And Just Like That ended last month with Carrie Bradshaw dancing alone in a pink ballgown, and 27 years of Sex and the City ended with deep disappointment. The reboot’s final episode aired August 14, 2025, following showrunner Michael Patrick King’s shock announcement that the series was canceled mid-season, leaving longtime fans devastated and enraged.
🔥 Quick Facts
- Final Episode: Aired August 14, 2025, as series finale after shocking cancellation announcement
- Season Count: Only 3 seasons completed, half the length of original’s 6 seasons
- Viewership Collapse: Season 1 had 1.1 million viewers; Season 3 dropped to just 429,000
- Franchise Duration: Sex and the City universe ran for 27 years across original series and reboot
Why Fans Hated The Ending With A Vengeance
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The finale left viewers furious because it featured a plumbing disaster with an overflowing toilet as its centerpiece. The Guardian called it “a sad, heavy-handed farewell,” noting the bizarre scene undermined what should have been a meaningful goodbye to iconic characters. Instead of a moment celebrating Carrie’s journey, the episode climaxed with bathroom humor that felt like a joke to devoted fans.
The episode was titled “Party of One” and ran only 33 minutes, forcing writers to race through resolutions without substance. Charlotte suddenly had mysterious vertigo. Miranda panicked about becoming a grandmother. Carrie finished her novel with a single line: “The woman realised she was not alone, she was on her own.” None of it felt earned.
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Miranda Hobbes, once the show’s brilliant lawyer, became a bumbling, neurotic mess who constantly tripped over herself. Cynthia Nixon’s portrayal emphasized loud hysteria instead of intelligence. Charlotte York devolved into a cartoonish Upper East Side mother obsessed with her children, stripped of her former edge and sophistication. Worst of all, Carrie remained forever dependent on men, spending seasons pursuing Aidan Shaw even after he demanded five years to focus on his son.
BBC Culture noted that original characters lost depth and became shadows of themselves. Writers abandoned Carrie’s evolution entirely, forcing fans to watch her sacrifice her identity for romance repeatedly. The woman who built a column empire on independence became increasingly delusional about love.
Critical Failures That Sabotaged The Show
| Problem | Evidence |
| Missing Voiceover | Original SATC used tight 25-minute structure with Carrie’s column narration binding episodes |
| Bloated Episodes | AJLT episodes stretched to 45+ minutes with no narrative cohesion or payoff |
| Abandoned Storylines | Lisa’s miscarriage, Seema’s apartment fire, Miranda’s kids hooking up never mentioned again |
| Kim Cattrall Absence | Only 70-second cameo in Season 2 filmed separately from other cast members |
The Rest of the Cast Got Worse With Each Season
Michael Patrick King brought in Che Diaz, played by Sara Ramirez, as Miranda’s love interest and the internet dubbed them the “worst character on TV.” Their cartoonish non-binary comedian persona featured awful double-entendres and cringey stand-up. Lisa Todd Wexley remained segregated from the core friend group despite being billed as a main character. Dr. Nya Wallace vanished after Season 2 with barely a mention, wasting actress Karen Pittman’s talent.
Samantha’s supposed friendship breakup with Carrie made no sense either, contradicting the original series where the women survived countless conflicts. The Huffington Post argued “there’s no way Samantha would have let a PR business disagreement come between their friendship.” Instead, fans got scattered diversity inserts that felt forced, not integrated.
Can The Sex and the City Franchise Ever Return?
This ending reveals a brutal truth: not all reboots deserve to exist. Sarah Jessica Parker released a heartfelt tribute post stating “Carrie Bradshaw has dominated my professional heartbeat for 27 years. I think I have loved her most of all.” Yet the show she poured herself into became a cautionary tale about preserving beloved legacy characters. Rumors swirl that Parker felt “fuming” about the cancellation announcement, which came suddenly via Instagram rather than through proper industry channels.
The original Sex and the City thrived because it balanced humor, heart, and insight into modern dating. And Just Like That delivered none of that, instead offering bloated episodes filled with nonsensical plots. The BBC concluded this was “a wasted opportunity to see a nuanced, witty take on these women navigating their lives in middle age.” Fans aren’t mourning the ending, they’re mourning what 27 years of this franchise could have been.
“The woman realises she was not alone, she was on her own.”
— Carrie Bradshaw, novel epilogue, And Just Like That series finale
Sources
- HuffPost – Comprehensive breakdown of all problematic storylines and character assassinations across three seasons
- The Guardian – Final episode review calling finale a sad, heavy-handed farewell with bizarre plumbing disaster
- BBC Culture – Analysis of how AJLT failed to maintain tight narrative structure that made original series legendary
Jessica Morrison is a seasoned entertainment writer with over a decade of experience covering television, film, and pop culture. After earning a degree in journalism from New York University, she worked as a freelance writer for various entertainment magazines before joining red94.net. Her expertise lies in analyzing television series, from groundbreaking dramas to light-hearted comedies, and she often provides in-depth reviews and industry insights. Outside of writing, Jessica is an avid film buff and enjoys discovering new indie movies at local festivals.