Just when we thought it was time to let go of the idea that Kim Cattrall would ever return to the Sex and the City franchise And Just Like That, the actress will now reprise her iconic role of Samantha Jones in the new HBO spinoff series.
As we wait for season 2 of And Just Like That to air on HBO on June 22, Variety has reported that Cattrall will star as Samantha in just one scene of the sophomore season’s finale. According to insiders, Cattrall filmed her scene on March 22 in New York City, avoiding any contact with Sarah Jessica Parker or And Just Like That showrunner Michael Patrick King.
Sex and the City costume designer and longtime friend to Cattrall, Patricia Field (who has not been working on And Just Like That) dressed Samantha for her scene.
In the finale episode of And Just Like That’s first season, Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw travels to Paris to scatter her late husband, Big’s ashes in the Seine River. Looking to find solace in her estranged friend, Carrie shoots her Samantha a text, and the two arrange a date for drinks.
The series wrote around Cattrall’s absence in the revival with the storyline that Samantha moved to London and Carrie had fired her as her publicist. The two briefly communicate through text message throughout the debut season – except when Samantha sends the largest flower arrangement for Big’s funeral.
In early 2022, Parker told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, “Samantha is not gone. The actress that played that role is no longer playing that role, but people aren’t absent from your life when you don’t want them to be.”
Last May, Cattrall told Variety, “That feels different than the Samantha that I played.” Adding, “A world that I know so much about that now I don’t.”
Fans have long been holding out hope for an appearance by Samantha in And Just Like That, despite the real-life public friction between Parker and Cattrall.
While having heard much about how deeply her character’s vivacious and defining presence has been missed by fans, Cattrall divulged that she has never watched the new series.
The actress starred as Samantha in six seasons of Sex and the City from 1998 to 2004, before appearing in two SATC films.
After declining to star in a third feature-length film continuing the Sex and the City storyline, Cattrall didn’t feel that the script was doing her character justice. Apparently the plot was set to revolve around Samantha receiving unsolicited nude photos from Miranda’s 14-year-old son, Brady Hobbs. “It’s heartbreaking,” she expressed.
Cattrall told the publication that after filming the sequel film, “Everything in me went, ‘I’m done,'” she said. “I made my feelings clear after the possible third movie, so I found out about [And Just Like That] like everyone else did — on social media.”
While the series has continued to keep Samantha entwined in the plot, Cattrall said, “It’s odd, isn’t it? I don’t know how to feel about it. It’s so finite for me, so it doesn’t continue.” She explained, “This feels like an echo of the past. Other than the really wonderful feeling of — it’s rare in my business — people wanting more, especially at 65. That feels powerful, that I’ve left something behind that I’m so proud of. I loved her. I loved her so, so, so much. It’s tough competition. The original show is in all of our imaginations. But for me, it feels clean.”
When asked how she feels about Parker not being okay with the idea of Cattrall reprising her role, the actress said, “Well, it would never happen anyway. So nobody has to worry about that.”
At least the Samantha-shaped hole in our hearts will be temporarily filled this season.
