if she simply dared to decide to take them. Putting one foot in front of the other, she stepped off the expected path and vowed to go wherever a day might take her. So. Another weather metaphor, this one a veritable non sequitur; what does a summer breeze have to do with spontaneity or repetition? For that matter, is a carriage horse more likely to be 'bringing an exciting possibility' than it is to be ferrying mundane deliveries or facilitating neighbors' quotidian routines? Poetic license must be granted to figurative language, but that doesn't mean an analogy can be fully nonsensical. Meanwhile, the final two sentences are painfully inspirational therapy-speak—which would be cringe-worthy enough in a contemporary novel but sound jarringly anachronistic in the context of a 19th century period piece. (To really be pedantic, there's also a verb-tense misalignment that would give a copyeditor nightmares: 'There are endless adventures to be taken, if she simply dared to decide to take them.') I'm going to resist the temptation to dissect every bit of prose we've heard so far. Believe it or not, I am indeed aware that close reading a fictional work of fiction by a fictional writer is a ridiculous way to spend one's limited time in a world with an unlimited supply of real problems. I also realize that Carrie's novel is being used as a framing device, and thus—however shoddy the execution—the unnamed heroine and inapt metaphors exist more to give us access to Carrie's state of mind than to function as an actual story that a person might want to read. And yet, a viewer who is also a reader can only withstand so much literary gaslighting. This week's episode ends with another meaning-free affirmation from the book: 'The woman held on to what she knew to be true,' Parker intones as we see Carrie cradling her cat (do pets have truth values?). Well, if there's one thing this woman knows to be true, it's that Carrie Bradshaw is no great novelist.
