'And Just Like That' Showrunner Explains Why He Killed Off Major Character In First Episode

"And Just Like That" showrunner Michael Patrick King is opening up about his decision to kill off a major character in the show's first episode.

The "Sex and the City" revival premiered Thursday on HBO Max, but the first episode ended with the tragic death of Carrie Bradshaw's (Sarah Jessica Parker) husband, John "Big" James Preston (Chris Noth). Mr. Big suffered a heart attack after completing his 1,000th Peloton ride and died in the arms of Carrie, who had just returned home from a piano recital.

During a virtual roundtable Friday, King explained that he chose to kill off Big mainly because it was "great for Carrie's character," Variety reported.

"[Carrie has] always never been able to have him," the showrunner said. "She only got him at the end of the series and she’s only had him really a little bit of time. Now he’s taken away, but not by another lady on the Upper East Side or by divorce — but by something she can never rationalize, which is a death."

The executive producer revealed that they wanted the first two episodes to be as realistic as possible, and the way they were set up made them more dramatic. The next episodes will then explore Carrie's life after she lost the love of her life.

"We believe Carrie Bradshaw is devastated. So, we will have her heal and mourn and go back and go on," he added. "I have no interest in taking the audience into a dark woods and leaving them there without a flashlight. We’re not going to just leave Carrie by herself. But how we do it? Why we do it? How far it goes remains to be seen."

According to King, his goal while making the revival series was to not be like the original. "And Just Like That" introduces four new characters (played by Karen Pittman, Nicole Ari Parker, Sarita Choudhury and Sara Ramirez) and tackles issues such as diversity, racism, alcoholism, grief and gender identity.

Another thing King changed was Carrie's voiceovers narrating the show. "There’s no voiceover except for one line at the end. That’s because Carrie has no overview," he explained. "I destroyed her world. She has one sentence at the end of every show, that’s it. And it’s right in the moment."

Cast members Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis, who reprised their roles as Miranda and Charlotte, also weighed in on Mr. Big's death.

While Nixon was "sad" to see Big go, she thought that killing off the character was a "bold" move that aligned with the show's title, which she said means "in a moment your life can be transformed."

"And certainly there could be no more blow to the center of Carrie and her life than robbing her of Mr. Big. I think it was very bold and I think it starts the new series on such a foot that you see we're not going to be treading water. We're actually going to be sailing into completely uncharted waters," Nixon told Entertainment Tonight.

Davis, meanwhile, said she was "nervous" about the storyline and found the scene "terrifying." But she praised Parker and Noth's performance, saying the scene "was so beautifully done."

"And Just Like That" airs new episodes each Thursday on HBO Max.