From 1998 to 2004, HBO’s “Sex and the City” dominated American pop culture. Whether you were Team Aiden or Team Big, or considered yourself a Samantha or a Charlotte, the real star of the show was the fashion. The ladies of Darren Star’s series may have constantly found themselves in the weeds of the New York dating scene, but they always looked fabulous.
Nearly two decades (and two movies) later, they returned to the small screen—well, three of them, at least. In December 2021, HBO Max premiered “And Just Like That…,” a series that digs into how Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda are faring today and introduces some fresh faces.
If you dream of strolling the streets of Manhattan with this stylish cast, strap on your Louboutins. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about “And Just Like That…,” from details about the upcoming season to audition advice from the series’ top talent.
JUMP TO
- What is “And Just Like That…” about?
- Who’s in the cast of “And Just Like That…”?
- How does the casting process work for “And Just Like That…”?
- Where can you find “And Just Like That…” casting calls and auditions?
- Who are the casting directors for “And Just Like That…”?
- What are the best audition tips for landing a role on “And Just Like That…”?
“And Just Like That…” follows the lives of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) as they navigate romance, grief, and female friendship in their 50s. The gang comes together to support Carrie after (spoiler alert!) the sudden death of her husband, John “Mr. Big” Preston (Chris Noth). Meanwhile, Charlotte and Harry (Evan Handler) grapple with raising their two teenage daughters (Cathy Ang and Alexa Swinton), and Miranda’s marriage to Steve (David Eigenberg) begins to crumble.
Kim Cattrall declined to return as Samantha Jones in Season 1, but reprises the role in Season 2’s finale, per Variety.
While Kim Cattrall didn’t officially return for the reboot, many of the original “Sex and the City” cast members joined “And Just Like That…” alongside various newcomers.
- Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw
- Cynthia Nixon as Miranda Hobbes
- Kristin Davis as Charlotte York
- Sara Ramirez as Che Diaz
- Mario Cantone as Anthony Marentino
- Evan Handler as Harry Goldenblatt
- Sarita Choudhury as Seema Patel
- Cathy Ang as Lily Goldenblatt
- Alexa Swinton as Rose Goldenblatt
- Niall Cunningham as Brady Hobbes
- Nicole Ari Parker as Lisa Todd Wexley
- Karen Pittman as Dr. Nya Wallace
- David Eigenberg as Steve Brady
- Bobby Lee as Jackie Nee
“And Just Like That…” Season 2’s cast promises to pack in even more nostalgia as John Corbett reprises his role as fan favorite Aidan Shaw.
With an established cast as the basis for this HBO Max reboot, production already had its leads set. For new faces in the ensemble, CDs Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey sought to bring in a more diverse group of actors. One notable addition is “Grey’s Anatomy” alum Sara Ramirez. They portray standup comedian Che Diaz, who, like Ramirez themself, is Mexican American, bisexual, and nonbinary. When Michael Patrick King, who developed the series, asked Ramirez to join the ensemble, the actor sat down with him to establish what this would mean for the show.
“When Michael Patrick King first offered me the role in a Zoom meeting [in January 2021], we talked a lot about where I’ve been, where I’m at, and what the possibilities are for this particular representation onscreen. While we know that visibility is not justice—justice is changing material conditions for people who are suffering—visibility is very important,” Ramirez told W Magazine. They also noted that they were a part of the writing process, helping to infuse an element of inclusiveness into “And Just Like That…” that the original lacked.
“I also asked that we get some support—some advocate energy in the writers’ room for Che as a nonbinary person,” they added. “I suggested [that the writers] reach out to GLAAD as they [looked] out for LGBTQ+ representation in the media, and they did. [GLAAD] helped us every step of the way to ensure that we are not harming the queer and trans community with this representation and with the language that they use. We wanted to be really intentional about this, knowing that nonbinary people are not a monolith and knowing that [there isn’t] only one way to be queer.”
“And Just Like That…” Season 2 cast with Backstage in early December. Grant Wilfley Casting issued calls for extras to appear as New York City nightclub patrons. Production was seeking talent of all genders, aged 25–50. The casting team also issued a call for a doorman and a notice for a club security guard.
Along with those resources, you can always check out our roundup of HBO-inspired gigs or list of background castings to find the latest projects looking for talent now.
Canfield and Telsey (“The Gilded Age,” “This Is Us”) have been leading the charge on casting “And Just Like That….” Already an established duo, this team knows how to assemble ensembles that keep audiences tuning in week after week.
Telsey told us that, in the audition room, actors “can expect to hopefully be seen and to hopefully be chosen. One thing I want every actor to know is if they don’t get the specific job they might be coming into the room for, there are so many other things about that experience that are being carried over. Always remember: You’re not being rejected—you just didn’t get that job.
“We have this box in our office, and [when] every one of our CDs comes out of a session, those audition sheets get circulated so everyone can see who might have done something that might be right for the thing that they’re casting,” he continued. “That’s the fun thing about our office, because we have so many different kinds of projects happening at the same time.”
Canfield noted that “so many of our projects feed other projects. One person gets a job when you’re casting people, but that doesn’t mean one person was good. On every project we work on, we’re constantly learning new actors and seeing actors we love try something new. This happened with a pilot I just cast. A young actor we cast in a play years ago had gotten close to a show that I had done three years ago, didn’t get the part, and now that producer and I are working on a new project. She came in and slayed and got the lead of a series. I don’t know if that would have happened if I hadn’t seen her for so many different kinds of projects and [gotten] to see how much range she actually has.”
Be flexible: “You can work on your auditioning for hours and hours and hours, and you can get it to a place where you think it’s great; and maybe it is pretty good. But if the director gives you an adjustment and you can’t do it, you’re sunk,” Nixon told us. “Because the director doesn’t expect you to come in with a finished performance; the director hopes that you are in some way right for the part, that you are smart and collaborative, but also that you aren’t just going to come up with your performance and then shellac it, frozen, into place. You can come in and give a B audition, but then if you take a note and adjust what you’re doing, it goes up to an A automatically. Whereas if you come in with a B and then just stay there, you’re not going to get called back.”
Follow your gut: “Try and trust your instincts more and be more in the moment,” Nixon said. “Don’t worry so much, and don’t shy away from things that you’re going to fail at. Failing is not the worst thing. Failing actually can be really valuable.” After all, when Nixon lost her bid for New York governor, that freed her up to join “And Just Like That…” when the opportunity arose.
Embrace every opportunity: When it comes to breaking into TV, Karen Pittman, who plays Dr. Nya Wallace, advises her fellow actors to take every chance they can get. “Say yes to every single opportunity. It doesn’t matter if it’s not the biggest guest star [role] or the biggest recurring role,” she told us. “Take all the opportunities you can to figure out what it feels like to have the experience of being on set, because that really is part of the technique of working in television: being able to focus and concentrate with a bunch of things going on around you.”