Kim Cattrall is finally making her comeback as beloved “trysexual” Samantha Jones in the second season of the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That…!
Though the Golden Globe-winning actress has publicly distanced herself from the franchise in the past, she announced on the first day of Pride Month in June 2023 that she would be returning to the show as Samantha for a cameo in the final episode.
While her other former costars have yet to comment on Cattrall’s return, the news was met with wide excitement from fans. Cattrall had previously stated that she would not come back as Samantha as she closed the chapter after the first two Sex and the City movies.
In 2017, rumors swirled that the TV star was the reason a third SATC film was never made, but Cattrall was quick to squash them, telling Piers Morgan for ITV’s series Life Stories that she had said no multiple times.
“It’s quite extraordinary to get any kind of negative press about something that I’ve been saying for almost a year of ‘no’ that I’m demanding or a diva,” Cattrall said, according to the Daily Mail. “The answer was always no and a respectful, firm, no.”
Cattrall did not appear in the first season of And Just Like That…, which aired in December 2021, though her character was present through on-screen text messages with Carrie Bradshaw ( Sarah Jessica Parker). The second season will premiere on June 22 on Max.
Here’s everything Kim Cattrall has said about returning to And Just Like That… and her iconic character Samantha Jones.
Cattrall announced her return to And Just Like That… at the start of Pride Month
Max confirmed the news that Cattrall would step back into Samantha’s shoes and one day later, Cattrall announced the happy return herself on June 1, 2023 — the first day of Pride Month.
The actress posted a photo of herself as Samantha and captioned the post, “Happy Pride 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🌈…..,” which may have been a reference to her character once saying “I’m a ‘trysexual.’ I’ll try anything once” during the third season of SATC.
In her return, which will take place in the season 2 finale, Cattrall’s character will reportedly speak over the phone to Carrie. Variety reported that Cattrall filmed her scene in March 2023 in New York City “without seeing or speaking with the stars of the series” including Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis. She also reportedly did not interact with series creator Michael Patrick King.
King did confirm to Variety in June 2022 that Samantha would be a part of the second season’s storyline.
“It’s all so new right now,” he said at the time. “One of my big rules is, don’t tell things until they’re real.”
He added, “My goal is to bring all the characters into the mix together, so that they’re not so much on separate runways.”
However, fans weren’t the only ones excited about Cattrall’s return. Ivan Hernandez, who plays newcomer Franklyn in the series, told outlet he was looking forward to seeing Cattrall on the screen again.
“I’m excited as well,” he said on the red carpet premiere for Netflix’s Never Have I Ever in June 2023. “I just found out yesterday, and I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s something that the fans all wanted and missed. She’s such great character, so I can’t wait to see it myself.”
Costume designer Patricia Field dressed Cattrall for her cameo
While Cattrall may not have reunited with her former costars, she did work with her longtime friend and original SATC costume designer Patricia Field again.
Field worked on the original series as well as the two movies, but did not make a return for the new show due to a time conflict as she was working on Netflix’s Emily in Paris in Paris. The designer and Cattrall remained friends after their work on SATC and reunited on the set in March 2023.
Cattrall previously said she would not want to reprise Samantha on the show
In May 2022 interview , Cattrall made her feelings clear about not wanting to be part of the new show. She told the outlet that she didn’t like how her character was represented in the script for the never-produced third movie, saying it was “heartbreaking” and that it turned her off from reprising Samantha.
She also claimed that the new show was “basically the third movie,” since it included some of the same storylines like Big, Carrie’s longtime partner, dying.
In response to what she thought about people missing Samantha, Cattrall said she never “deserted” the character, adding, “Can you imagine going back to a job you did 25 years ago? And the job didn’t get easier; it got more complicated in the sense of how are you going to progress with these characters?”
She continued, “Everything has to grow, or it dies. I felt that when the series ended, I thought that’s smart. We’re not repeating ourselves. And then the movie to end all the loose ends. And then there’s another movie. And then there’s another movie?”
Cattrall went on to say that after the second movie, “Everything in me went, ‘I’m done.’ ‘
Cattrall said she learned about And Just Like That… on social media
During the same Variety interview, Cattrall also revealed that she wasn’t asked to join the reboot in the first place.
“I was never asked to be part of the reboot,” she claimed. “I made my feelings clear after the possible third movie, so I found out about it like everyone else did — on social media.”
Parker confirmed Cattrall wasn’t asked back on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast in 2022.
“She made it clear that that wasn’t something she wanted to pursue, and it no longer felt comfortable for us, and so it didn’t occur to us,” the Hocus Pocus actress said. “That’s not ‘slamming’ her, it’s just learning. You’ve got to listen to somebody, and if they’re publicly talking about something and it doesn’t suggest it’s some place they want to be, or a person they want to play, or an environment in which they want to be, you get to an age where you’re like, ‘Well, we hear that.’ “
She hasn’t seen a single episode of And Just Like That…
Cattrall admitted she never saw an episode of the show, though she did “hear about it,” she told Variety. When asked what she thought of some of the choices for her character and her text message appearance in season 1, Cattrall said the “greatest compliment” she could have was “to be missed.”
She added that what she heard about Samantha’s storyline — and her falling out with Carrie — felt “different than the Samantha I played.”
Cattrall said it now felt “strange” that the show was moving on without her. “A world that I know so much about that now I don’t,” she said.
Cattrall didn’t want to join the third Sex and the City movie
In 2017, Parker announced plans for a third SATC movie were officially scrapped and many pointed fingers at Cattrall, who publicly said she did not want to join the film.
Responding to an Instagram user who commented asking Cattrall to participate in a third film, she said that her “heart isn’t in it anymore.”
“I’ve moved on,” Cattrall continued. “61 isn’t 53 or 41. I have learned so much from our Sam. She was my hero but I want to rest & not work as much as I have been doing for years. I want a less hectic life. My decision reflects where I am in my life & I can’t change that without being unhappy. I hope you’ll understand. Kim.”
Cattrall has looked back fondly on her days filming Sex and the City
Cattrall reminisced on her days filming Sex and the City in a September 2020 interview with outlet.
She described how the show had an “innocence” to it despite its subject matter. “It was a special time,” she said. “There was an innocence to it — though it didn’t feel innocent while it was happening. To have that kind of timing for women honestly discussing subject matter near and dear to my heart, we needed that.”
Cattrall added how the show was revolutionary in the way it talked about sex, especially her character, who was very sex-positive and bold.
“Growing up, I was left with clinical knowledge about sex,” Cattrall said. “But then I found myself in a position where I had a platform, playing a character who personified sexual appetite. I thought this is a really interesting time to talk about this.”
She continued, “That’s the great thing about being involved in a hit like Sex and the City. It’s of its time, and it was part of the zeitgeist. I do feel proud.”
Cattrall discussed her return to TV after working on Sex and the City
While Sex and the City may have ended in 2004, Cattrall has continued to appear in movies and television. She made her network TV debut in 2020 with the release of Fox’s Filthy Rich.
In January 2020, she spoke with reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour about how much had changed in the television industry since she portrayed Samantha on TV.
“I’ve never been on network television,” she said. “Coming back to television has changed so much just since I did Sex and the City. I mean we don’t cut anymore, we just keep going. Everything is digital, instead of one or two cameras, we have five cameras. You can’t kind of warm up to a close-up. You have to be right on your game all the time.”
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