Sex sells! Taking cues from Kim Cattrall, meet Sarita Choudhury dubbed the ‘new Samantha’ from And Just Like That...

News that Kim Cattrall is set to appear in Sex and the City revival And Just Like That broke the internet. Now, a star of the show reveals what it really means.

She was dubbed the “new Samantha” but there is more to Sarita Choudhury than comparisons to Kim Cattrall’s famous Sex and the City character.

The British-Indian actor, 56, returns as Seema in the second season of And Just Like That … filling the void left by Cattrall’s departure, as a single woman living her best life in New York City.

As for the comparisons to Samantha (of course, there is much anticipation over Cattrall’s appearance later in the AJLT season), Choudhury says: “I don’t mind it!”

“I had never connected any similarity before I joined the show,” Choudhury says. “When you scripts, you just see your lines … it wasn’t until a few people mentioned it to me, that I was like, oh! And then I realised, well, we are put in similar situations. There are many similarities – I took it as a compliment.”

Nicole Ari Parker, Karen Pittman, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Sarita Choudhury of And Just Like That... Picture: Getty Images

Sarita Choudhury stars as Seema in AJLT. Picture: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Choudhury joined the Sex and the City revival in its debut season, playing high-flying New York real estate agent Seema, who becomes close friends with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker).

Now in its second season, AJLT finally finds its flow, taking cues from the original series in its frank handling of sex and dating in Manhattan. Case in point: more sex scenes, nudity, strap ons – and a plot line involving a man Seema is dating … and a “penis pump”.

How did Choudhury approach shooting risque scenes? “When you watch the old episodes of Sex and the City, you’re like, whoa, that was a wild scene,” Choudhury reflects. “But usually, they’re kind of clothed and there’s not much [nudity] shown. It’s the situation that’s wild.

“You never feel exposed. I did a scene in season two, the actual situation, I’d never heard of. I didn’t know this existed,” she says, referring to the X-rated material.

The new episodes of AJLT are a lot more fun and carefree than the heavy material depicted in season one – which focused on the aftermath of Big’s death of a heart attack, to Sara Ramirez’s polarising non-binary comedian character Che Diaz, to the more forced and jarring commentary about serious social issues.

Sarah Jessica Parker on top of New York’s Empire State Building. Picture: Getty Images

Choudhury’s was one of the new characters introduced who actually landed with audiences. While she may still be regarded as “new” to Sex and the City viewers, Choudhury has had an acclaimed career as an actor. Her breakout role was in 1991’s Mississippi Masala, with Denzel Washington, and she had parts in The Hunger Games and TV series, Homeland. Living and working in New York, she ran in similar circles to SJP.

“I remember the first day I worked with her [on AJLT], and I looked over and I saw somebody put her mic on and I thought, ‘here we go’. We both live in New York City, I’d said hi to her before.

“There is a community in New York, especially as an actor, you have no money, you do theatre, and you have no money. You do a little film, and you still have no money. You keep building up, and finally, you see each other doing well.

“That was my life with Sarah Jessica … building the friendship was almost taking what we had already, in New York. One thing with Sarah Jessica, sometimes you’ll be working with her and she’ll really be looking at you – and you’re like, ‘oh hi’. Some actors are brilliant but you don’t necessarily feel that. And she has that.”

The OG stars of Sex and the City including Kim Cattrall, far left. Picture: AP Photo/Craig Blankenhorn, New Line Cinema

AJLT has been praised for its handling of sex and dating for women in their 50s – much like the original series did for women in their 30s.

“We’ve finally accepted that sadly, there are divorces. Breakups in your 40s happen. And suddenly, you’re like, what? I have to go out there again,” Choudhury says. “I think with that, it led to, OK, we’re here now, everyone is eager to get back out there [dating].

“It’s almost like everyone is looking for love, and like full-on. I mean, how many bedroom scenes are there in season two? Like, so many. I would cross like an actress in the hallway – you know someone has a bed scene when they have a robe on. And I was like, why is everyone in robes all the time?”

With fame coming in her 50s, Choudhury has taken inspo from her cohorts like White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge who is super hot property in Hollywood later in her career.

“You see Jennifer Coolidge right now … she’s amazing and like, who would have thought at our age, this is when this kind of thing [success] explodes?

“I see someone like Jennifer Coolidge and it inspires me. It allows for these kinds of roles to start existing. To have more to them, they have to do well.

“Only 10 years ago someone may have said, ‘oh, you know, what are you going to do in your 50s?’ Now, it’s the opposite – there are more roles. We still are not doing diverse casting, inclusive casting, well enough. I mean, it’s still pathetic.

“But this show [AJLT] is handling it really well. We have our own storylines, it’s only recently that the best friend [character] wasn’t only asking about the friend’s life – it’s very new for them to ask us as well.”

A key part of Seema’s character is the fashion, and in the new season, she sports a hooded silk gold Balmain gown to the Met Gala, accessorised with a pair of sunglasses attached to a stick – styled by costume designers, Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago.

“I was worried that Seema had left my body for a bit. And when I put that outfit on, I was so back,” Choudhury says.

“Literally, if you wear that much animal print on you, you just have to walk normally, and you look like you’re walking like this.”

As in the original series, New York – as a city – is almost a character itself.

“New York is different than any place I have ever been to, this would be the breeding ground for that kind of character [Seema],” Choudhury says. “I also don’t know that many characters who are that unapologetic – I need more friends like that.

“It’s a fast-paced city, and to survive it, you have to move fast. You want the same thing everyone else wants: love, security, all those things. You’re trained in the city, if you’re going to make it, to navigate those things, and still try and be happy. A lot of people leave New York, ‘cause that’s a hard thing to negotiate, you know? I think the winners are people like Seema, they’re animals, in a city jungle.”

And Just Like That … is streaming now on Binge. A new episode is released every Thursday.