One common critique of Sex and the City is that its lead character, Carrie Bradshaw, was always sort of, well, vanilla for a sex columnist. A particularly egregious example of this was in the season-three episode “Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl,†in which she does an oopsie-doopsie bi-erasure after dating a bisexual man and determining that it’s just a “layover on the way to Gaytown.†So the latest bit of casting news about the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That…, is especially exciting.
Today, HBO Max announced that nonbinary, bisexual actor Sara Ramirez will co-star in the reboot along with Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon. They will star as Che Diaz, a “non-binary, queer, stand-up comedian that hosts a podcast on which Carrie Bradshaw is regularly featured,†so at least we know how Carrie is pulling in money in 2021. Che is described as “a big presence with a big heart whose outrageous sense of humor and progressive, human overview of gender roles has made them and their podcast very popular.â€
It’s thrilling to see And Just Like That… take a wobbly, optimistic, Manolo’d step into expanded 21st-century ideas of sexuality, gender, and podcasting. Ramirez is perfect casting, not only because they openly identify as nonbinary, but because their Broadway and Grey’s Anatomy background is a perfect gel for the theatrical ladies of SATC. “Everyone at And Just Like That… is beyond thrilled that a dynamically talented actor such as Sara RamÃrez has joined the Sex and the City family,†executive producer Michael Patrick King said in a statement. “Sara is a one-of-a-kind talent, equally at home with comedy and drama — and we feel excited and inspired to create this new character for the show.†Still no mention of Kim Cattrall, but maybe they can work her in with some sort of rival-podcast voice cameo. Or explain away her death by infinity pool.