Episode seven of And Just Like That… has been bestowed upon us and it sees Carrie Bradshaw faced with the rather daunting task of going on her first date since she didn’t save her dying husband from expiring in the shower.
I’m not too sure how the timeline works in this Sex and the City reboot but Carrie has now written a rather sizeable novel on love and loss. Her editor adores it, but worries it’s not on-brand for Bradshaw as it skews a little dark.
The solution for this sensitivity-chip-missing publishing executive? Go on a date, Carrie! Even if you’re nowhere near ready. Do it for your fans, who need hope that they will never come home from a tween’s piano recital to find their historically toxic partner as physcially unresponsive as he once was emotionally. Or, if they do, that they’ll find a new boo shortly thereafter.
It’s not just Carrie’s editor who can’t wait to farm her out, either. A dinner scene with Seema, Charlotte and Miranda reveals that Charlotte is delighted that several of her friend’s marriages have recently failed, so the dads are now eligible-for-Carrie bachelors. Meanwhile, Seema has decided identity theft is acceptable and has signed her new friend up for a dating app that features middle-aged men chewing on their glasses.
Spurred on by the promise of being featured in Oprah’s book club, Carrie later decides to match with a nice looking widower named Peter and the scene is set for her first post-Big date.
Enter: Jon Tenney as Peter. As you might expect, the date is awkward, with both parties confessing that it’s their first since their respective spouses died. Drinks are in order! But I have to say, not ordering a cheeseburger from Au Cheval is just a huge missed opportunity, as one bite of those bad boys could truly make you forget you had ever loved and lost.
Anyway, they have drinks, they have some laughs and then they have an unfortunate bout of puking outside the restaurant, which would never have happened if they had at least split the burger to soak up all the booze.
Later, the two meet again at a charity fundraiser in which Carrie is being auctioned off as a “sex writer” to a crowd of Upper East Side men who pretend they would never cheat on their wives, even though all of them almost definitely have. Anyway, Peter, the widowed math teacher who can’t hold his liquor is also there and valiantly pays $1050 for the chance to take Carrie out again, giving her the glimmer of hope her editor asked her to find.
Now, eagle-eyed viewers who were keeping up with the series before it premiered will recall seeing photos of “Peter” leaked to the press, as he and Carrie seemed to share a kiss in front of her iconic stoop.
You may have seen Tenney before in shows such as The Closer and its spinoff Major Crimes. He also had a role opposite Sally Field in Brothers & Sisters and had a recurring part in Scandal, as Andrew Nichols.
On the film front, he has had parts in films such as Fools Rush In, Tombstone, Beverly Hills Cop III, Nixon and Music from Another Room.
Tenney was married to Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher from 1994 to 2003, but has been married to Leslie Urdang since 2012.
It’s unclear how many episodes we’ll see Tenney in, but I’d just like to remind you all that the last guy who made Carrie throw up not only had his heartbroken (twice) but is still supposed to make an appearance in And Just Like That…
Until next time, drink in moderation and always, ALWAYS, order the burger.
And Just Like That is now streaming on BINGE. You can find all of our coverage, here.
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