For those of you still holding out for the Sex and the City reunion, s'il vous plait, we implore you, give it up and instead, focus on Divorce, SJP’s new HBO show about a middle-class couple going through a messy divorce.
Sure, what with the characters in the show being middle-aged and living in a really rather lovely house, they're not going to be all that relatable to you but, nevertheless, I’m gonna go out on the limb here and say that you’re going to enjoy it all the same. One episode in and it’s heartfelt, funny and rather unexpectedly bleak in a way that smacks of the comic musings of its co-creator, the excellent Sharon Horgan of Catastrophe.
Meeting Sarah Jessica Parker in real life, she is definitely not bleak, but is heartfelt and very funny. She’s very warm and open and doesn’t take herself seriously. Which is always a bonus when it comes to interviewing celebrities.
Oh, and she’s actually wearing her own perfume. Who'd have thunk it? ‘I really am.’ She says when asked. ‘I always do.’ A claim we reckon some other celebrities who weren't quite as dedicated to their perfumes during the creation process definitely couldn't say about scented offering. No names, obvs.
SJP didn’t get the Divorce ball rolling because she wanted to make a follow-up Sex and the City, although, given the ubiquitous nature of Carrie Bradshaw, it’s hard for people not to see Divorce as ‘what would have happened if Carrie chose Aiden’. SJP took the project on however, for a very different reason. ‘The two [shows] for me were really unrelated. It wasn’t because this [Divorce] was somehow the next chapter or a companion book [to Sex and the City].’ She says, rather Divorce was a reaction to what she saw as a dearth in an accurate portrayal of her peers' lives on TV. ‘I was thinking a lot about what portrait have we seen recently in cinema or television that was really about a real, middle-class marriage and what it means today.' She wanted to with the show ‘contemplate divorce, what economics have to do with it, what friendships have to do with it and children, what we do to one another, how we behave in private.’
Obviously, post-SATC, one might think that there’s a lot riding on this new project but SJP is actually much more excited about making something that’s real. ‘I don’t know what the reaction will be,’ She says. ‘We’re just telling a story that’s interesting to us. It’s a dangerous place to sit and ponder what reaction we might get.’ She says that working with HBO means she got to be more experimental with characters. ‘You were given the freedom not to be concerned about whether some people like her or not like her.’ Instead, she says, the creation process was more ‘What feelings do you want to convey about being a woman in this marriage at this time?’
Being in the industry for such a long time means SJP has got experience in being the subject of other peoples' unwarranted criticism. Something she's still learning to deal with. ‘I think the thing that surprises me is what can still be hurtful.’ She’s developed the kind of thick skin that only longevity can build up. Experience has taught her to try ‘not to react, to be better at interpersonal stuff and the kind of battles that maybe used to worry me more.’
People like to rag on women in the media a lot - especially over their fashion choices; something SJP bears a huge brunt of. She’s always dared to take chances sartorially and predictably people on the internet always have something to say about it. Not that she cares. 'I can’t take a poll and go round and make sure everybody approves before I leave the house!’ She laughs. ‘People don’t like my outfit? There’s just unthinkable things happening in the world it just doesn’t matter. Maybe it hurts for a second. Oooh ow! But honestly… no.’
Divorce starts on Sky Atlantic, Tuesday 11th October at 10:10PM
Like this? Then you might also be interested in:
Selasi From Bake Off Has A GBBO Viewing Party Every Week And The Food Is Insane
Follow Jess on Twitter @Jess_Commons
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.