The Sex And The City revival was divisive from the get-go, but when its final instalment aired over the summer, even its most loyal viewers were disappointed at the way things played out.

However, speaking to the New York Post, Michael Patrick – who was previously one of the showrunners on Sex And The City – maintained that the franchise has always been a controversial one.

“When we did Sex And The City and the women were 35, there was a lot of criticism about ‘why aren’t these women married?’ and ‘why haven’t these women settled down?’ and ‘how annoying are these women?’,” the Emmy winner said.

These days, he continued, the comments are more along the lines of “why aren’t these women further along?”, “why are they still talking?” and “why do they still exist on camera?”.

According to Michael Patrick, And Just Like That was “daring” in the way it depicted “very vibrant women at a certain age”, which he said “rubbed society the wrong way”.

He added that “people, especially women who were in that wheelhouse, were really moved and felt very seen” by the reboot.

“When you’re pushing an edge [or] when you’re trying to do something that really isn’t on TV, there’s always going to be pushback,” he insisted. “But the creative work stands for itself.”

After the finale aired in August, Michael Patrick defended the decision to have the last ever outing for the Sex And The City gang include graphic scenes of an overflowing toilet.

“Whenever anyone in this universe, Sex And The City or And Just Like That, stands on a soapbox to make a speech, the soapbox breaks. We cannot take ourselves too seriously,” he said.

“For the gorgeousness of Carrie’s pink, sparkly top and tulle skirt – that’s the high – the low is a toilet filled up with shit. Because guess what? Being single, there’s a lot of shit, and relationships are a lot of shit,” Michael Patrick added.

“It’s the comedy, with the drama, with the romance, with the fairytale. I guess it’s a response to the fairytale.”

Sarah Jessica Parker – the show’s lead, as well as an executive producer – also defended the finale after it was slammed by both critics and viewers.