And Just Like That Season 2 Doubles Down On Che, Despite The Haters - Here's Why
Fans of "Sex and the City" probably know exactly where they were when they first saw Che Diaz, played by Sara Ramírez. After the first season of the revival series "And Just Like That," Che became one of the most memed characters in recent memory, with fans pasting pictures of the character doing standup on everything from the dragons on "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon" to Drew Barrymore's character in "Scream," well, screaming as a voice on the other end of the phone says, "hey, it's Che Diaz!"
There's no question that Diaz, a queer non-binary character played by a queer non-binary actor, is an enormous step forward when it comes to representation, especially for a franchise as heternormative as "Sex and the City," but fans have their doubts about the character's utterly cringy personality, not their identity. Showrunner Michael Patrick King, though, promises that Season 2 will be a great time for fans on the opposite side of the issue who might be "craving some Che," as Cynthia Nixon's Miranda Hobbes so famously put it.
"One of my burning passions about Season 2 is Che," King told Variety in April of 2023. "I want to show the dimension of Che that people didn't see, for whatever reason — because they were blinded, out of fear or terror. I want to show more of Che rather than less of Che. Like, really."
Che is a huge step forward in representation on television, cringe jokes and memes aside
Sure, Che and everyone around them refers to stand-up sets as "comedy concerts," and one time they tells Miranda that their memory is shot because they've "done a ton of weed," sounding vaguely like an undercover cop. Ultimately, though, Ramírez — a veteran of the stage and screen who won a Tony for Spamalot and charmed audiences for a lengthy span on "Grey's Anatomy" as Dr. Callie Torres — has the right approach to playing Che, which is simply that nobody's perfect.
"What I love about Che is that Che is complicated and messy and human," Ramírez told Variety in the same interview. Che is a great reminder that even when we don't like someone in our community, they still deserve love, safety and joy, like everyone else," they say. "But the movement for liberation includes everyone, even people we don't like. This movement, this fight, this party of pride, isn't just for the people who make us feel cozy and cute — it's for everyone."
According to the article, Nixon, who ends up as Ramírez's love interest on screen, sent the actor a gift after Season 1 wrapped with a note reading, "Let's see all the ways they come up with to torture us if we get picked up for a second season." Ramírez, unsurprisingly, took this in stride: "And that's how it goes! The conflict is what keeps the story moving."
Sara Ramírez wants to remind viewers that Che Diaz is not a monolith for the LGBTQ+ community
Most important to note, though, is that Che Diaz is a step forward, not a step meant to represent every queer or gender-nonconforming human who's ever lived. In a recent profile by Brock Colyar in The Cut, Ramírez addressed this directly, as well as why they think some viewers have issues with Che.
As Colyar puts it, as an openly queer person, he's not bothered by the fact that Che is queer, but that they're just kind of "lame." Ramírez has their own take on the whole thing, though. "I think there are people like Che out in the world, and I think that opinions about whether Che is representing an authentically queer person or not is not for me to answer," Ramírez said to Colyar, saying they think the character can be an educational force for viewers.
"It's exciting to have Che be a disruption to the mainstream," they continued. "We had been experiencing the mass mobilization for anti-racism for George Floyd, so being aware of how important disruption is, being aware of how important it is to wake people up from the sleep of their own comfort and privilege, was so important to me that summer."
Ultimately, as Ramírez put it, anyone who doesn't like Che has bigger prejudices to tackle. "Anybody who benefits from patriarchy is going to have a problem with Che Diaz," they told Colyar during their interview in Central Park.
What do we need to remember about Che Diaz before And Just Like That Season 2?
In case you forgot what Che Diaz got up to during Season 1 of "And Just Like That," here's a quick refresher. Introduced as Carrie Bradshaw's (Sarah Jessica Parker) boss on the podcast "X, Y, and Me," Che — who self-identifies as "a queer, nonbinary, Mexican Irish diva" — is a brash, uber-honest, and raunchy character who loves tapping their "woke moment!" button during taping and has no problem opening up about their wild experiences. They ultimately become a pivotal character to the series when they meet Miranda, who's immediately smitten with Che and ends up cheating on and leaving her husband of many years, poor Steve Brady (David Eigenberg), to explore a relationship with Che.
In the Season 1 finale, during a cabaret act where their entire family is also in attendance, Che announces that the pilot they've been working on was picked up and that they're moving to Los Angeles to shoot it and shop it around. Miranda is disappointed until Che extends an invite to her, which she accepts — giving up a human rights law internship she worked hard to get in the process. (This is saying nothing of the time Miranda and Che hooked up in Carrie's apartment while she was in bed recovering from major surgery.) Miranda and Che's relationship might not be the show's most popular plotline, but it's here to stay... and we'll see much more of Che and Ramírez in Season 2.