'And Just Like That' Writers Come For John Corbett

John Corbett is in hot water after telling “Sex and the City” fans that he was involved in HBO Max’s “And Just Like That.” Now that the season finale has come and gone, the writers are firing back, saying Aidan Shaw was never slated to appear at all.

Corbett started this whole mess when he confirmed that he was part of the cast in a Page Six interview back in April 2021. Despite his assertion, Aidan never made an appearance in “And Just Like That’s” freshman season. Now that “And Just Like That” has ended its first season, the show’s writers are coming for him, clarifying that he was never cast in the series to begin with.

Showrunner Michael Patrick King and writers Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky spoke with Deadline about Corbett and Aidan, and it was Rottenberg who set the record straight. “John Corbett should be writing personal apology notes,” she said. “We didn’t say anything.”

King went on to say that “there’s nothing old news about Sarah Jessica Parker and John Corbett as actors and beings and interests” and that the main reason they didn’t bring Aidan into the story is that “it really just felt like this was a lot for Carrie. This season was a lot. We wanted to get her through this and into the light - the last episode is called, ‘Seeing the Light.’ We wanted to get her out.”

When Corbett’s news hit in April 2021, fans immediately started speculating what Aidan’s presence might mean. “[Aidan’s return] is a big storyline that everybody at home wrote that we had never intended.”

If “And Just Like That” writers never intended for Aidan Shaw to return to the new series, why on earth would Corbett say that he was part of the cast? Not only did he say he was involved, he said he would have a significant role in the new show.

“I’m going to do the show,” he said, expressing his excitement for the project. When asked about how many episodes he would appear in, he had no problem answering. “I think I might be in quite a few.”

Unlike other situations where scenes were cut from a show for time or story issues, Corbett was never even supposed to be on the show at all, leading many fans to wonder what made him make the announcement in the first place.

Interestingly enough, Corbett’s announcement in April 2021 came before Chris Noth was confirmed as being part of the cast, leading many fans around social media to speculate that this news surely meant Carrie was divorced or widowed. Given that Aidan was once Carrie’s fiance in the series, and after their kiss in Abu Dhabi in 2010’s “Sex and the City 2,” it actually made a lot of sense that Carrie and Aidan might reconnect in the new series if Big wasn’t in the picture.

When Noth was finally announced as part of the cast, talk of Carrie and Aidan’s possible relationship reduced to a simmer. Of course, as soon as the series premiere aired and Noth’s Mr. Big died, the speculation mill powered up with renewed fervor.

If you didn’t know better, the John Corbett bait and switch could actually be one of Hollywood’s greatest redirects. The show had to go to great lengths to keep Mr. Big’s death a secret, so much so that Noth was paraded around in fake scenes around New York so that the paparazzi could see him filming. If he was seen “filming” then rumors of Big’s death would be squashed.

In that sense, Corbett’s red herring about Aidan’s return could have bolstered the secrecy surrounding Big’s death by giving fans reason to wonder why Aidan would show up at all if Big is still being filmed.

Of course, Big didn’t make it past the first episode, and as soon as the casket closed fans started wondering if Carrie and Aidan would actually get their happily ever after.

Now that the writers have confirmed that Aidan was never going to show up anyway, we’re left wondering why Corbet would put this fake news into the universe.

The writers have cleared the air with their staunch denial of Corbett’s involvement, but now that Carrie is dating (and kissing!) at the end of the first season we’re all wondering whether Aidan could play a big role in Carrie’s future should “And Just Like That” get picked up for another season.