Karen Pittman Exits ‘And Just Like That…’ Ahead Of Season 3 Of Max Series

EXCLUSIVE: A fan-favorite character is leaving And Just Like That… Karen Pittman, who played Nya Wallace in the first two seasons of the Sex and the City sequel, will not be returning for the upcoming third season of the hit Max series.

Pittman was already a series regular on Apple TV+’s The Morning Show when she was cast in And Just Like That…, originally as a recurring in Season 1; she was upped to a series regular in Season 2. Earlier this month, she also was tapped for a starring role in Forever, Netflix’s upcoming drama series reimagining Judy Blume’s novel from Mara Brock Akil.

This put Pittman in the middle of a scheduling conundrum involving three high-profile series on three major streamers filming new seasons this year within similar timeframes.

According to sources, there was every intention for Pittman to be in Season 3 of AJLT, and Naya was written into the scripts. But after exhausting all avenues to make the scheduling work, that proved impossible.

Production on AJLT is slated to begin in May, we hear.

“It has been a joy to have Karen Pittman play the smart and stunning Professor Nya Wallace on the first two seasons of And Just Like That…,” a spokesperson for Max said in a statement to Deadline. “As we have thoroughly enjoyed working with this dynamic actress, so too have others. Due to her commitments to two other streamer series, it has become apparent that filming three shows at once isn’t possible. Due to the production realities, we are disappointed to announce that scheduling conflicts will not allow us to continue with this character as part of season 3 of And Just Like That… Karen and Nya will be missed, and her Max family and fans will all be cheering her on in her other endeavors.”

Pittman was brought on as one of the new women who were friends with the core three— Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis)—alongside Nicole Ari Parker and Sarita Choudhury. Nya was unapologetically herself and whoever didn’t like her, too bad. She’s a professional, intelligent and brave woman who was also a loyal friend.

And things were just starting to get steamy for her following her divorce with a new man in her life, Chef Toussaint (Gary Jourdan), who kept the fires burning both professionally and personally. Nya was also Miranda’s rock since the series premiered, her cheerleader and confidant who not only offered her somewhere to stay while she was separated and later divorced from Steve (David Eigenberg), but also through her new journey of self-discovery. Miranda reciprocated as Nya struggled following her split from Andre (LeRoy McClain).

Hopefully when the show returns, everyone will toast her with a trademark Cosmopolitan.

Another AJKL cast member, Sara Ramirez, also won’t be back for Season 3 after the storyline of her character, Che Diaz, concluded at the end of last season.