And Just Like That… season 3 is off to a positive start, giving Sarita Choudhury’s Seema Patel a stronger story and emboldening Samantha Jones’ (Kim Cattrall) replacement. The revival premiered in 2021, but And Just Like That… season 1 fell short of expectations, scoring a meager 43% on Rotten Tomatoes. Season 3 has shown some improvement, scoring a significantly higher 79% as of the writing of this article.

In Sex and the City’s original characters. However, a key element of the revival show was introducing new friends into the mix.

And Just Like That Season 3 Episode 2 Finally Gives Seema A Bigger Focus & Story

We're Seeing More Of Seema Patel In And Just Like That Season 3

In And Just Like That season 3, episode 2, Seema’s boss sets her up with a matchmaker (Cheri Oteri). She tells Seema to change the way she dresses and acts to attract men, and for a moment, Seema complies. However, at the end of her first date, Seema comes clean — she’s faking her agreeable and compliant nature, and, at 55, she doesn’t want to have to pretend who she is. The confession sends her date running, but Seema’s matchmaker storyline catalyzed Patel to take control over her narrative and how she wants to present herself when finding her person.

In season 3’s premiere, Seema dumped her movie producer boyfriend, Ravi (Armin Armiri), who sidelined her to movie crew duty when she gave him an ultimatum to show up in New York. With Seema’s dating storyline taking several turns in just the first couple of episodes, it appears that And Just Like That… season 3 intends to bring more growth to Choudhury’s character. A few And Just Like That… characters didn’t return for season 3, which gave Seema more room to grow.

And Just Like That Season 3 Is Finally Making Seema The Real Samantha Replacement

Kim Cattrall Won't Return As Samantha Jones In And Just Like That Season 3

With more misadventures for Seema, And Just Like That… season 3 is giving Patel more autonomy and development. Seema is a confident woman in her fifties who has never been married and is comfortable with that, but still sometimes longs for a person to share her life with — a relatable sentiment. The story is similar to Samantha Jones, and since it appears that Kim Cattrall won’t return to And Just Like That for season 3, and certainly not with the prominence Samantha used to have in the cast, it makes sense to embrace Seema as a more central character.

Over the last two seasons of And Just Like That…, we heard from Seema here and there, but she first had to lay the groundwork for meeting Carrie in season 1 as her real estate agent and becoming Bradshaw’s friend in season 2. And Just Like That season 2 ended with the ladies on the beach together in Greece. In season 3, Seema is genuinely just another friend, and emboldening her character makes Seema look even more like Samantha Jones, which is both bittersweet and genuinely exciting.

Carrie needs a Samantha in her life.

After a feud between Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall, it was clear that Samantha Jones would not appear in the revival show. While Kim Cattrall has a cameo in And Just Like That season 2’s finale, FaceTiming Carrie from a cab in London, there’s no momentum behind Cattrall's return to the show as one of the original four leading ladies. That said, Carrie needs a Samantha in her life. Jones was Bradshaw’s go-to gal-pal, more than Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and even Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), so replacing her is a positive, especially if it improves And Just Like That…