Sara Ramírez Not Returning for S3 of ‘And Just Like That’

It feels like the Latinx community has been struggling for representation in TV this year. Though there are plenty of shows featuring Latinx talent that will be airing in 2024, many of them only feature us as side characters or have been canceled like Hulu’s This Fool. Most recently, it’s been confirmed that Mexican American actor Sara Ramírez (Grey’s Anatomy), who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, will not be returning to the third season of Max’s Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That… They played the role of Che Diaz, a queer, nonbinary stand-up comedian who worked with Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) on her podcast. In the first season, they started a relationship with Carrie’s best friend Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), who was married and eventually ended her marriage to pursue a relationship with Diaz which ended in season two. While many fans feel that Ramírez’s role had worn out their welcome by season two, there is also speculation that they were cut from the show as a result of their recent pro-Palestine posts on social media, though neither the studio or Ramirez have confirmed this or spoken about it. In a recent Instagram post, Ramírez called out the recent practice of the industry blacklisting actors who are protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza, suggesting that they may have also been affected similarly to other Latinx actors like Melissa Barrera, according to the AV Club.

“Our industry is so duplicitous. While they give awards away, casting directors and agents are making blacklists of actors and workers who post anything in support of Palestinians in Gaza to ensure they will not work again. While they lift up some of their own clients who have spoken up against this genocide, they are firing and letting others who have smaller platforms go,” they wrote in an Instagram post.

Born in Sinaloa, Mexico, Ramírez made their industry debut on Broadway in a variety of musical productions including Spamalot. However, they became best known for their iconic role as Callie Torres in ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, which will air its twentieth season later this year. First introduced in Season 2, Ramírez played Torres for more than a decade making Callie one of the longest-running LGBTQ character in TV history. During her run, the character came out as bisexual and became one of the first queer Latinx characters in television history. In 2021, they were cast as Che Diaz in And Just Like That…, which picks up eleven years after Sex and the City 2 and follows the main SATC cast navigating life in their 50s. Initially conceived to be a miniseries, Max renewed it for second and third seasons. Throughout their appearance on the show, Che was a divisive character among fans, with some being angry that they broke up Miranda and Steve’s marriage or that they weren’t a substantial presence on the show overall. However, Ramírez has staunchly defended the character, praising the barriers Che broke as a queer, nonbinary person of color on a previously all-white show.

“I’m really proud of the representation that we’ve created,” they told the New York Times in 2022. “We have built a character who is a human being, who is imperfect, who’s complex, who is not here to be liked, who’s not here for anybody’s approval. They’re here to be themselves.”

They have not commented on the news at the time this story was published and Ramírez continues to speak out in support of Palestine through her Instagram.

Sex and the City and And Just Like That… are both available to stream on Max. The third season of AJLT will be released on Max in 2025.