An off-screen meetup between estranged pals Carrie Bradshaw and Samantha Jones was one of the most buzzed-about moments of the season finale of “And Just Like That ... ,” HBO Max’s “Sex and the City” revival. A real-life reconciliation between the actors who played those characters, however, doesn’t seem likely.
In an interview with Variety published Thursday, Sarah Jessica Parker was asked if she’d be OK if former co-star Kim Cattrall wanted to join the cast of “And Just Like That ... ” as Samantha in the future.
“I don’t think I would, because I think there’s just too much public history of feelings on her part that she’s shared,” said Parker, who plays Carrie. “I haven’t participated in or read articles, although people are inclined to let me know.”
Plans for a third “Sex and the City” movie fell apart sometime around 2017 when Cattrall publicly expressed her disinterest in reprising the role of Samantha after years of allegedly feuding with Parker. According to conflicting reports, Cattrall demanded the studio produce other projects she had in development or she wouldn’t sign on for the film, a claim the actor flatly denied.
HBO Max announced its plans for “And Just Like That ... ” last year, at which point fans and entertainment outlets began speculating how the new series would deal with the absence of Samantha. In the debut episode of the series, it’s revealed that the character has relocated to London. She continues to communicate with Carrie, however, throughout the season’s 10 episodes via a series of cryptic text messages.
Elsewhere in her chat with Variety, Parker said Cattrall was never approached to join the cast of “And Just Like That ... ,” and stressed that the show’s writers went to great lengths to ensure Samantha wasn’t “villainized.”
“We didn’t go to Kim for this, you know,” she said. “After we didn’t do the movie and the studio couldn’t meet what she wanted to do, we have to hear her and listen to her and what was important to her. It didn’t fit into what was important or needed for us.”
“Samantha’s not gone,” she added. “Samantha’s present, and I think was handled with such respect and elegance.”
While Cattrall’s days as Samantha may be over, the actor has been keeping busy with several new projects. She currently narrates Hulu’s “How I Met Your Father” as the older version of Hilary Duff’s character, Sophie. She’ll also be seen as a “martini-soaked, high society southern debutant with trailer park roots” in Peacock’s forthcoming revival of “Queer as Folk,” currently filming in New Orleans.