Rosie O’Donnell shared that she enjoyed filming season 3 of And Just Like That and deemed it as the most fun. However, she admitted that she wasn’t a huge fan of the original show, Sex and the City, when it first aired. Being a lesbian woman, the show didn’t resonate with her in the same way it did with her straight friends.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly while discussing Hulu’s Unleashing Hope: The Power of Service Dogs for Children with Autism, O’Donnell mentioned how her straight friends couldn’t stop talking about the show, discussing details like Mr. Big and the characters’ outfits. She humorously recalled her confusion over their excitement and discussions about the show.
She added, “People think I noticed ‘girl things’ like clothes and shoes and jewelry, and I don’t.”
O’Donnell further explained her perspective by reminiscing on a separate experience with Law & Order: SVU staple Mariska Hargitay.
O’Donnell shared an amusing encounter with Mariska Hargitay at an event, where Hargitay expressed embarrassment for wearing the same dress O’Donnell had seen her in the week before. O’Donnell found it amusing and assured Hargitay that she wouldn’t have even noticed or remembered what dress she wore to an event two weeks prior.
According to O’Donnell, Hargitay’s remark was “the weirdest thing” she’s heard.
“That’s when I realized I have like, you know, 0.002 percent of girl genes. I have no idea about what dress it is,” O’Donnell quipped. “And a lot of [Sex and the City] was about that, but I loved it, and I watched it. I loved the women’s performances and the friendships that they had. But, you know, it wasn’t, like, The L Word for me because I’m a big L, that’s why.”
O’Donnell announced via Instagram in May 2024 that she was joining the cast of And Just Like That season 3 as a character named Mary. AJLT, which airs on Max, is a revival of HBO’s SATC starring Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw), Kristin Davis, (Charlotte York-Goldenblatt) and Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes) in modern-day New York. The last remaining member of the iconic quartet, Kim Cattrell’s Samantha Jones, has only made a brief cameo in a singular season 2 episode.
Specific details about …And Just Like That season 3 and O’Donnell’s role have yet to be revealed.
“I had a blast doing it, and that’s all I can say,” she teased to Us. “Everything else you’re gonna have to watch.”
In addition to filming a cameo on And Just Like That, O’Donnell executive-produced the Hulu documentary special Unleashing Hope: The Power of Service Dogs for Children with Autism.
“I mean, the whole thing is beautiful. It was a very emotional two weeks for me when I was there in their training facility, which is, like, a beautiful college campus,” she explained about the process of being paired with her dog Kuma, from Guide Dogs of America. “And, you know, for the first time in a long time since being famous, I was alone. I didn’t have an assistant or a publicist or a makeup artist. You know, you get used to traveling in packs when you have a team that helps you survive show business. There you were, just a mom and a family with a kid needing help, and you met other families in that same position. It was a very, very emotional thing, and that’s why I wanted to make the documentary.”
She continued, “I wanted to give other people the chance to experience all of that, and then to experience the amount of help that a service dog can bring your autistic child and your whole family.”
O’Donnell’s youngest child Clay, 12, is on the autism spectrum, which also inspired her frequent work with the Autism Speaks nonprofit.
And Just Like That season 3 premieres on Max Thursday, May 29, and new episodes drop weekly. Unleashing Hope, meanwhile, is now streaming on Hulu.
