'And Just Like That' Showrunner Defends Choice to Include Disgusting Toilet Scene in Spinoff Finale

Sex and the City creator Michael Patrick King defended his controversial decision to include a disgusting toilet scene in the And Just Like That series finale.

“We cannot take ourselves too seriously,” King, 70, told a news outlet in an interview published on Friday, August 15. “For the gorgeousness of Carrie’s pink, sparkly top and tulle skirt — that’s the high — the low is a toilet filled up with s---. Because guess what? Being single, there’s a lot of s---, and relationships are a lot of s---.”

Fans watched as And Just Like That concluded its three-season run on August 14. The show served as a spinoff to the original Sex and the City, which ran from 1998 to 2004.

During the final episode, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) attended an awkward dinner party, where a mishap with an overflowing toilet took center stage. Many fans slammed the scene on social media, feeling “insulted” by the c--- and vomit show on screen. The series ended with Parker’s character single, splitting from on-off romance Aiden Shaw.

“It’s the comedy, with the drama, with the romance, with the fairy tale. I guess it’s a response to the fairy tale,” King explained, adding that Carrie ending up single was “call and response” to criticism the original series got when all the main characters ended the show in relationships.

“It is something that I’ve always thought about,” the director explained. “Because, as much as I made sure in the Sex and the City finale that they weren’t all married — because the anarchy of Sex and the City was that, at that time, that being 34, with someone, but unmarried, was unacceptable … So Samantha was not married. That was my loophole.”

King announced that the Sex and the City spin-off would be coming to an end after Season 3 on August 1.

“And just like that … the ongoing storytelling of the Sex and the City universe is coming to an end. While I was writing the last episode of And Just Like That… Season 3, it became clear to me that this might be a wonderful place to stop,” he wrote in a lengthy message. “Along with Sarah Jessica Parker, Casey Bloys and Sarah Aubrey, we decided to end the popular series this year with a two-part finale and extended the original series order from 10 episode to 12.”

Addressing Parker, 60, directly, he added, “SJP and I held off announcing the news until now because we didn’t want the word ‘final’ to overshadow the fun of watching the season. It’s with great gratitude we thank all the viewers who have let these characters into their home and their hearts over these many years.”