‘And Just Like That’ showrunner explains goodbye to Willie Garson’s character after actor’s death
WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 10 of the show “And Just Like That…” Showrunner Michael Patrick King has revealed the reasoning behind the definitive farewell to Willie Garson’s beloved character in the recent episode. In the penultimate episode of the second season, Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw receives a letter from Garson’s character, Stanford Blatch. The letter reveals that Stanford has decided to stay in Japan permanently, despite initially going there for work. Carrie then shares this news with Stanford’s estranged husband, Anthony Marentino, played by Mario Cantone. Garson, who appeared in the first three episodes of the “Sex and the City” reboot’s first season, sadly passed away from pancreatic cancer in September 2021.
During the episode, Carrie informs Anthony about Stanford’s decision, leading to the discussion of Willie’s passing. On the “And Just Like That… The Writers Room” podcast, King explained, “Ever since Willie died and what we had to do last year was explain the loss of our really wonderful friend and actor, Willie Garson playing Stanford Blatch. The thing we came up with is that he went to Japan on a TikTok tour.” King, aged 58, expressed that Stanford’s departure from the show was a temporary solution to address the news of Garson’s death. Garson had appeared in the first three episodes of the reboot’s first season.
“It was a quick fix,” King said. “It was a bit like walking on thin ice. We had to skate over it because he suddenly wasn’t in the show, and we didn’t want Stanford to die. We wanted Willie to be alive as Stanford somewhere in the world.” He continued, “And here we are, and she says she got a letter from Stanford and he’s in Japan and he’s staying, and he’s a Shinto monk.” While some viewers may find the storyline random, King explained that he drew inspiration from a trip he took to Japan with Parker in 2010 to promote the second “Sex and the City” movie.
“We went to Kyoto, and I was in some sort of emotional shockwave, going from temple to temple with Sarah Jessica. I was sitting there trying to release these complicated feelings, and I felt a sense of peace,” King shared. With Stanford’s new path as a monk, King wanted to pay tribute to Willie and place Stanford in a serene and illuminated environment, hoping that Willie himself is in a similar place. He described the decision as poetic and emotional.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 10 of “And Just Like That…”
“And Just Like That…” showrunner Michael Patrick King has revealed the reason behind the definitive goodbye Willie Garson’s beloved character received in Thursday’s episode.
The penultimate episode of the show’s second season saw Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw receive a letter from Garson’s character Stanford Blatch.
In the letter, Stanford said he would be staying in Japan for good after initially heading over there for work.
Carrie then shared the news with Stanford’s estranged husband Anthony Marentino, played by Mario Cantone.
Garson, who appeared in the first three episodes of the “Sex and the City” reboot’s first season, died from pancreatic cancer in Sept. 2021.
“Ever since Willie died and what we had to do last year was explain the loss of our really wonderful friend and actor, Willie Garson playing Stanford Blatch,” King said on Thursday’s episode of the “And Just Like That… The Writers Room podcast.”
“The thing we came up with is that he went to Japan on a TikTok tour.”
King, 58, said Stanford’s departure from the show was a “band-aid” for all following the news of Garson’s death.
“It was a fast fix,” he said. “It was a little bit, it was like thin ice. We skated over it ‘cause we had to, ‘cause he wasn’t in the show suddenly and we didn’t want Stanford to die. We wanted Willie to be alive as Stanford somewhere in the world.”
“And here we are, and she says she got a letter from Stanford and he’s in Japan and he’s staying and he’s a Shinto monk.”
While the storyline may seem random to some viewers, King explained that he got the inspiration from a trip he took to Japan with Parker in 2010 to promote the second “Sex and the City” movie.
“I went to Kyoto with Sarah Jessica after the second movie which, I don’t know, spoiler alert: was not received well … it’s gorgeous, but I have had growth much like Nya has growth about the baby carriage. The critics were not nice to that movie,” he shared.
“And we were in Japan and we opened it. We went to Kyoto and I was in some sort of an emotional shockwave and I was going from temple to temple with Sarah Jessica. I was sitting there trying to release these complicated feelings and I felt kind of at peace.”
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So with Stanford becoming a monk, King “tapped into that feeling.”
“I wanted to somehow pay tribute to Willie and put Stanford someplace where it was golden and filled with light because I hope Willie’s someplace that’s golden and filled with light,” King went on, adding that he “tapped into that feeling.”
“And it was poetic and it’s very emotional,” he added.
