Cynthia Nixon Defends Samantha, Steve Split Storylines and Che's Comedy on WWHL

Appearing on "Watch What Happens Live" on Thursday night alongside Broadway legend Patti LuPone, Nixon was grilled about some of the more controversial plot developments on the show this season -- including her character Miranda's split from husband Steve for Sara Ramirez's Che Diaz, her alcoholism and Samantha's absence after Kim Cattrall decided not to return.

When the season began, it was revealed Samantha Jones had a falling out with Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw and moved to London, after Cattrall -- who has been very vocal about past issues with Parker -- opted against reprising her character. Throughout the season, viewers have seen the frost between them thaw a bit via text message, after Samantha sent flowers for Big's funeral.

"I thought it was great," said Nixon when asked by Andy Cohen how she felt the show handled Samantha being MIA. "I have to say I love how we addressed it head on in the first minute and then I loved how there began to be layers of it."

"Like, there's the thing you tell Bitsy Von Muffling and then there's the way you talk about it amongst each other," she continued. "I have to say, spoiler alert, I felt like the flowers at the funeral were just ... you know," she went on, as Andy clutched his heart, "I feel like, I love how we keep checking in with her from time to time, I love that."

When it came to the Steve and Che of it all, Nixon was first asked whether she believed Diaz's comedy is actually funny. Ramirez's standup moments on the show have been skewered on social media since the season began, though the character is supposed to be a well-respected queer comedian with a Netflix special to boot.

"I and Miranda think it is," Nixon diplomatically answered, cracking up at the question.

When asked whether she understood why some fans are "so upset about Steve's treatment" on the revival, she said that she did -- but defended the storyline as well. On the show, Miranda revealed she's been unhappy in her marriage for a long time and their sex life had been practically extinct for years. She finally pulled the plug and asked for a divorce after developing feelings for and starting an affair with Che.

"I have to say that that's the thing about breakups. Often times, there's one person who is making the breakup happen and another person who is reluctant," said Nixon. "But I have to say, that person who is reluctant is pretty miserable too and just not admitting it."

Nixon was also asked about her character's quickly-solved alcoholism problem. At the start of the season, Miranda was seen sneaking nips of booze in her purse, guzzling drinks in secret and hitting up bars at 10:00 AM. She later realized she had a problem, blaming it on starting to drink too much at home during Covid lockdown, paired with her unhappiness in her marriage and abruptly stopped over-serving herself.

"You notice I'm having a non-alcoholic beverage today. I think it would have been a little dangerous," she joked after the question. She then added: "I love it. A lot of us were drinking more than we should during the pandemic."

New episodes of "And Just Like That" drop Thursdays on HBO Max.