And Just Like That, the Sex and the City sequel kicks off its second season with a provocative, two-and-a-half minute montage, featuring 6 of its 7  characters in moments of intimacy — and its seventh, watching an intimate scene on television.

While the original series was groundbreaking for its time, the update rolling out weekly on MAX deliberately showcases all kinds of sex, from queer sex to casual sex. The cast and crew of the current installment also works closely with an intimacy coordinator, an on-set role that didn’t yet exist when Sex and the City premiered in 1998.

Showrunner Michael Patrick King spoke via Zoom from New York candidly about the significance of sex in the series and what he wanted to say about intimacy of all kinds.

Sexually forward Sex and the City was, given how many times I’ve caught the sanitized reruns on cable over the years…

If you put it in its context, if it was very, very sexual for its times

Nnew season seems to explore more modern and fluid sensibilities about relationships and sex.

Last season had to deal with death, it was what we chose to do, we broke the old show to make a new show, and it was really infused with death — this season was going to be about life, and sex is such a big part of life. As a writer, you just sort of keep going and something happens, and then you have to deal with it the next season.

The last thing that happened in season one was Carrie spontaneously kisses Franklyn [her podcast producer], so then it became, “Okay, what happened when that happened?” And the first thing I thought was, like, “Sex: Carrie and Franklyn.” We literally start the [season two premiere] with Carrie opening the bathroom door to a new sex life. And once you get Carrie having sex that’s supposedly not important, then the doors are open. Then it’s just like, “Oh, wait a minute, these people are all sexual.”

Opening montage?

I think that opening is glamorous and aspirational — all these beautiful actors coming to bed. And the other thing that’s important is that all of the original characters are on the move towards the bed, and the men are just laying there like himbos — like, in bed, kind of coy, with the sheet up above their waist, like you’ve seen actress and female characters in every show. But all of a sudden on And Just Like That season two, it’s a complete flip. And then the comedy is, of course, Nya [Karen Pittman] is watching a sex scene on television because her sex is far away. [Her partner, musician Andre Rashad, is off on tour.] So, yeah, sex was important. And then when you start talking about exploring sex, now you have Miranda in a whole new sexual arena [dating nonbinary comic Che], and you have the joy and the comedy of the strap-on and the uncomfortableness of that [in episode one]. But also, you’re moving her forward because she’s not just following, she’s driving sex.

female nudity?

I recently looked back at Sex of the City for the 25th retrospective that we just did, and I was stunned that in the second or third episode of season two, Cynthia Nixon is completely naked [from the waist up] doing dirty-talking sex. I was like, “That was so many years ago, and she was already game!” But I really wanted the sensory deprivation tank scene this season [where Miranda happily goes into the tank but then gets salt in her eye], and the only way I could get that was if Cynthia agreed to be head-to-toe naked. It wouldn’t work unless she was all in because what is so funny about the scene is that she goes from loving her new life [in L.A. with Che] to saying, “Fuck my new life.” So, I called up Cynthia and I said, “Completely naked, would that be okay?” And she thought about it, and she goes, “Completely?” I said, “Yes.” And she goes, “I’m sure you’ll take care of me.”

Comfort level?

It’s always a conversation. And if it’s not comfortable, there’s no reason to do it because then they’ll be uncomfortable and the audience will be even more uncomfortable.

And Just Like That is now streaming the first two episodes of season two, followed by a weekly Thursday release on Max.