[This story contains spoilers for HBO Max’s And Just Like That.]
Sex and the City fans couldn’t help but wonder why Steve Brady doesn’t seem to be thriving in HBO Max’s sequel series.
And Just Like That executive producers Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky, who both wrote for SATC, spoke to Vanity Fair in a story published Thursday, during which they addressed recent criticism from outlets and social media users over the bumpy path for Steve (David Eigenberg) on the new show. And Just Like That viewers have been surprised that Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) has been hooking up with Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez), who works with Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), with Steve kept entirely in the dark.
Zuritsky dismissed the notion that the writing staff might have some sort of vendetta against Steve. “Everyone on the show, every single person, loves David Eigenberg as a human being,” she explained. “We love him as an actor. We love Steve. We are really invested in the Steve-ness of him. He’s so full of life, and the Steves out there are good guys.”
Rottenberg followed up by reasoning that Miranda’s relationship developments were intended to reflect what some real-life couples endure. “But Miranda’s journey is representing another reality out there, which a lot of people go through — the reevaluations and transitions in life,” she shared. “Grown couples grow apart, and people come to epiphanies about what their spouse is or isn’t fulfilling for them. Miranda’s story was very representative of a certain path that a lot of women find themselves on.”
Among the recent articles to question how the writers are treating Steve include Vogue‘s “What Happened to the Men of Sex and the City” and The Cut‘s “Steve Deserves Better.” In addition, author Roxane Gay asked on Twitter whether the show’s team hates Steve, adding, “They have given his character not one good scene.”
Zuritsky suggested that criticism of Steve’s path might reflect a “lopsided gender issue,” where viewers “feel angry at her and more protective of him.” She also gave her assurance that a scene is coming soon in which Steve will share his feelings about the situation, and both writers agreed that part of the motivation to revisit these core female characters was to stir up their lives a bit.
In addition, Zuritsky explained that the motivation to make Steve deal with partial hearing loss came from Eisenberg himself wearing hearing aids and having shared this with showrunner Michael Patrick King during their first meeting to discuss the character for the new series. “That actually wound up being Steve’s tone about his aging [in the show],” she said.