From the moment MAX announced that the Sex and the City 2.0 (AKA And Just Like That) would proceed sans-Samantha, fans questioned the show’s ability to deliver the authentic chemistry the original show became so well known for. As all SATC fans know, Samantha was a key member to the core group of NYC besties — contributing a necessary energy that is hard (if not impossible) to replace.
It was clear the AJLT would need a fourth…but who? As the updated SATC began to hit its stride, we met a plethora of new (and matured) characters. Podcast producer and comedian Che Diaz, documentarian Lisa Todd Wexley, lawyer Herbert Wexley, and professor Dr. Nya Wallace are among some of the newbies…but there’s one more addition that has the same lust for life Samantha embodied. Her name is Seema Patel.
Image via Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max
Seema, who is played by iconic actress Sarita Choudhury, is the epitome of opulence. She is the cool, savvy, realist counterpart to Carrie's romantic mythologizing persona. Seema's rarely seen without a cigarette in hand, and certainly never without her beloved Birkin — all of which contributes to her effervescent appeal. Sure, she serves some (very, very) fabulous looks, but Seema is far more than that. She's a necessary balance to the Big Three, a great replication of Samantha’s delightfully unbothered self, bringing old-school, New Yorker sensibilities to the forefront of the show.
Her entrance into the show was much-needed, coming after a call from fans for greater diversity among the cast — a “real” reflection of NYC, if you will. The show has always teetered between fiction and real-time societal commentary, so it was about time they introduced new dynamics, like Seema, to the group.
Image via Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max
And just like that (pun VERY intended), Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte turned into, well…still Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte. In the show’s attempts to diversify the cast, they seem to have forgotten “diversity girlfriends” aren’t quite what fans were looking for. Rather than naturally integrate non-white women into the core group, AJLT brought in Nya (Karen Pittman), Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker), and Seema as these sort of tokenized peripheral characters, each of whom are tied to one of the OG ladies and rarely interact with one another.
Regardless, Seema blazes across the screen as the real, messy person she is — the kind of character we need in AJLT. She swears, smokes, and rebuts unapologetically in ways we can all relate to. Her life is as chaotic as it is glamorous, and fans are begging for more.Image via Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max
Slowly but surely, Seema is filling the Samantha-sized hole in Carrie’s life and in our hearts. Though Samantha can never truly be replaced, everyone needs a somewhat-erratic but always grounded bestie to confess your deepest secrets too, who rushes to your side in a COVID crisis donning the most impractical Louis Vuitton mask to aid in your recovery.
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Header image courtesy of Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max.
