Latest news with #AndJustLikeThat…
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
The world is on fire, so I watch people wash antique wedding dresses
I have this weird, newly developed reaction to the news alerts on my phone. I blanche and recoil physically when I hear the pling of one of the apps. Then I slowly approach the device, hesitating as I dare to see, to quote Dorothy Parker, 'What fresh hell is this?' The Supreme Court ruled what? We're bombing who? How many people lost their lives in a preventable disaster? If the news is bad enough, I shrink back from the screen, hissing like Nosferatu greeting the morning sun, until the feeling passes. Once or twice, I've thrown my phone onto a chair as I cross myself. I know people who go on news breaks, switching off their notifications and avoiding checking their usual media sources. As a journalist, I don't have that luxury. But I have found a way I can numb my brain without entirely shutting it off after a long day. Lately, I've been anesthetizing myself with gorgeously ambient, happily low-stakes viewing. These terms are not meant to dismiss television shows like 'The Gilded Age' or 'And Just Like That…' These all just happen to be series where there's a lot of vibe, and nothing too terrible feels like it's going to happen. I'll be emotionally involved, but just barely. Among the biggest plotlines I've retained from the HBO Julien Fellows-helmed series 'The Gilded Age' are: will this rich girl marry a duke, and will people come to her mother's ball. It's not that I wasn't invested in these stories, it's just that the world wasn't going to end if either of these things didn't happen. And after HBO rebooted 'Sex and the City' with some major plot developments in the first season of 'And Just Like That…,' that series settled into a predictable groove of chic interiors populated by people wearing pretty clothes paired with the occasionally snappy dialogue over a meal. After 40 minutes spent with these people and their minor social dilemmas, my mind gets a nice little reset. I don't have to think too hard — just enough to vaguely follow what they all wore to the dinner party — so my brain doesn't atrophy. Often, while watching one of the aforementioned shows, I'll also scroll through Instagram reels of people doing very specialized productive things. This list includes refinishing badly painted antiques, conditioning old leather accessories, polishing silver and pressure washing just about any surface. There's a weird brain chemical boost of satisfaction from seeing people complete these tasks. Good for them! I'm currently taking refuge in watching people soaking and deep cleaning yellowed, antique wedding dresses. These videos are perfect — the goal is simply to restore the dresses to as close to white as possible. The time lapse shows the water go from clear, to dingy yellow, to brown. Once the dresses are dried, ironed and finally, modeled, I've seen a very condensed little three act play with a happy ending. In other low-stress viewing news, when I found out there's going to be another 'Downton Abbey' movie coming to theaters this fall, I smiled knowing I'd get to watch some very pleasant, low-stakes drama on the big screen. These films are so chill, it's like taking half a Xanax. Apparently, the big dilemma in this third film in the series is, 'Will Lady Mary be accepted in high society in 1930s London as a divorcee?' Oh, how delightfully not-anxiety inducing. I can't wait.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kim Cattrall Turned Down Iconic ‘Sex and the City' Role Four Times Because of 'Self-Inflicted Ageism'
With And Just Like That… returning to our screens via HBO Max, it feels right that Kim Cattrall should also get back in on the Sex and The City action. The revival series is currently airing with stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis all reprising the roles that catapulted the group to superstardom in the late '90s and early '00s. More from The Hollywood Reporter Karen Gillan Doesn't Fear Imposter Syndrome Natalie Portman-Produced French Animated Film 'Arco' Wins Annecy Chinese Auteur Bi Gan Breaks Down 'Resurrection,' His Mesmerizing Ode to Cinema's Enigmas Bar a small cameo in the season two finale, Cattrall has not reteamed with Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte on the streets of New York in the new show and confirmed she won't be appearing in the third installment. Reports of a long-running feud between Parker and Cattrall have dominated Sex and The City headlines for years following the 2008 and 2010 movies. However, in a new interview with U.K. outlet The Times, Cattrall is revealing a few tidbits about her connection to the iconic character of sex-positive publicist Samantha Jones. In the feature published Thursday evening, the 69-year-old Liverpool-born star said she turned down the role four times, believing that at 41 she wouldn't be seen by audiences as sexy. 'Self-inflicted ageism,' she told the paper. 'Well, that changed — 40 became sexy. It became, 'Man, let's have more of that.'' The British/Canadian/American actress continued: '[Samantha] wasn't a nymphomaniac — well, some people might have thought she was — but she was just enjoying the main course. Everyone else was nibbling on the appetisers when she was going for the steak.' 'And it was always on her terms — that I always insisted on.' Despite such a celebrated performance, Cattrall, who has been dating BBC audio engineer Russell Thomas since 2016, added that she is not much like her character in real life. 'I'm the antithesis of her in many ways. I'm a serial monogamist, and then some.' The six seasons of the show, which ran from 1998 to 2004, saw the women battle tumultuous love lives, sex problems and professional hiccups while strengthening their own friendships. The popularity of the show has only increased since its addition to streaming services like Netflix, which broadcast the pinnacle of nineties NYC glamor to a younger, Gen Z audience. Cattrall was talking to The Times about the second season of Central Intelligence, a BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds drama series. It follows a retelling of the founding of the CIA in which Cattrall stars opposite Ed Harris and Johnny Flynn. New episodes of And Just Like That… are dropping weekly on HBO Max and on Sky in the U.K. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Buzz Feed
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
And Just Like That Kills Off LTW's Dad For Second Time
It's fair to say that Sex and the City's much-anticipated sequel series, And Just Like That…, has courted backlash and ridicule from viewers ever since it first hit our screens back in 2021. In addition to uproar over the shock death of Carrie Bradshaw's husband, Big, in the very first episode of the show, the series has been criticized for everything from trying to be too "woke," to beloved SATC characters seemingly undergoing huge personality transplants. There was also the producers' defiant attempt to make 'queer, nonbinary, Mexican Irish diva' Che Diaz a thing despite overwhelming disdain from fans across the show's first two seasons before the character was finally axed ahead of Season 3, which premiered last month. In short, AJLT is hardly renowned for being the most high-brow show on air, however, it has maintained a loyal following of fans who simply can't get enough of it despite its apparent shortcomings. Which is why when showrunners made a pretty monumental faux pas in last week's episode of the show, viewers couldn't help but laugh at the oversight rather than be shocked by it. In case you missed it, AJLT has hit the headlines after it killed off Lisa Todd Wexley — also known as LTW's — father for the second time in three seasons. However, most people did not catch this continuity error until the most recent episode of Season 3, 'Silent Mode,' aired on Thursday, where LTW was shown learning about her father's death at age 90 following a stroke — and the online reaction has made this blunder even funnier. Reacting to an Indie Wire article about the error, one incredibly viral tweet simply reads: 'Perfect show.''some of you just can't grasp avant garde art,' one more joked. Another suggested: 'And Just Like That should really lean in and kill Lisa Todd Wexley's father every season.'Somebody else quipped: 'Jfc media literacy is at an all time lowww It's just not that complicated 😭 Her dad died, (which she mentions in the pilot ) and THEN the vampire that turned her was staked between seasons, which she's grieving. Do you people even watch tv?''literally who GAF like i hope her dad dies in S4 too,' another more theorized: 'Maybe it's a Mamma Mia situation and she has three dads? You don't know.''God forbid a prestige HBO show explores the nature of resurrection,' somebody else tweeted, while another simply asked: 'How could you not be obsessed with this show?' For what it's worth, on Monday, Entertainment Weekly reacted to the discourse by saying that they have just learned that the dad referenced in Season 1 was actually LTW's stepdad, not her biological dad as seen in Season 2. However, considering this pretty important tidbit of information wasn't actually mentioned anywhere in the actual show, it definitely seems more like a revisionist edit in response to the blunder rather than the showrunners' original intention — but I'll let you be the judge of that in the comments below!
USA Today
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'And Just Like That': Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis unpack that heartbreaking scene
Spoiler alert! The following story contains major details about Episode 6 of 'Sex and the City' sequel series 'And Just Like That…' (now streaming on HBO Max, new episodes Thursdays). NEW YORK — Somewhere between the antacid tablets and protein shakes, Charlotte York hit her breaking point. In Season 3's sixth episode of 'And Just Like That…,' released July 3, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) spots her best friend Charlotte (Kristin Davis) trying to go incognito in Walgreens, where she's shopping for Depends. Asked why she needs adult incontinence underwear, Charlotte tearfully reveals that they're for her husband, Harry (Evan Handler), who has recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer but doesn't want anyone to know. 'Oh, honey, honey. Here, sweetie, look at me,' Carrie says, grabbing Charlotte's hand. 'You tell me anything, alright? Any thought, big or small. I will not tell a soul. I promise, I'm your vault.' 'They found it early, but I can't stop thinking that he's going to die,' Charlotte admits, her voice cracking as she breaks out in sobs. 'That's why I've been such a mess.' 'And Just Like That': Samantha returns with offscreen 'cameo' in Season 3 The emotional episode ends with Carrie holding Charlotte as she bawls in her arms. It's a tender, unvarnished moment that harks back to the very best of HBO's 'Sex and the City,' when Carrie and Charlotte supported their pal, Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), through breast cancer, and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) helped her on-and-off-again beau, Steve (David Eigenberg), through testicular cancer. 'I was really worried about that scene,' says Davis, who tested positive for COVID the morning she was supposed to shoot it. The poignant exchange was postponed for several months, until the very end of filming, meaning 'I had to go back emotionally to where I had been on that day.' For any actor, 'that's always hard when you know you have a scene like that and it keeps getting pushed,' Parker says. 'What you really want to do is shoot the scene and be done with it, when you have something that is going to require you to feel so vulnerable and cry. But she did a beautiful job.' Michael Patrick King, who created 'And Just Like That…,' says that the costars' real-life friendship helped bring gravity to 'a very scary moment' for Charlotte. 'Because Kristin and Sarah Jessica have worked together for so long, the trust is there,' King says. 'In that scene, Kristin really just lets go, and Sarah Jessica is there holding her.' As the season goes on, Charlotte's storyline unfolds 'in really funny and unexpected ways,' Davis teases. 'Carrie throws Charlotte a birthday party to cheer her up and everything unravels. Charlotte has also been holding in so much, trying to keep everything going while she takes care of Harry. She hasn't really been taking care of herself, so she ends up having some health issues that end in a comedic way, thank God.' Elsewhere in the episode, Charlotte's new friend, Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker), unexpectedly loses her dad (Billy Dee Williams) to a stroke. In the days to follow, Lisa clashes with her thespian stepmom (Jenifer Lewis) about the over-the-top funeral arrangements. 'I grew up (watching) Billy Dee Williams, so I was very sad in real life that we wouldn't do any more work together in this series,' Parker says. Lewis, meanwhile, is 'a blazing talent. God didn't give me a voice, but when I'm with Jenifer Lewis, she lets you believe you can sing. So we'd have dance breaks (on set) – she's just iconic and larger than life.'
Time Magazine
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Is the Prostate Cancer Plot on 'And Just Like That' Realistic?
On this season of And Just Like That…, Harry Goldenblatt couldn't help but wonder if his health had taken a turn. On the June 26 episode of the show, Charlotte's affable husband goes from wetting his pants in a nightclub to joining a club he'd rather not be part of—even though, as he points out, it also includes Robert De Niro, Warren Buffett, and Nelson Mandela. During an evening walk past the Guggenheim Museum, Harry tells Charlotte there's a reason he asked her to go for a stroll. 'To get away from the kids? Me too,' she quips. Not exactly: Because of a couple strange symptoms he'd been experiencing, Harry decided to go to the doctor for a check-up. 'What do you know? I got prostate cancer,' he tells his wife, who immediately dissolves into panicky fear. 'Everything is going to be fine,' he reassures her. 'We caught it early.' Charlotte might not be happy about Harry's news, but some experts are pleased with the development. 'I'm ecstatic about this plotline, because the awareness and discussion around prostate cancer is often hidden,' says Dr. Phillip Koo, chief medical officer at the Prostate Cancer Foundation. 'Men don't like talking about it—I think we often put up that tough shell on the outside, especially when it involves the sort of organs that men define their masculinity based on. I think it's wonderful we're raising awareness.' Still, that doesn't necessarily mean the show's depiction is accurate. We asked experts how realistic Harry's experience is—and what they want men to know about prostate cancer. Creative liberties Harry went to the doctor after experiencing two symptoms (played for cringey laughs from viewers). Earlier in the season, he hits the clubs with Charlotte, who's trying to finagle an art sale for the gallery she manages. As the group plots their move to an after-party, Harry makes a pit-stop at the bathroom, where he finds, much to his horror, that he can't undo his fancy jeans quickly enough. 'Oh boy, oh boy,' he mutters. 'These buttons! Why so many?' And just like that, Harry pees in his pants. 'It's a good thing these babies are so dark,' he says to Charlotte when he meets up with her again. 'You can't tell they're soaked.' Then, in the next episode, Harry has trouble performing in the bedroom with Charlotte. As he wonders in exasperation what is—or, he clarifies, isn't—"going on down there,' he bemoans how out-of-character this is for him. 'Is this it? The beginning of the end?' he spirals. 'Knock knock, who's there? Old age!' Read More: Why Some Men Keep Their Prostate Cancer a Secret Cut to the latest episode, and Harry has been diagnosed with prostate cancer based on those symptoms. 'There's definitely some creative liberties the show has taken,' says Dr. Julia Willingham, a urologist who treats prostate cancer patients at Texas Oncology. 'It makes sense—it helps drive the plot forward—but most early-stage prostate cancer has no symptoms at all.' That's why some people call the disease—which will affect more than 313,000 men in the U.S. in 2025—a silent killer. It's almost always detected via a routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, a screening blood test that most men undergo every couple of years or so starting around age 50 for those with average risk. (Exact screening frequency depends on a person's age and risk factors.) When a man's PSA level is high, doctors typically do a biopsy and, potentially, tests like a CT scan or bone scan to confirm the diagnosis. 'Sometimes men say, 'Oh my gosh, I feel great,'' Willingham says. ''There's no way I can have prostate cancer. I have no symptoms.' And then they do.' A more likely path to diagnosis Before the PSA test was approved as a diagnostic tool in 1994, men were more likely to figure out something was wrong because they were experiencing urinary retention, rather than Harry's incontinence. That can mean difficulty starting to pee, a weak stream, trouble fully emptying the bladder, or sometimes, an inability to pee at all. 'The prostate is in a very busy neighborhood,' says Dr. Mark Pomerantz, clinical director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 'It sits right under the bladder and the urethra—and if there's a large prostate tumor, in theory it could press against that tube and cause urinary retention.' Other times, men were diagnosed because their prostate cancer spread, leading to symptoms that affected other parts of the body. 'Prostate cancer loves to go to bone,' Pomerantz says. 'It was not uncommon, prior to PSA testing, for people to show up in the emergency room with terrible back pain.' There, they'd get an X-ray that ultimately led to a diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer that had spread to the bones in their back. 'We don't see that nearly as much anymore now that we have a test that can catch the cancer early,' Pomerantz says. 'When it does cause symptoms, typically the disease is pretty far along.' That means, if Harry were a real-life patient, there'd be reason to believe his disease was advanced. 'It could still be local'—which means it hasn't yet spread beyond the prostate—'but it would take a tumor that's pretty far along to get to the point where it would cause those symptoms.' Read More: The Race to Explain Why More Young Adults Are Getting Cancer Overall, Harry's path to diagnosis is 'possible, but certainly not typical,' Pomerantz says. That said, he understands why the show's creators probably chose to highlight urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. 'Those side effects are famously common consequences of prostate cancer treatment, but are rarely the symptoms that lead to diagnosis.' Sometimes, doctors recommend active surveillance, or watchful waiting. But if a man's cancer is aggressive, doctors typically take the prostate out, and that's when side effects enter the picture. 'The way the surgery works is the whole prostate has to come out, and when you remove the prostate, you must remove the part of the urethra that runs right through the middle of the prostate,' Pomerantz says. 'The surgeon takes the remaining urethra that's still in the body and drags it up and sews it into the bottom of the bladder to make a new connection. That connection can be a little fragile.' Urine might have an easier time getting through, for example, which can lead to leakage. Plus, there are critical nerves that run alongside the prostate and are in charge of the sphincter muscle, which closes the bladder and keeps urine contained. 'If those nerves get damaged in surgery, then you can have the side effects that were depicted in the show,' he says. A natural reaction Throughout the episode, Charlotte—who promised Harry she wouldn't tell their kids about his diagnosis—struggles to contain her emotions. During a pre-planned glamping trip, she repeatedly snaps at her kids about the importance of savoring every moment together, and appears on the verge of an emotional breakdown. That's a natural reaction, experts say. 'Everyone always talks about the C word,' Koo says. 'I think your mind automatically jumps to the worst scenario, and the impact it will have on your life expectancy.' Many men worry about how they'll continue working—and the impact their disease will have on their family's finances. 'Someone like Harry, who has young kids, might wonder: 'How am I going to support them?''' he says. 'It's devastating,' no matter how optimistic the prognosis. A welcome spotlight Experts hope Harry's diagnosis encourages more men to get screened. 'Men should not be afraid of prostate cancer screening,' says Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, a urologist at Orlando Health. 'It's a simple blood test, just like you're getting your cholesterol checked.' Prostate cancer is one of the most common diagnoses among men, he adds, and it's also very treatable, especially when caught early. More men die with the disease than of it. 'It's not like some of those other rare cancers,' he says. 'The more we get screened, the healthier we can get people.' Read More: Why Are So Many Young People Getting Cancer? It's Complicated Willingham has seen an increasing number of men come in proactively for screening, and she believes knowledge is power. That's why she applauds Harry's new storyline. 'If anything, we should take this as encouragement to get those annual checks in, to take care of ourselves, and to know what's going on,' she says. 'Cancer aside, if you're having urinary or sexual symptoms, go talk to your doctor, because these are things that we can handle and take care of—you don't have to suffer with these symptoms.'
