The And Just Like That Storyline That Actually Happened Behind-The-Scenes
"And Just Like That," HBO's reboot of the hit series "Sex and the City," is looking a lot different than its predecessor. Then again, it kind of has to, given the fact that the women of the show are entering their golden years. Now, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte (Kristin Davis), and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) are all facing a new set of problems. Carrie is coping with Mr. Big's (Chris Noth) death and just had to have hip surgery, Charlotte is attempting to raise her 2 teen daughters, and Miranda is confronting her newfound sexuality.
The problems that come with aging seem to be an overarching theme on "And Just Like That," and sadly, the series' stars have received a lot of backlash for their appearances. Davis and Parker have both spoken out about the heightened scrutiny, with Parker recently telling Vogue, "Everyone has something to say. 'She has too many wrinkles, she doesn't have enough wrinkles.'"
Now, about 24 years after the premiere of "Sex and the City," it shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that all of the actors of the series are experiencing aging. In fact, one of its actor's real-life experience inspired his character's storyline in the reboot.
David Eigenberg and his character both have hearing loss
Actor David Eigenberg originally starred in "Sex and the City" as Miranda's one-night-stand-turned husband. Fast forward to "And Just Like That," and Steve has aged just like everyone else. In the series premiere, when Charlotte's husband Harry asks, "What's new?" Steve bluntly says, "Hey, I got hearing aids. I'm an old-timer now." Turns out, Eigenberg shares this trait with his on-screen counterpart.
"And Just Like That" writers Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky told Vanity Fair that they were inspired by Eigenberg to make Steve partially deaf. "When [showrunner] Michael Patrick [King] reconnected with David Eigenberg about the show, the very first thing that David said was, 'I got hearing aids.' It was literally what he led with," Zuritsky explained. "That actually wound up being Steve's tone about his aging [in the show]."
Other than the brief scene mentioning his hearing loss, Steve seems to be disappearing from the show altogether, something fans have been quite upset over. However, Zuritsky explained that his diminishing storyline wasn't out of hate. "Everyone on the show, every single person, loves David Eigenberg as a human being. We love him as an actor. We love Steve," she said. Instead, Rottenberg argued that it was important to show Miranda's evolving life.
When asked by Vanity Fair if viewers would get to see how Steve feels about all of the drama, Zuritsky reassured fans and said, "You're going to get that scene."