We’re just half a day into Pride Month 2022 and all hell has already broken loose.
Sporting bright pink clown makeup in the shape of a heart, Sara Ramírez has returned as the divisive “Che Diaz” from And Just Like That for a cover story over in Variety. “Yep, I’m Che” the title reads, threatening that the comedian will be back in just a few months over at HBO Max’s Sex and the City reboot. (We have to admit, it is a clever riff on the Ellen “Yep, I’m Gay” cover, that we thought had already been appropriated in every way possible. The power of Che!)
Apparently, a year without Che Diaz is like a year without Santa Claus: impossible. We couldn’t make it four months without thinking about the comedy concert-giving weed addict who is too high to read her Instagram DMs and made “Rambo” a name that now instantly sends chills down the spine. And Just Like That viewers have been clamoring for even a morsel of information about Season 2. Now, we finally get it: not about Carrie, nor Kim Cattrall’s continued absence, but about the real star of the show, Che Diaz.
In Season 2, they’re back and more important to the series than ever, per this new interview. Creator Michael Patrick King teased Che’s involvement in the sophomore season: “One of my burning passions about Season 2 is Che,” he said. “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.”
More of Che rather than less of Che…interesting choice.
Although that decision will inevitably lead to endless “Hey, it’s Che Diaz” snark online, Ramírez themself isn’t so concerned about the haters—though these folks don’t really “hate” Che Diaz, it’s more of a twisted love, like folks have for Tommy Wiseau’s The Room.
“Other people’s opinions of a character—that’s not something I can allow into my process,” Ramírez said. “What I love about Che is that Che is complicated and messy and human. 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.”
Further, Ramírez continued: “If you’re going to get caught up in this character, at least learn about how people like Che Diaz are currently trying to survive escalating attacks on our community.”
Still, after breaking up a marriage—poor Steve!—and vexing their LGBT+ audience most of all, it’s hard to imagine what kind of image rehab is planned so that Che will make it out of Season 2 alive. Whereas Sex and the City ran on HBO for a strong six seasons, Ramírez says they aren’t so sure about the fate of And Just Like That.
“Again, I have learned my lesson around attachment to permanence, so I’m open to what’s meant to be,” Ramírez teased. “We’ll take it one season at a time, how about that?”
At the end of Season 1, Ramírez says they gifted Cynthia Nixon with a card that read, “Let’s see all the ways they come up with to torture us if we get picked up for a second season.” Well, if that isn’t a “Twitter, do your thing,” I don’t know what is.
