Why wasn't Samantha in And Just Like That? Reason behind Kim Cattrall's absence, explored

When HBO Max's comedy drama And Just Like That premiered in December 2021, fans were quite excited. The highly anticipated sequel and reboot of Sex and the City delves into the vibrant yet chaotic lives of three friends, Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda.

However, for fans who had grown up watching the original group of four, they immediately noticed that the fourth chair at the table was empty. Samantha Jones, the show's most fearless and s*xually liberated character, was gone.

The character Samantha Jones, portrayed by Kim Cattrall, was not a part of the debut season of And Just Like That. Within the first few episodes, viewers learned that Samantha had moved to London after her professional relationship with Carrie fell apart. Carrie fired her from the role of her publicist, and that fallout fractured their friendship.

So why did the writers omit an iconic character from the series? Kim Cattrall's character, Samantha Jones, was not a part of the debut season of And Just Like That for several reasons. Some of the pivotal reasons were pay disparity, professional disagreements, and her ongoing rift with the production and her co-star, Sarah Jessica Parker.

Why wasn't Samantha in And Just Like That?

In 2017, Cattrall called out the makers/producers of Sex and the City when an insider told a news outlet that Cattrall had made some unbelievable demands to be a part of Sex and the City 3. In a 2017 tweet, Cattrall rubbished all such claims and wrote,

" The only ‘DEMAND’ I ever made was that I didn’t want to do a 3rd film….& that was back in 2016."

Additionally, in a 2017 interview with Piers Morgan, Cattrall revealed that she did not want to play Samantha anymore and rejected the third part of the film because she wanted to explore other roles. She also pointed out that Sarah Jessica Parker was not her friend but a colleague. She said,

"I just wish Sarah had been nicer."

She accused Parker of publicizing the narrative that she left the show due to her insane financial demands.

Things turned ugly when, in February 2018, Cattrall made an Instagram post that read as an answer to Sarah's comment on her brother's death,

"My mom asked me today, 'When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that hypocrite, leave you? Your continous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. Let me make this VERY clear (If I haven't already) You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I'm writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your nice girl persona."

The audience was both surprised and thrilled when Cattrall made a brief appearance in the second season of And Just Like That, episode 11. The brief cameo featured a phone conversation between Samantha and Carrie, which was recorded without the main cast members or the showrunner, Michael Patrick King. The episode shows Carrie preparing a surprise dinner for Samantha, which was ruined when Samantha's delayed flight prevented her from attending it. Samantha expressed her gratitude to Carrie during the iconic phone conversation

As per Vanity Fair, apart from not wanting to do the scene with her co-stars and showrunner, Cartell had another demand. She had agreed to do a cameo on the condition that the legendary costume designer Patricia Field would return to dress her.

While And Just Like That continues without Samantha Jones, her absence underscores how off-screen dynamics can reverberate through a franchise. What remains clear is that Cattrall has drawn a line, and for no,w it's one she has no interest in crossing.

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Also read: And Just Like That… Season 3 Episode 3: Release date news, time, streaming details, and more

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