Seema Patel Is The New Samantha Jones (And Best Character) On 'And Just Like That'

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.

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.

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.