Miranda’s And Just Like That... Love Interest Wasn’t Originally Che Diaz

“The worst character in television” may be the most extreme criticism, but it pretty much sums the way that a significant portion of the Sex and the City fanbase feels about Che Diaz, the nonbinary comedian played by Sara Ramirez in And Just Like That… Diaz, who is one of four non-white characters the writers introduced in an effort to correct the original series’s missteps, was always going to be a part of the series; as the host of the cringy podcast X, Y, and Me, she’s Carrie’s boss. And while fans have eviscerated the writers for also making them Miranda’s ill-advised love interest, it’s actually thanks to Cynthia Nixon that Miranda develops a full-blown obsession with Che.

“So originally when [executive producer Michael Patrick King] was sort of trying to think about what would happen in our season, he talked about Nya, Miranda's professor, being the romantic relationship,” Nixon said in a documentary about the making of the series that HBO Max dropped alongside the finale on Thursday. “Nya was a straight character and Miranda's a straight character and I was like, ‘Well that doesn't sound very sexy at all.’ Do you know what I mean?”

“Two women who've gotten to this age and who are now just fumbling around. That doesn't seem great,” Nixon continued. “I was like, ‘Why couldn't [Miranda's love interest] be this butch person you’re talking about having for Carrie?’”

Actually, a Nya-Miranda pairing kinda does sound “great.” The chic, whip-smart Columbia professor played by Karen Pittman definitely didn’t get enough air time, and Miranda’s blunders would likely have made for a more satisfying, or at least amusing, type of cringy television. And if the show wanted to delve into sexuality and identity, well, why not do so via two confused and fumbling women who are married to men? The same goes for its intent to tackle race. (We won’t soon forget Miranda initially mistaking Nya for a student because of her braids.)

There’s no denying that Miranda’s relationship with Che ended up accomplishing both of those missions. We just wish King had stuck to his original plan, or at least cut the writing that arguably backfired in terms of representation. (And we feel for Ramirez—who, as a recent New York Times headline reminded, “is not Che Diaz”—given all the criticism they’ve endured.) On the bright side, the memes ended up being just as funny as Miranda finds Che.