In a turn of events that literally no one was expecting, Variety dropped the bombshell on Wednesday that Kim Cattrall will reprise her role as Samantha Jones — the iconic PR maven — in Season 2 of the Sex And The City revival series, And Just Like That.
“For one night only, the Sex and the City universe will be whole again,” the report reads, announcing that Kim — the only member of the original foursome not to appear in Season 1 — has already shot a brief cameo for the Season 2 finale, which will air later this summer.
Once fans were done pinching themselves and restarting their phones to check it wasn’t some kind of internet glitch, the reactions came in thick and fast, and before long the news was confirmed by the official And Just Like That Twitter account.
While you might be familiar with the messy behind the scenes feud that has shrouded the show’s legacy, you may well have forgotten just how truly wild things got between Kim and her former colleagues over the years.
So, before we get into the details of Kim’s upcoming cameo, let’s first refresh our memories on everything that’s unfolded since we last saw Sam Jones on our screens.
Our story starts in the ‘90s, when Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, and Kim were cast to star as Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha in HBO’s Sex And The City.
Since Season 1 first aired in 1998, Sarah Jessica was marketed at the forefront of the show, serving as an executive producer from the second season onwards. This led to widespread rumors that tensions between the cast — namely Kim and SJP — had arisen from the fact that she was being paid significantly more than the other women.
And though the alleged discord didn’t do much to impact SATC’s major success, when the show ended after six seasons in 2004, Kim indicated that the pay disparities between the actors had ultimately contributed to the decision.
Despite all this, the original foursome got together for two subsequent SATC movies in 2008 and 2010. And it was around the time of the first film that Kim and SJP explicitly addressed the reports of a falling out behind the scenes, with Kim telling the Telegraph in 2008: “Are we the best of friends? No. We're professional actresses. We have our own separate lives.”
Making matters complicated, Sarah Jessica appeared to directly contradict this when quoted in the same report, telling the outlet that the cast were good friends, and that she wished she “saw more of Kim.”
In spite of a little awkwardness, Kim and SJP continued to deny that there was any issue between them throughout the 2010s, with both the actors putting the rumored feud down to salacious gossip.
However, the bubbling rift wound up getting personal — and a whole lot more public — a number of years down the line in 2017, after reports surfaced that Kim was the reason that a third SATC movie had been scrapped at the last minute with a script and production at the ready.
Memorably, Kim slammed the reports at the time, shocking fans on Twitter by claiming that she never had any desire to take part in another movie in the first place. And shortly after this, she elaborated on her thoughts in an interview, saying it was an “empowered” decision to leave Samantha in her past — but that she wouldn’t miss her castmates.
“This is really where I take to task the people from Sex and the City, and specifically Sarah Jessica Parker. I think she could've been nicer,” she said. “I really think she could've been nicer. I don't know what her issue is.”
Sarah Jessica responded to Kim’s comments a year after this in 2018, admitting that she was left completely “heartbroken.” But, despite her best efforts to ease the tension, things only wound up getting much, much worse only a few days later.
In what now lives on in the pop culture history books, the SATC feud reached its climax when Kim slammed SJP for sharing her condolences after her brother was tragically found dead.
In a scathing Instagram post — which is still live on her page — Kim accused Sarah Jessica of “exploiting” the tragedy in order to “restore” her “‘nice girl’ persona,” writing: “Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now.”
Sarah Jessica said nothing at the time of Kim’s post, but insisted two months later that she’d “never uttered an unkind, unsupportive, unfriendly word,” and that there was “no catfight” to speak of.
And as if we needed any more confirmation that the third movie was definitely off the cards, Kim gave a — now iconic — interview with the Guardian the following year, in which she said she’d “had enough” of playing Samantha. “I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself,” she said.
Needless to say, when the SATC revival was announced in January 2021, it came as a surprise to approximately no one that the show would be going ahead without Kim’s involvement. And in turn, Samantha’s absence was explained by a move to London after an argument with Carrie — which the writers said was done as a way to “respect the legacy” of the character, while subtly staying true to the reality of the off-camera situation.
As the episodes rolled out weekly, Kim remained silent on the topic, but still managed to make her feelings known by sneakily liking a number of tweets criticizing the show, including one from a fan who applauded her for turning down the “trashy” revival.
So proud of @KimCattrall for skipping the trashy S&TC reboot and doing @HIMYFonHulu. She’s wonderful, and so is @HilaryDuff 👌🏼 If you have 48 minutes to spare, go ahead and watch the first two episodes…I may even rewatch them before next week. Challenge accepted!
— Julia Haws (@juliachowhaws) January 18, 2022