Here's How Willie Garson Was Written Off 'And Just Like That' Following His Death

The late Willie Garson played the beloved character Stanford Blatch on the HBO series Sex and the City and the HBO Max show And Just Like That, but he sadly passed away in the middle of production on the sequel series.

Willie‘s final episode was the third episode of the season and his exit was explained in the fourth episode, which just premiered.

The rest of this post contains spoilers, so continue reading at your own risk!

Click inside to find out how Willie Garson was written off the show…

Stanford was written off the show, but he was not killed off like Mr. Big was in the first episode of the season.

We learn in episode four that Stanford decided to get a divorce from his husband and he moved to Tokyo to manage a 17-year-old TikTok star. Carrie learned of his departure through a letter, in which he wrote, “by the time you read this, I’ll be in Tokyo.”

He added, “I couldn’t tell you — not without crying. And you have had enough crying.” He seemingly alluded to Big’s death with that last comment.

Executive producer and showrunner Michael Patrick King explained to Vanity Fair that Willie was originally supposed to be in the full season.

“When we started [filming], Willie was in all 10 episodes. We wrote the most hilarious comic, tragic arc for Stanford,” he said. “I didn’t know he was so sick, and I was on set one night saying, ‘And then this happens to Stanford and then this happens and then this happens and this happens.’ And he’s just looking at me. Then he took a turn for the worst. I really thought we could get through the season. When he took a turn, we had to talk about the fact that he couldn’t make it. And we had to adjust [storylines].”

Sarah Jessica Parker said in an interview with Vulture that Willie finished filming just says before he passed so that he could spend his final days with his son.

She said, “He intended and wanted to complete the entire season. He had a very significant storyline, moreso than ever, so it was my fervent hope that he would be able to do it all. And for Willie to have to leave, you knew that it was serious. If Willie could be there and do one more episode or one more scene, he would have done it. But he knew what he needed to do to take care of his son and of himself, and I am so glad that he did that because when he passed away, he wanted to do so in an environment and circumstance that made him feel safe and comfortable.”

Only one person on set knew that Willie was sick until “thing became undeniable.”