Karen Pittman Knows ‘And Just Like That …’ Isn’t Your Mother’s ‘Sex and the City’

Karen Pittman is well aware that the relationships shown in And Just Like That … are a far cry from the ones audiences expected from Sex and the City (see: girl meets hunky, emotionally unavailable boy, girl falls hard, girl gets over heartbreak with shoes or booze, repeat). But as the actress — who’s currently in her second season of portraying AJLT’s Dr. Nya Wallace — quickly points out, that’s entirely intentional. 

“I mean, it's out there,” she tells InStyle of the relationships that both the franchise’s new additions and Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw, Kristin Davis’s Charlotte York Goldenblatt, and Cynthia Nixon’s Miranda Hobbes pursue in the reboot. “Interestingly enough, Sex and the City and also And Just Like That … have always been right on the cusp of telling the most cutting-edge, cultural, social stories related to women,” she continues. “I think the idea of opening up the aperture of what the definition of women means is what this story, this platform, and both of these shows have always been about.”

Even so (as with any beloved show), with great change comes great backlash, and while Sex and the City loyalists may still be getting used to the more modern themes found in the reboot over a year-and-a-half after the series’s first installment hit our screens (which, for Pittman’s character, meant deciding to take a break from her marriage after dealing with an infertility journey and differing opinions on the idea of having children), the actress says that the storyline won’t slow down as the characters head into season 2, which premieres June 22 on Max — the streamer formerly known as HBO Max.

“You'll see that we cover more ground. We're more comfortable covering the ground. The comedy is even more buoyant, thus the characters come in and out of each other's lives in just an organic way,” she explains. “I think audiences will find that in season 2, we put our foot on the gas even more in order to really forge a new way of looking at the characters and telling good stories.”

One major aspect of telling those good stories, Pittman notes? Making sure that each character accurately reflects the diversity of the New York City we see today. “It's opening up the story for all of us to understand what women look like, and that includes trans women. It includes non-binary people,” she says, adding that she feels privileged to play a role in broadening representation. 

"I was definitely one of those women who loved watching Sex and the City and wished that I had seen more of myself on it, because I saw myself in it,” she says. “I loved Carrie. I loved Samantha. I loved Miranda. I loved Charlotte. I was one of those characters at any time in my life, or all of them all at once in one night.”

Flash-forward to today and Pittman has more than made room for herself at the table. Whether she’s serving both style and wisdom as Nya (“She's a real reflection of what a woman of color, a Black woman, looks like in Brooklyn, New York City. Like an honest-to-God reflection,” Pittman says.), or gracing our screens alongside Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston as Mia Jordan on Apple TV+’s The Morning Show, the gravity of what Pittman’s characters mean to people is not lost on the star. 

While she still may be working on discovering exactly what her roles are doing for others — “I definitely get the DMs from women who really talk about how meaningful it is to see the work that I do on the show, and it resonates very deeply with me as a human being,” she shares — Pittman says that her main goal will always be to highlight the common aspects of humanity found in each woman that she’s able to play.

“I will be very happy when we can get to the point where we're just looking at a variety of women and sharing their experiences and feeling like, ‘Oh, yeah, that's me. I've had that same experience,’” Pittman says. “But having said that, I know that it is really, really important that all women see themselves represented in this show and on this platform in this particular way. It gives us permission to dream. It gives us permission to allow ourselves to experience vicariously what our lives could look like. And it's actually really liberating and meaningful.”

Read on as Karen chats with InStyle about what it’s like to have Cynthia Nixon as a scene partner (NBD), which actress she’s been most starstruck to work with, and why Thursdays may just be her favorite day of the week. 

Before joining And Just Like That …, what was your initial experience with Sex and the City and its characters? 
All of my friends, from Los Angeles to New York City, were auditioning for these [AJLT] parts because of the Sex and the City stories, those seasons, those women. Iconic. They expressed what we all sort of felt as women emotionally, socially, culturally. I mean, it was a touchstone for all of us. And I was definitely one of those women who loved watching Sex and the City and wished that I had seen more of myself on it, because I saw myself in it. I loved Carrie. I loved Samantha. I loved Miranda. I loved Charlotte. I was one of those characters at any time in my life, or all of them all at once in one night. 

What do you most enjoy about playing Nya?
My character, she's got a lot more little slapstick, fun moments this season, but she really is that woman that you see in Brooklyn with natural hair, just a really funky style. I feel so privileged to represent this woman, because I think she is actually here in New York. She's actually here in Brooklyn right now walking down the street.

What’s it been like to get to serve as that representation that wasn’t always as present in the original Sex and the City series?
Well, as an actor and as a woman of color, you try not to get caught up in the conversation around representation, because your job really is just to reflect the humanity of all women in this particular experience. But what it means to the audience is bigger than just what I'm doing, so I've been trying to balance those two. I've been trying to equally reflect upon, "Oh, well, does this character really reflect women honestly, but also does it reflect the universal, authentic experience that we really all have?”

But the whole conversation on representation, it's so much bigger than I can even fathom. It's also something when creating that I keep way far in the back of my mind. It feels like it's bigger than I could fathom. But I know it means a lot to the women who watch the show, and so it means a lot to me that I'm able to do it. I feel privileged.

Why do you think it’s important for audiences to become familiar with these new types of characters?
I think it's really important for characters like Sara Ramirez’s Che Diaz to become part of our conversation and completely normalized in television because the more that we see characters that look like Che, the more we are going to be accepting not only of people like Che, but parts of ourselves that are different. We don't necessarily know how to accept them, and we're curious about it.

In season 1, we see Nya struggling with infertility. In what ways has your own experience with motherhood allowed you to better understand and tell this part of Nya’s story?
Well, I think what Nya wanted and wants is a partner on her journey, and I certainly understand that. I'm a single mother, actually. I have two children. There was a period where I felt very disappointed, quite frankly, in my experience as a woman — that I didn't have a partner to go through this life with. And I realized that I wasn't going to be one of those women who was like, "Oh, we have been together for 30, 40 years,” and I really had to reconcile that. That really resonated with me. What I can say about Nya's arc this season is that what deeply resonated with me is trying to recover and restore a sense of joy and optimism and hope after having experienced a loss of your partner. 

What I love about Nya, and you'll see this in episode one and two and in episode three, is how she kind of turns it over. I mean, she's kind of a woman who's like, "Yeah, I'm moving on." And I love that. I'm one of those people that kind of wallows in it like, "Oh, God." But she's one of those people that I feel inspired by. We see her go through that experience, and we chart that course with her over 11 episodes, which is such a gift. So, I'm similar to Nya in a lot of ways, but mostly now I'm trying to find the joy in the fulfillment and the experience of what it means to not necessarily be able to reflect on a long, long relationship and still be out here, a single woman dating.

When season 1 was airing, I saw that you said it’s not your character’s job to teach Miranda how to be “a woke white woman.” How did you and Cynthia Nixon work together to keep Miranda and Nya’s relationship from falling into those kinds of tropes?
We had a lot of conversations behind the scenes. Cynthia is obviously an incredible actress, and she also was involved in the development and the look of episode 6 [in season 1], which is where I had my first sex scene ever on television. She is an extraordinary scene partner in that we were able to discuss things that I thought were really important for my character over the arc of the season. And every time my character comes on screen, I wanted to be able to further the audience's understanding of who she is.

Cynthia was so helpful in that as we talked through the scenes, what the character wants, what the character was doing. Not just as a fellow actor in the scene with me, but also as a director and an actor who understood what the storytelling was like in the earlier chapters of Sex and the City. She also was just a great person to talk to behind the scenes and share stories with. She's been really instrumental in me feeling comfortable with the level of focus and attention that has been on the show. Her and Kristin Davis. But Cynthia's just great. She's a great partner to have. I feel very, very lucky that Nya is partnered with her over the course of season 1 and 2. It's fun.

Between playing Nya on And Just Like That and also playing Mia Jordan on The Morning Show, you’re currently a part of two of the most beloved female-centered, female-driven shows on TV right now. What’s it been like to work on both of these projects?
I've learned so much witnessing these incredible actresses and their process and their craft, how exacting they are and uncompromising they are in their focus on telling a great story, a unique story, one that's daring and original. It's been such a really interesting gift for me as an actress to watch [Sarah Jessica Parker] and Cynthia, and then fly back to L.A. and do scenes with Reese [Witherspoon].

It's been such a lesson learning how to articulate what you need as an actor, what you want in your storyline, and how you think the character needs to be portrayed to the audience. Like, "Hey, I want to wear that costume," or, "No, I don't want to wear that one. I don't think that's her. I think this is her." And yes to this storyline. "Great job. I love this. Let's keep going in this direction."  And it does feel like there is change afoot in American television and that our audiences are responding so positively to it. I mean, there are some stories where you're like, "Why does this audience love to hate this story? What is this about?" But still, they're attentive, they're curious, they're watching, and I'm learning so much about what good storytelling looks like.

How long did it take for you to feel comfortable speaking up on your character’s behalf?
I mean, probably this past season on The Morning Show, I was more vocal than I've ever been. And I think that was welcome because we have a new showrunner, Charlotte Stoudt, and she really was curious at exploring what my thoughts and what my ideas were. 

But I think also the great part about working with women executive producers and storytellers is that they're interested in what you have to say. They really want to know what your thoughts are. I don't think anybody wanted me to come on to the show because I was a shrinking violet and just sort of do what they told me to do. I'm definitely one of those people that speaks up and says, "Hey, that's cool. That's really great. I'm into that." But I'm also one of those people that say, "Hey, I think maybe the next time we do this, why don't we do it this way?" I think that they're welcoming of that. They welcome that discussion. It's not about getting it wrong or getting it right. They want to be inclusive of your ideas.

We can't talk about And Just Like That without asking about the fashion. How much of a role did you have in deciding what your character wore this season and last?
I trust [the costume designers] Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago and their eyes as far as where the character is concerned. The only thing that I sort of wanted to stay close to and that I made sure that I kept my eye on was the originality of her Bohemian vibe. Michael Patrick King, [the show’s creator], wrote in that she wears braids, and so every iteration of the character you'll see her in her natural hair, which I think is really, really important. There is a whole vibe, a whole moment happening.

I’m excited to talk about the work that I'm hoping to do with Dove on the CROWN Coalition, which we're working on right now. I think it's so important that people understand and become more accepting of women's authentic hair, natural hair. And I'm working with them on their advocacy for the CROWN Act here in the United States. That was the only thing that I sort of had to keep my eye on, but [the costume designers were] so vigilant about making sure that my character looked distinct, and she looked different. All of the fashion that Nya wears, I love. I think it's so cool.

Were you just as surprised as the fans were when Kim Cattrall was revealed to have a cameo in the upcoming season?
No, we knew about it. I knew about it. I mean, my peers on the show knew about it. We just couldn't say anything. That's not the only surprise. This season is epic for surprises. It's just going to be so much fun. Everyone is going to get on the ride, and the audience is just going to love it. I can't say enough about it. But no, I did know about it. I was surprised that it came out when it did, because I really did think they were going to wait. But I'm happy to not have to have the burden of having this in my heart and trying to keep a secret.

Small Talk

Who is your first celebrity crush?
I mean, it might have been Gary Dourdan.

Do you believe in astrology? What's your sign?
I do believe in astrology to an extent and I'm a Taurus. My rising is Capricorn. My moon is Virgo. Very earth.

What was your last binge-watch?
It's been a while. I can tell you what I'm about to start watching: Never Have I Ever. I love Poorna Jagannathan. I love Mindy Kaling, who also is on The Morning Show. One of my favorite shows to watch with my kids.

What celebrity have you been the most starstruck to meet or work with so far?
Oh, that was definitely Jennifer [Aniston]. It's definitely Jen. I think during season 1, I just would sort of spin when she was on set. I'd be like, "Oh, God." But she is the kindest and sweetest, and so I'm sort of over it now. But she would always come up and just rub your shoulder, and I'd be like, "Oh, my God, Jennifer Aniston just rubbed my shoulder." But I'm definitely over that now.

What's your biggest guilty pleasure?
The Kardashians, hands down. I love that show. It is my favorite, favorite thing. It comes out on Thursdays, and I just wait. I wait to watch it. Oh, and Succession when it was on.

If you weren't an actor, what could you see yourself doing?
It would definitely be something creative. I'm a singer. I sing, so I probably would still be singing and songwriting. I love to cook. I love to paint. I love interior design. It's something probably creative, or running for political office. Maybe running for president.