The AJLT Writers Revealed The Truth About Aidan Not Showing Up In Season 1

The And Just Like That Season 1 finale ended in a much-needed moment of catharsis for Carrie Bradshaw, but for viewers, there was still something missing. Ever since John Corbett said he’d be returning as Aidan in the sequel series, fans had been on the edge of their seats as each new AJLT episode dropped, awaiting Carrie’s reunion with the one that got away. But strangely, it never happened. Recently, the And Just Like That writers addressed John Corbett’s quotes about Aidan being in AJLT, and it sounds like *someone* may have missed a memo.

The whole Aidan controversy started back in April 2021, a couple months before And Just Like That began production. At the time, the sequel series was still a big mystery, as fans tried to guess which characters from the original show may come back, and Aidan was at the top of everyone’s list. So it was very exciting when Corbett confirmed to Page Six that he’d be bringing Aidan back for the show. Not only that, the actor said he believed he’d be in “quite a few” episodes of the series.

Cut to Feb. 3, 2022 — HBO Max released the big And Just Like That finale, and there was still no sign of Aidan.

In a Deadline interview that was published the same day as the finale, AJLT executive producer Michael Patrick King and writers Elisa Zuritsky and Julie Rottenberg revealed that despite Corbett’s statement, they never shared any plans to bring Aidan back.

“John Corbett should be writing personal apology notes,” Rottenberg said when asked about the actor’s announcement that he’d be in the series.

King went on to clarify that he and the writers felt Carrie’s story was just too important to muddle with Aidan returning. “We always try to be very restrained and look at the reality of what people are experiencing and it has nothing to do with Aidan coming or not coming,” King said. “It really just felt like this was a lot for Carrie. This season was a lot. We wanted to get her through this and into the light — the last episode is called, ‘Seeing the Light.’ We wanted to get her out. [Aidan’s return] is a big storyline that everybody at home wrote that we had never intended.”

The explanation makes sense, but why Corbett would say he’s in a show he wound up never appearing in is still a mystery. Here’s hoping And Just Like That gets a second season and that fans will finally get to see Carrie reunite with Aidan.