The Hidden Meaning Behind That Surprise Stanford Letter on ‘And Just Like That’

Anyone who’s seen Sex and the City knows of Stanford (played by the late Willie Garson). Although the character appeared in season one of And Just Like That, his story line was pushed aside after the actor’s tragic passing. But now, Stanford is finally getting the ending he deserves.

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On a recent episode of And Just Like That… The Writers Room podcast, showrunner Michael Patrick King discussed the latest episode of AJLT season two. In the installment, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) receives a letter from Stanford, where he explains that he’s staying in Japan as a Shinto monk. According to King, it was the best way to honor Garson without killing off his character.

“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. “The thing we came up with is that he went to Japan on a TikTok tour.”

“It was a fast fix,” King added. “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.”

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King explained that there’s a hidden meaning behind Stanford’s Japan story line. “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 said. “And it was poetic, and it’s very emotional.”

Carrie + Stanford = BFFs 4ever.

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