How The Sex And The City Reboot Addressed The Show's Diversity Problem
"Sex and the City" is one of the most popular and talked-about TV shows. The series, which premiered in 1998 and ran for six seasons on HBO and spawned two films, has since been called out for its lack of diversity due to its predominantly white cast. In September 2020, cast member Cynthia Nixon, who plays character Miranda Hobbes, opened up about the issue during an appearance on "The Today Show."
"That was something that I was aware of at the time and said at the time, and I think a number of us said it," Nixon told Al Roker. "Certainly the lack of racial and ethnic diversity is a big factor but also the lack of any characters who aren't wealthy. Miranda was married to the one working-class person we ever saw on the show," she said.
After the show's reboot "And Just Like That" was announced, it was revealed that the show would try to make the cast more diverse, and that's exactly what it has done.
New and diverse characters are integral to the reboot's storylines
"And Just Like That" has a much more diverse cast than the original series. "The fact that they were introducing characters of color — two African American women, an Indian actress (who's one of my friends of 30 years, Sarita Choudhury), and Sara Ramirez ... My happiness is that [creator] Michael Patrick King and the writers ... they diversified the writers' room. So, they did it right. They were staying on brand with the comedy format, but they let these characters stumble over the absence of these people in their lives," actress Nicole Ari Parker told People Magazine about how the show has changed for the reboot.
The show now features more diverse characters such as Parker's character, Lisa Todd Wexeley, who has befriended Charlotte (Kristin Davis); Dr. Naya Wallace (Karen Pittman), who is Miranda's college professor and has been given a powerful storyline of her own surrounding infertility; and Seema Patel (Choudhury), a powerful real estate broker who grows close to Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), per the New York Post. In addition, the show has introduced its first nonbinary queer character named Che Diaz, played by Ramirez. Che has been helping open the eyes of both Carrie and Miranda in very different ways.
It seems that "And Just LIke That" may be trying to right some issues from "Sex and the City," and fans are applauding their efforts to show the stories of a diverse group of women.