It turns out the And Just Like That… writers don’t actually hate David Eigenberg.
Following the most recent episode of the HBO Max series, writer Roxane Gay questioned on Twitter, “On And Just Like That, do they hate the actor who plays Steve? They have given his character not one good scene. He just walks around yelling uttering absolute nonsense. It’s bizarre. He was so lovely.”
Gay wasn’t alone in her criticism of the series’ treatment of the good-natured dad, played by David Eigenberg. Another Twitter user added, “And Just Like That has done Steve so dirty GOOD LORD,” and this person said, “Not a fan of most of the decisions on And Just Like That…, but I really hate what’s happened to Steve.”
But show writers Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky tell Vanity Fair that Steve’s sad story line is not motivated by spite. On the contrary, Zuritsky says, “Everyone on the show, every single person, loves David Eigenberg as a human being.”
So why are they putting Steve (Eigenberg) through hell by making his perpetually grumpy wife, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), cheat on him with Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez) while he remains blissfully—or naively—unaware, in addition to giving him hearing loss? Well, Rottenberg and Zuritsky say that it’s not about him—it’s about Miranda.