The Real Reason Sara Ramirez's Che Diaz Left And Just Like That...
Sara Ramirez's stand-up comedian and podcast host Che Diaz won't be returning for Season 3 of the Max original "And Just Like That..." — so what happened here?
Variety reported the news and clarified that Max's spokesperson declined to comment, but the outlet said sources confirmed that Tony winner and former "Grey's Anatomy" star Ramirez is finished playing Che Diaz in the "Sex and the City" sequel. The trade also noted that Ramirez's outspoken support for Palestinian lives — amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas — is unrelated to the actor's departure. "These sources say that the Che character had reached a natural conclusion, since their relationship with Miranda [Hobbes, played by Cynthia Nixon] had ended," the report reads.
Ramirez's character Che showed up on "And Just Like That..." to woo Miranda as the main character experienced a sort of mid-life crisis, and the couple ultimately moved from New York to Los Angeles before splitting up entirely in Season 2. To say their breakup was catastrophic is an understatement; not only was it bad in the moment, but after the fact, Che also used it as fodder for their stand-up special, humiliating Miranda in real time. Showrunner Michael Patrick King was pretty unequivocal about the coupling when he spoke to Variety last August. Regarding Miranda and Che's last interaction, King said he hoped the audience would immediately give up on the two: "Hopefully, at the end, they're like, "Good they're not together, and they never will be." With that in mind, it does make sense that Che isn't coming back.
Che Diaz was a completely divisive character — for a million reasons
To say Che Diaz was divisive right from the start of "And Just Like That..." is putting it lightly. In an attempt to make this sequel more diverse than "Sex and the City" — which glossed over people of color and queer individuals in New York City, electing to focus on four white ladies instead — Michael Patrick King and his team created the character of Che, a non-binary and queer stand-up comedian, and cast Sara Ramirez. To be absolutely clear, the reason that Che divided fans of "And Just Like That..." has nothing to do with the character's sexual preferences or gender presentation, and it shouldn't. Che puzzled the show's audiences because they were just a crappy character.
Across two seasons, Che is selfish, vapid, narcissistic, over-the-top, awkward, and perhaps worst of all, unfunny (a particularly bad trait for a stand-up comedian). The fact that they spent their podcast "X, Y, & Me" — which they co-hosted with lead character Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) — jamming a button that yelled "woke moment!" didn't really help anything.
Ramirez told Variety in a June 2022 interview that they avoided comments about why fans were not, as Miranda famously once put it, "craving some Che" en masse. "Other people's opinions of a character — that's not something I can allow into my process," they said. The actor also noted that since King and his crew were the ones behind the writing, it wasn't their fault, and they're right. At the end of the day, it wasn't Ramirez that fans couldn't stand. It was Che.
At this point, cutting Che Diaz won't save And Just Like That...
Fans of "And Just Like That..." probably know, though, that axing Che Diaz from the sequel isn't going to fix the show's major problems. When it first premiered in 2021, "And Just Like That..." picked up years after "Sex and the City" and its two feature films concluded, focusing on Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbes, and Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis) as they navigate their 50s. (Famously, Kim Cattrall declined any and all offers to return as a series regular but brought her iconic character Samantha Jones back for a brief cameo during the Season 2 finale.) The idea makes sense, but the execution hasn't worked yet ... and the show's been running for two seasons.
Certainly, some of that does have to do with Che, who swept in, broke up Miranda's marriage, and basically just irritated audiences every time they were on screen. (Remember the Season 2 scene where they inexplicably watch videos of their old stand-up sets, alone and laughing?) Beyond that, though, the lack of Samantha has proven quite difficult.
New characters like Dr. Nya Wallace (Karen Pittman), Seema Patel (Sarita Choudhury), and Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker) have fantastic moments, but they're not given enough time to grow. Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte are all so fabulously wealthy that they never encounter any real problems or roadblocks, lowering the show's stakes significantly. Sure, some fans will probably be happy to hear that Che Diaz is no more ... but "And Just Like That..." still has much bigger problems to fix.
Season 3 of the series is in the works as of this writing.