Maybe Che Diaz’s Standup in ‘And Just Like That…’ Is Meant to Be This Shockingly Bad

And just like that…And Just Like That… has returned. The first two episodes of the second season dropped early Thursday morning, and so far, this season seems to be a slight improvement from the first, which means that it is solidly OK.

The season kicks off with a montage of each character—Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda and their own personal POC BFFs Lisa and Seema—slinking towards their respective partner with “fuck me” eyes. (Except for Miranda’s BFF, Nya, whose husband is now estranged after a trying fertility journey—we see her, instead, staring emotionally at a photo of the two of them.) Soundtracking these five different sexcapades is Elton John and Britney Spears’ 2022 remix of “Hold Me Closer.” The gals are back and they are fucking—an activity that felt notably lacking in Season 1. So that’s fun.

But, as is the case with all of the Sex and the City franchise installments, the series’ watch-ability isn’t really tied to if it’s “good” or not. I’m of the opinion that none of us are watching the show because of its quality of storytelling. Rather, we’ve laced up our designer heels and are along for the wobbly ride because of the unhealthy emotional connection we forged with these characters whenever it was we first met them. (Which was probably in some worryingly vulnerable state.) At this point, whether it’s your hate watch or genuine obsessive binge, you’re tuning in.

But there is one discussion of “quality” that continues to plague me and, seemingly, most of the fan base. Is Che Diaz’s standup, erhm “comedy concerts,” supposed to be as bad as they are? Because it is so, so, so bad and, so far, this season offers zero improvements. In fact, it might be even worse.

In the first season, Che’s comedy was not funny but it at least followed the rhythm of a standup set. Their intonations were a mix of a motivating Ted Talk and John Early’s “Vicky with a V” character. In lieu of punchlines, there was practiced emphasis on certain words as if they were punchlines, giving both the onscreen and real audience cues of when to laugh. “He, she, they, them, please tell me which box to check,” Che jokingly pleads while filming their “comedy concert” in the first season, pausing to allow an amount of uproarious applause and laughter that would have been acceptable if there had been an actual joke. Charlotte tears up. Miranda is euphorically horny.

Cut to this season, Che and Miranda are in California and Che’s performing regularly at The Comedy Store. And I would like a refund! While last season at least mimicked the cadence of comedy, the first time we see Che, they end a set so abruptly it was one of two times I guffawed. (The second was when Tony Danza explains that he can’t play a Mexican character because he’ll be canceled by the woke online mob and his fanbase, the “Danza-lions.” No notes.)

“Yesterday I took an Uber from my bathroom to my bedroom. Yeah, it was too expensive,” Che says before pausing with a long “uhmmm.” They then bring their attention back to the crowd and, with the same inflection as Borat’s “my wife” they announce, “and that is my time.”

The timing and editing of Che’s standup sequence is so hilariously awful, I couldn’t help but wonder…is it intentional? Maybe the character is supposed to be a watered-down commentary on how you can’t be annoyingly woke and funny at the same time? Maybe, since Che is able to film a pilot, it’s a dig at out-of-touch entertainment executives? Maybe the writers are just leaning into how poorly the character has been received?

Although Che is notably less obnoxious and more well-rounded this season, I remain unconvinced that Miranda would fall for them because of their sense of humor. She is too shrewd and witty to laugh at hack LA traffic jokes! But maybe that is the point? Maybe Che’s awful comedy is meant to showcase just how bad Miranda has it for them and we’re left to speculate on the two’s erotic connection (sorry for that cursed phrase.) Maybe Miranda will come out of her fuck-haze halfway through this season and realize just how unfunny Che is. As I said, no amount of awfulness can make me turn away from this show. But I’d love for this character’s tremendously bad sense of humor to pay off in some way or another.