'And Just Like That...' Peloton Has the Last Laugh Over Series Death Shocker

MAJOR SPOILER ALERT! Do not keep reading if you have not yet watched the first episode of "And Just Like That..."

Peloton, having taken a public-image beating in the wake of the surprise death of Big on Episode 1 of the HBO Max hit "And Just Like That...," didn't spin its wheels in addressing the controversy.

Viewers watched Big suffer a fatal heart attack after a vigorous Peloton ride on the episode, sending stock in the company plummeting in real life. Taken by surprise by the plot development, the company asserted it had signed off on the use of its brand as well as the use of a fictional Peloton instructor, but that it had not been made aware that Big would die.

Now, the fitness giant is offering a tongue-in-cheek response, a short ad featuring Chris Noth, who plays Big on the show, canoodling with a beautiful woman — Jess King, who played Big's Peloton instructor — before a romantic fire. "To new beginnings," Noth says. His companion echoes the sentiment, throwing in, "You look great."

"Oh, I feel great," Noth says. "Shall we take another ride? Life's too short not to." There is a Peloton nearby, but the innuendo is clear. They laugh.

At this point, the ad features a serio-comic, nearly breathless voice-over by Ryan Reynolds reassuring viewers, "And just like that, the world was reminded that regular cycling stimulates and improves your heart, lungs, and circulation, reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases. Cycling strengthens your heart muscles, lowers resting pulse, and reduces blood-fat levels. He's alive."

Yeah, seems like all those cigars might've doomed Big more than exercise.

Variety reports the ad was not something Peloton had planned all along. In a statement to the outlet, Peloton's senior communications lead explained, "Working with Ryan Reynolds and his marketing company, Maximum Effort, we filmed a spot with actor Chris Noth and Peloton instructor Jess King. We filmed the spot in New York City this weekend and the entire project came together in less than 48 hours… Maximum Effort was recently acquired by software company MNTN, and Peloton was an early hand-raiser to be a part of MNTN’s new Creative-As-A-Subscription (CaaS) service. This enabled both teams to quickly together to produce this ad.”

Reynolds confirmed the ad was a 48-hour effort with a cheeky cast pic from the set:

Carrie on! And take a look: