Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda Hobbes in the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That…, requested that Sara Ramirez play her love interest, Che Diaz. While Che Diaz has become “TV’s most hated character,” Miranda’s alternative love story on the table might not have led to the same evolution for Miranda’s character.
Cynthia Nixon was hesitant to partake in Sex and the City’s reboot, And Just Like That. She spoke about it on The Drew Barrymore Show.
Drew asked, “is it true that it was almost a difficult choice for you, something you’ve battled with and grappled with, to do And Just Like That?”
“Well yes, if you revisit something that was such a big part of your life and so iconic,” Cynthia replied. “It’s a big step but it seems to me we’re all very different people now, we’re different ages now, we were in our early 30s when we started, we’re 55-56 now.”
The actors wanted to make sure they adapted the show to suit what audiences expect today. “The world is very different [today],” Cynthia said. “So I wanted to be sure, we all wanted to be sure, that when we went back we could save a lot of what was great about the original and fix maybe what was not so great, like the fact it was such an overwhelmingly white show. That we would really open up the door and invite these characters in and really do right by them so we could get great actors and actresses to play them.”
Like Che Diaz or not, the character does reflect how the world is today, despite the addition and characterization being uncomfortably performative, rather than relatable on a human level. The saving grace of Che Diaz is that the character offers Miranda a creative, albeit chaotic, challenge. Che awakens more in Miranda than her sexual orientation. Miranda is notoriously uptight and Che shows her freedom and fun.
But Che Diaz wasn’t the only love interest on the table for Miranda. “Showrunner Michael Patrick King intended for Miranda to hook up with Nya, the Columbia law professor played by Karen Pittman,” according to The Daily Beast.
The relationship between Miranda and her professor would include a sensitive topic that would be hard to depict healthily on screen, outside of pornified male fantasies. I wouldn’t have an issue if Nya took all the steps she needed to for them to have a healthy relationship post-teaching Miranda, but that’s not television. Also, how many Columbia professors would willingly have that black mark against their name, potentially ruining their career, for love?
It would have been a lustful, secret affair whereby Miranda has to live with the back door. I don’t care if someone is 18 or 55, that wouldn’t feel good – especially in the lesbian world, where you’ve probably already had to be somebody’s dirty little secret before. In Miranda’s case, that relationship could have been her introduction to how lesbians get treated as some kind of naughty fetish.
The relationship wouldn’t have led to the evolution Miranda had in season 1 because Nya is so much like her, too. They’re both super intellectual, rigid, and academic. Despite all of Che’s character flaws, Miranda is offered something a bit unruly with Che. She’s able to explore a part of herself she’s always been afraid to.
It is revealed in And Just Like That… The Documentary that Che Diaz was originally a much smaller, barely-present character. So the one-dimensional characterization (or caricature!) of Che makes a bit more sense. Maximizing a minimal character doesn’t fill in the gaps of nuance expected of a series regular.
Cynthia Nixon batted for Sara Ramirez to play Che Diaz. “I suggested them [Sara Ramirez] because I’ve been aware of them for so long, and such a fan,” she said on The Drew Barrymore Show. “I worked with Mike Nichols, particularly when I was young, and he cast Sara in Spamalot, for which they won a Tony. So I always felt this, you know, I was always watching their career.”
Drew Barrymore is a fan of Che. “I love Che Diaz so much,” she said. “I know quite a lot of personalities that are very truth-saying, very sharp-pointed, matter of fact, and are calming forces.”
When Drew asked Cynthia if she “knew a Che,” herself, Cynthia said, “Yes, I do: the person who will often become a performer of some kind because every room they’re in they’re kind of the superstar in the room… because of their charisma and their wisdom and their wit.”
Look, Che Diaz is annoying. I find the character very one-dimensional and stereotypical, without a lot of depth of experience or nuance in personality to root for. But I can’t imagine that the show would have treated a professor-student relationship with a nuanced, critical eye at all. It would have been secretive, lustful, role-playing porn for the male viewer. I never thought I’d say this but #TeamChe.
