Sarah Jessica Parker comments on both ‘The Carrie Diaries,’ HBO’s ‘Girls’
Sarah Jessica Parker is one who tends to almost always choose her words carefully, so suffice it to say it made us rather sad to see some headlines coming out saying that she has suddenly “slammed” the Carrie Bradshaw prequel show “The Carrie Diaries,” which is a project that was not exactly well-received with many members of the “Sex and the City” faithful.
Before we dive into analysis here, let’s start with the facts. The original Carrie was speaking in a new interview with Net-A-Porter when she was asked about another actress (in AnnaSophia Robb) taking on a version of a character that she made famous, and her response was largely a commentary on the experience of basically watching someone walk a mile in your (show allusion intended) shoes:
“I’m not sure… You know, I think it’s one of those tests of your generosity. She [AnnaSophia Robb] is a lovely girl and I want her to feel good about it, but it’s… odd.”
Is she calling “The Carrie Diaries” as a show “odd”? We don’t think so. While we have our own issues with the show deciding to suddenly abandon much of the origin story touched on for Bradshaw in “Sex and the City” (while still referring to itself as a prequel), Parker does not vocalize anything negative about the show at all. What she is touching on here is more akin to the feeling that Matt Damon must have felt watching Jeremy Renner as Jason Bourne, or Sean Connery watching Roger Moore as James Bond. The CW was obviously intending to continue on the Carrie story without limiting the role to just Parker, but whether or not it works is surely up to interpretation.
Parker also comments in the interview about another show in HBO’s “Girls,” which has been frequently compared to “Sex and the City” on a number of occasions over the years, specifically in the way that her work as a producer on her show may have helped pave the way for Lena Dunham:
“HBO was very encouraging of the beyond-camera role I played, and I feel that had we not done it, I don’t know that would have existed for Girls. It’s a such a different way of thinking and it’s not conventional … I also think [Dunham] came along understanding her voice and with the support of a producing partner [Judd Apatow] experienced enough to say she is capable of this, she needs to be in charge of the story as it’s her voice. I do feel Sex and the City’s success made that possible, and it would have been different otherwise.”
What do you think about Parker’s comments? If you want to watch a preview for Sunday night’s “Girls,” you can do so over here.
Photo: The CW