Finding a solution. Before the premiere of the Sex and the City revival, And Just Like That, fans were concerned about what the absence of Kim Cattrall would mean for the show’s core friend group.
Since Sex and the City premiered in 1998, the story line focused on Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her journey to find love in New York alongside her friends Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Samantha Jones (Cattrall). After six seasons on HBO and two movies, the Filthy Rich alum made it clear that she was not looking to join the franchise again.
In 2018, Cattrall made headlines for calling Parker “cruel” following the death of her brother. The Hocus Pocus star addressed the rumored feud during an interview on the “Origins” podcast later that year, asserting at the time that she was “not in a catfight with anybody.”
Parker added, “I’ve never publicly — ever — said anything unfriendly, unappreciative about Kim because that’s not how I feel about her.”
Following the premiere of the Sex and the City revival in December 2021, showrunner Michael Patrick King noted that the dynamic between the main cast played a role in Samantha’s departure from the series.
“Kristin, Cynthia and Sarah Jessica became one group, and Kim never joined mentally. Kim fought and said, ‘I’m everyone’s favorite,'” King detailed to The Hollywood Reporter. “[Parker’s] name was contractually, legally, righteously, the only name on the poster due to the fact that she was a movie star in 1998 when the series started and she did a leap to do a show about sex on [HBO], the channel that did the fights, and it doesn’t matter how popular you are. I guess for Kim it didn’t matter how much the raise became if there was never parity, but there was never going to be parity.”
The writer also pointed out how the plan for a Sex and the City reboot never had firm plans to include Cattrall.
“And Just Like That was never, ever intended to be including Kim Cattrall because she decided she didn’t wanna play Samantha many, many years ago. We love Kim. I love Kim. I loved her Samantha, and I knew that everybody, including myself, had invested years in those four friendships,” he told Us Weekly that same month. “So, I didn’t want to pretend that there was an absence — or wasn’t an absence. I wanted to reflect the reality of the fact that there was one not joining. Story wise, I came up with the idea that Samantha’s in London because we didn’t want to kill her. We love Samantha. That’s ridiculous.”
King revealed that the real-life divide between the costars inspired Samantha and Carrie’s falling out.
“And life goes on when friendships break up over incidental things that become bigger things,” he added at the time. “What happens when a friend[ship] breaks up? You still remember the good stuff and you reach out every now and then, but there’s no intention of suddenly, ‘Boom, there she is again.’ It’s about that friendship between those four women that’s important and you see in [Big’s] funeral scene how that resonates.”
Scroll down for all the times And Just Like That brought up Samantha Jones throughout the series:
During the revival's premiere episode, Carrie explained how Samantha ended up leaving their friend group. “Well, what is there to say?” Parker's character said in the December 2021 episode. “I told her that, you know, because of what the book business is now, it just didn’t make sense for me to keep her on as a publicist. She said, ‘Fine,’ and then fired me as a friend. I understand that she was upset, but I thought I was more to her than an ATM. I always thought the four of us would be friends forever.” New Line Cinema/Hbo/Village Roadshow/Kobal/Shutterstock
Following the death of Carrie's husband, Mr. Big (Chris Noth), the fan-favorite character showed support by sending flowers. Although Carrie didn't want any floral arrangements during the funeral proceedings, she allowed Samantha's bouquet to stay and later texted her thanks. New Line Cinema/Hbo/Village Roadshow/Kobal/Shutterstock
A December 2021 episode focused on Carrie recovering from hip surgery which resulted in her oversharing on her podcast. “You cannot say boundaries and girlfriends in the same sentence. My girlfriends are always there for me no matter what,” Carrie said during the fifth episode while on pain medication. “They are there for me. In fact, you know what? I remember this time that my friend Samantha Jones even pulled my diaphragm out with her bare hand because it got stuck.” After Charlotte pushed Carrie to give Samantha a warning about the honest comment, Samantha texted back, "One of my finest hours." Carrie followed it up with a message saying she misses Samantha, which her friend almost responds to but ends up not. Hbo/Darren Star Productions/Kobal/Shutterstock
During the February 2022 finale, Carrie struggles with her emotions after her second date with Peter (Jon Tenney) — which concluded with her first kiss since Big's death. Feeling conflicted, Carries reaches out to Samantha via text. "I kissed a man," she wrote, to which Samantha replies, "The first of many. How was it?" When Carrie notes that it wasn't the same as with Big, her old pal teases, "So it was small." Carrie goes on to ask if Samantha wanted to "talk" about their falling out, and she promises they will "soon." New Line Cinema/Hbo/Village Roadshow/Kobal/Shutterstock
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