Do people change? Well, as viewers of And Just Like That ... learnt, they evolve whether we like it or not.
This was one of the biggest lessons (and upsets) from the first season of the Sex and the City spin-off that first aired last year.
The revival and sequel of the popular HBO television series about four women who live in New York City and the two films that followed have left fans with polarising reactions.
Some vented their frustration at the absence of fan favourite Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), while others were confused by choices in the storyline, such as Mr Big’s (Chris Noth) shocking death, while others weren’t completely convinced by new characters.
Above all, fans were surprised that Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kirstin Davis) were not as they remembered them.
“Nobody is who they were at 34,” the show's director Michael Patrick King tells The National. “If you're very lucky, you can stay the essence of who you are. But things can get even bigger.”
King’s work on Sex and the City is prolific.
He has written or co-written every premiere and finale episode of all six seasons, directed the film adaptations and developed, wrote and directed the first season of the spin-off. He returns to the second season, which is out on Thursday on OSN+.
Not only is he responsible for developing the character's story arcs since the beginning, but he has fleshed them out of the archetypes they represent and into real people who have grown, changed and aged, yet remained in some way the same women audiences first connected with in 1998.
“The evolution of a character is such a luxury, because very rarely are you used to creating a character for so many years,” King says. “I had worked with Sarah Jessica, Cynthia and Kristin for 25 years. I already knew what I was doing in And Just Like That ... and who they were. So, the question was, who else can they be? What situation can I put them in, to grow them even further.”
King proved in the first season of the spin-off that fans of the show are still hungry to see the characters again in the later stages of their lives. The mission in season two though is more complex.
“For Carrie, it was to have Mr Big die and to understand what that means – that was season one,” King says.
“For season two, it's really Carrie coming out of the dark into the light when a tragic thing like that happens. How do you regain who you were? And who are you now? What parts of you have grown, and what parts have you left behind?
In January, Parker – in character as Carrie – posted a series of photos to her nine million followers on Instagram, embracing Aidan Shaw (John Corbett), her character's other great love.
Parker captioned the post, which has more than one million likes: “Shh. Don't tell anyone.” After weeks of online speculation, Parker’s post confirmed to fans what season two of the show, and what Carrie’s journey, would centre on.
In the past, King has stated that he felt Aidan wasn’t right for Carrie because Mr Big was her primary focus. He added that Carrie “likes a complicated puzzle” and Aidan was designed to be Mr Big’s antithesis – available, transparent and traditional.
“Aidan was less complicated then,” King hints. “He's a different person now. We find more out about who he is and what his complications are.”
This new version of Aidan aims to help Carrie evolve – for better or for worse, at this stage of her life – and King believes that is grounds for fans to watch the second season.
“I wouldn't have brought Aidan back if I didn't have a reason. And the reason is to show love now, love then and how love is affected by life,” King says.
“It's another chance for Carrie to grow, another chance for the audience to hopefully be surprised or go on the journey and say 'he's my guy', or 'he's not my guy'. I'm ready for it.”
And Just Like That ... will be released on OSN+ and OSN Showcase on Thursday
