“And Just Like That,” Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) is coming back to our TV screens. After being notably absent from the first season of the “Sex and the City” revival series on Max, Cattrall confirmed that she’ll appear for a brief cameo in season two the day after Variety broke the news on May 31. “Happy Pride,” she captioned a screenshot of the article on Instagram, adding a rainbow and Pride flag emojis.
Cattrall spoke about her return to the “Sex and the City” franchise during an interview on “Today” (which airs in full on June 30), telling hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, “People will be so happy” about her “short scene” in “And Just Like That” season two. She continued of revisiting Samantha, “It felt like dipping my toe back in time and having a wonderful afternoon, and then a great martini.”
According to Cattrall, she said her brief cameo in “And Just Like That” is “as far as I’ll go” in being part of the franchise again, so fans should probably adjust their expectations for her return now. However, the actor did add that she’ll always appreciate the opportunity to play Samantha. “I don’t think I’ll ever say goodbye to Samantha,” Cattrall shared. “She’s like a lot of other characters that I’ve done over the years. I get very emotionally attached and protective of my characters. She gave me so much and I’m so appreciative of her.”
In the first season of the revival series, things picked up right where Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte (Kristin Davis), and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) left off following the end of “Sex and the City 2.” While the fabulous fan-favorite foursome had become a trio because of Cattrall’s decision to pull out of the franchise, the series did ultimately reveal what Cattrall’s beloved character, Samantha, is up to.
Now that Samantha is making a (somewhat) big return to the “Sex and the City” world, viewers are curious about how her official appearance will play out. Read ahead for everything we know and see what the cast has said about Cattrall’s “Sex and the City” comeback.
Where Is Samantha in “And Just Like That” Season 1?
Turns out in season one of the revival, public-relations maven Samantha has moved to London for work and no longer speaks with her former besties. This is all because Carrie wanted to end her professional relationship with Samantha as her book publicist because of how much the book publishing industry had evolved.
Writer-director-showrunner Michael Patrick King explained at the red carpet premiere of season one in 2021 that addressing Samantha’s absence had a lot of “emotional qualities” in the series. “I love Samantha. We love Samantha. We know the fans love Samantha. So when Kim didn’t want to do the show and didn’t want to play Samantha anymore because of her own reasons, I had to find a way through the storytelling to respect what the fans felt about Samantha,” King told Vanity Fair. “Rather than ignore her, we still made her part of the story, and to honor Samantha.”
Samantha does pop up in some form throughout season one. When Carrie’s husband, Mr. Big, dies, she sends a floral arrangement to the funeral. And in the first season finale, she and Carrie exchange texts and plan to have a full conversation in the future. According to Variety’s report, Cattrall’s season two appearance will be a continuation of that storyline, with sources telling the outlet that Samantha will have a phone conversation with Carrie in the upcoming scene. While “And Just Like That” returns for season two on June 22, Variety reported that Cattrall’s episode won’t air until August.
Why Wasn’t Kim Cattrall in “And Just Like That” Season 1?
Cattrall previously told The Mail in July 2019 that she would never return to the role of Samantha, Entertainment Tonight reported. “You learn lessons in life, and my lesson is to do work with good people and try and make it fun,” she said. It seems now that Cattrall’s had a change of heart despite Davis telling The Telegraph in June 2023 that there’s still tension amongst the cast. The actor also said the cast haven’t kept in touch with Cattrall either.
Still, ahead of the “And Just Like That” season one premiere, Parker claimed that there was no ill will between her and Cattrall in the comment section of a Jan. 10, 2021, Instagram post about the reboot. “No. I don’t dislike her. I’ve never said that. Never would,” she wrote, ET reported. “Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do. X.”
At the time, Davis seemed to have the same respect for what Cattrall brought to the “Sex and The City” franchise. “We love Samantha,” she said during a Dec. 7, 2021, appearance on the “Today” show. “Samantha is never not going to be a part in some way, so there is respect for Samantha. It’s part of the story. We’d never disrespect Samantha.”
Cast-member drama still hasn’t affected Cattrall’s “And Just Like That” participation. Though Samantha was absent in season one, Variety reported that Cattrall filmed her season two appearance solo back in March and didn’t interact with Parker or King. Original “Sex and the City” costume designer Patricia Field dressed Cattrall for the scene, the outlet added.
What Have the “And Just Like That” Cast Said About Kim Cattrall‘s Return?
Apparently, news of Cattrall’s return was reported earlier than the “And Just Like That” cast would’ve liked, as Nixon told USA Today in an interview published on June 20, “We’re all so bummed that word got out.” “Now it’s going to be like, ‘That’s what all the fuss was about?'” According to the outlet, Samantha will appear in a video call to Carrie.
“My goal was for everybody’s heads to blow off at home, out of surprise,” King told USA Today. “But I guess the fact that we were able to keep Big’s death a secret ― maybe you only get one ‘universe protecting you from a leak’ in your career, and I had it.”
Still, despite the leak, Davis told Entertainment Weekly that the cast and crew “had a conversation” about Samantha’s return in season two, and “we decided that it was right for the fans.” “The fans miss Samantha. The fans love Samantha. Samantha’s a fantastic character,” she continued. “We get it.” Davis added, “It seemed like something that would be great to do,” nodding to the “Sex and the City” franchise’s recent 25th anniversary. “It also seemed like we had to honor the story. Sometimes people aren’t in your life every day but that doesn’t mean that you’re not connected. I can’t give anything else away about the story, ’cause we’re trying to keep what secrets are left secret, but it makes sense for the circumstance that it’s in.”
