“And Just Like That” welcomes Patti LuPone and a returning face for season 3 (exclusive)

Rosemarie DeWitt will return as Aidan's ex-wife Kathy, while "Bob's Burgers" funny lady Kristen Schaal also has a role.

Gilbert Flores/Getty; Craig Blankenhorn/Max Patti LuPone joins 'And Just Like That' season 3

Gilbert Flores/Getty; Craig Blankenhorn/Max

Patti LuPone joins 'And Just Like That' season 3

Following her magnificent turn as a Sicilian divination witch in Agatha All Along, Patti LuPone is returning to the small screen for another flashy role.

The Broadway and New York icon joins the cast of And Just Like That season 3, executive producer Michael Patrick King exclusively tells Entertainment Weekly in an interview. Her role remains a secret, but King confirms she'll have "an arc on our show this season."

He also confirms that Bob’s Burgers and What We Do in the Shadows funny gal Kristen Schaal will appear, while Rosemarie DeWitt will return for season 3 as Aidan’s ex-wife Kathy after a single season 2 appearance.

Craig Blankenhorn/Max Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) hosts friends in the 'And Just Like That' season 2 finale
Craig Blankenhorn/Max Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) hosts friends in the 'And Just Like That' season 2 finale

Related: Patti LuPone on that Agatha All Along sigil and channeling Glinda in next trial: 'Who would ever imagine?' (exclusive)

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“It's a lot of ‘new’ within the familiar, but even the familiar characters are going through new things,” King says. “It's more than Carrie [Sarah Jessica Parker] that has a new apartment. Miranda [Cynthia Nixon] has a new apartment. We feel that there's a lot of newness in the world right now, especially for these characters. We wanted to tell new stories and put them through new obstacles.”

LuPone, Schaal, and DeWitt join the previously announced Rosie O’Donnell, Cheri Oteri, Mehcad Brooks, Jonathan Cake, and Logan Marshall-Green. Sebastiano Pigazzi and Dolly Wells were also upgraded to series regulars, so we’ll be seeing a lot more of Anthony’s Italian stallion, Giuseppe, and the BBC producer flirting with Miranda, Joy.

LuPone is practically a staple of New York City, with all her work on Broadway. She’s been performing on stage in The Roommate with Mia Farrow, though she also received high praise for playing Lilia Calderu among the coven of witches on Marvel’s WandaVision sequel series Agatha All Along. One episode in particular had the fans abuzz.

The biggest casting shifts for And Just Like That season 3 will be the lack of Sara Ramirez’s Che Diaz and Karen Pittman’s Nya Wallis. Ramirez was said to be cut from the season after their arc reached a natural conclusion in the aftermath of their breakup with Miranda, while Pittman could not return due to scheduling conflicts on two other shows, Apple’s The Morning Show and Netflix’s Forever.

Craig Blankenhorn/Max John Corbett and Sarah Jessica Parker on 'And Just Like That'
Craig Blankenhorn/Max John Corbett and Sarah Jessica Parker on 'And Just Like That'

Related: Kim Cattrall denies reports that she's returning for And Just Like That season 3

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“They were so thrilling and so important, and then it just didn't work out,” King comments. “Just like with all the great loves that have been on this show, when an evolution comes, you're like, that character needs to go on. Carrie's had a Berger, she's had a Petrovsky. Miranda's had a Skipper, and now she's had a Che. And it was time for that character to move on. Karen was, of course, somebody who got many, many, many opportunities to continue to work. Our show has already so many characters. There are five women right now on the show, and each of them has a world. Some of them have husbands, some of them have children, some of those children even have relationships. So it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger.”

Those five women are Parker’s Carrie, Nixon’s Miranda, Kristin Davis’ Charlotte, Sarita Choudhury’s Seema, and Nicole Ari Parker’s Lisa.

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“We just moved forward because that's what happens in New York City or in life. Sometimes you see someone who is so important to you and then you don't see them again for 10 years,” King continues. “They're still on the same island, but you don't see them. So we put Che and Nya on a very luxurious boat and waved goodbye, throwing confetti as they departed from the shores of And Just Like That. And we moved forward with bringing in new boats, new characters, new ideas.”

And Just Like That season 3 will premiere on HBO and Max this year. Read more about the show’s next chapter in EW’s 2025 Preview.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly