There’s a hot new show on TV, and we’re here to tell you all about it. No, you can’t watch it yet. And that’s not because critics got advance screeners to watch ahead of the premiere. This show isn’t actually real. (But, hey! It’ll always exist in our hearts.)
The show we’re talking about is Che Pasa, the brilliantly titled sitcom Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez) is working on in Los Angeles in Season 2 of And Just Like That. Say what you want about the Sex and the City sequel’s character—that they’re the worst of all time, that the hate is homophobic, that you don’t mind them but you miss Steve (David Eigenberg)—this fictional show-within-a-show must be talked about.
The multicam sitcom Che is starring in seems so goofy. I would love nothing more than to hate-watch it on a Thursday night at 9 p.m., adding in my snarky commentary at each bad joke. (If Che’s “Uber to my bathroom in Los Angeles” stand-up line is any indicator, we’re dubious of the Che Pasa comedy writing.)
In the final episodes of And Just Like That Season 1, we learn that Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) plans to move out to Los Angeles with her new romantic partner—Che, Carrie’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) old podcast co-host—is heading out west to shoot their pilot.
Now that we’re a few episodes into Season 3, the pilot is actually filming. A la Curb Your Enthusiasm or Hannah Montana, Che is playing a fictionalized version of themself—although the story is written by a different writer, who wants Che to wear a bedazzled blue suit (amazing) with a blue streak in their hair (incredible). Che refuses. Along with Che, the show stars Tony Danza as their father. And, wouldn’t you know it, Danza plays himself in And Just Like That.
Che Pasa feels like a fever dream. But I’ll give Che the benefit of the doubt, though they might not deserve that much, because most of the pilot’s storyline is relayed through subplots of And Just Like That: in short phone calls, through arguments, and in scenes where Miranda is the main character. But I want to know everything about Che’s pilot. HBO, take this as an opportunity to turn one of the And Just Like That episodes into a backdoor pilot leading to the rest of Che Pasa.
Besides the cast list and potential costumes, here’s what we do know: Danza stars as Che’s father, which would have to make him either Mexican or Irish, as Che is both. The studio opts for Mexican American, but that makes him insecure—and rightful so!—seeing as Danza himself is clearly not Mexican. His full name is actually “Anthony Salvatore Iadanza,” so it’s intriguing to me that anyone behind this pilot would ever find it conceivable that this man could pass as anything other than Italian.
Nevertheless, Che persisted. Danza has a heart-to-heart with them, explaining that he is on board with the message of the show, but he can’t play a person of Mexican heritage. The guy from Who’s the Boss has made it this long without being canceled, but that would surely do it. The show concedes and makes him Italian, which is adjacent enough to the Irish side of Che for them to begrudgingly agree. Their mother in Che Pasa will be Mexican—though it’s Che’s father who is Mexican in real life—and will be dead… for the purposes of the plot.
Instead, Che will have all of their cultural heart-to-hearts with their abuela, which is great, because the actress cast in the role has been “killing it” in the read-throughs, according to Danza. What insight does this give us about the show? It’s a family sitcom. Maybe. But so far, it really seems to be all drama.
“I think what you’re doing here is really important. And cute!” Danza tells Che. “You’re going to open a lot of hearts and change a lot of minds.” Let’s just say “really important and cute” are the genres of the show.
We get some of that Italian in this week’s episode, “Chapter Three,” which sees Che running their lines with Miranda.
“How is it going, my little cannoli?” Miranda says, as Danza.
“Dad, can you please not call me that?” Che fires back.
“I’m not allowed to call you that anymore? Who am I offending now—pastry or cream?”
This should be award-winning writing. That’s all I’ll say.
The lines go on to reveal a sad scene where Che cries over their identity, but this is far too dark for Che, who doesn’t want to portray being non-binary as a “tragedy.” Again, I’m confused about the genre, and also why the cannolis mattered so much to this scene?
In another scene from this week’s episode, Miranda attends the taping of the pilot and sits in the live studio audience. Right before the taping, Miranda gets a phone call from her son, Brady (Niall Cunningham), who has just gone through a break-up in Europe. Miranda wants to continue chatting with him, but the security at the studio needs to take her phone away, so she sneaks it in. That’s how we get a brief glimpse at the big cannoli turning point in the pilot.
None of it is all that funny. That’s possibly the point, as Che rebels against the writers’ terrible “they/them jokes” and bits from Danza like: “For a gay kid, he was pretty good at putt-putt.”
So, the plot of Che Pasa is just Che being Che? The pilot seems to be teeing up a show that would consist of Che groaning while their offensive (but loving!) father works towards being politically correct about his child’s gender identity. Perhaps the next episode would see Che’s dating life, in which a lover like Miranda breaks up with them over a post-it note. I’d watch—but I don’t think the world is ready for Che Pasa.
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Read more of our coverage of And Just Like That HERE.
