Aidan’s back, and so is Sam.
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.
While you might be familiar with the messy behind-the-scenes feud that has clouded 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 about 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, respectively, 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 onward. This led to widespread rumors that tensions among the cast members — namely Kim and SJP — had arisen over the fact that she was being paid significantly more than the other women.
And though the alleged discord didn’t do much to affect SATC’s major success, when the show ended after six seasons in 2004, Kim indicated that the pay disparities among the actors had ultimately contributed to the decision.
Despite all of 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 more complicated, Sarah Jessica appeared to directly contradict this when quoted in the same report, telling the outlet that the cast members were good friends and that she wished she “saw more of Kim.”
Despite a little awkwardness, Kim and SJP continued to deny that there was any issue between them throughout the 2010s, with both 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 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 Kim's 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 table, 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.
By this point, it was abundantly clear that, in spite of fans’ undying optimism, a surprise cameo from Samantha was categorically not happening — not only because of Kim’s feelings but because the show’s bosses didn’t want her there either.
To mark the Season 1 finale in February 2022, SATC creator Michael Patrick King joined Sarah Jessica for a wide-ranging interview with Variety, in which they made it clear that the door was no longer open for a Samantha comeback.
“You have to look at the reality of something: You can literally not make an actress play a part,” Michael Patrick said, adding that there “was no thought that Kim would ever participate in And Just Like That, because she’s said what she had said.”
Sarah Jessica echoed this, saying that there’s “just too much public history” for her to be OK with Kim returning to the show.
The implication here was that they didn’t even bother asking Kim if she’d consider coming back, and Kim herself later confirmed this to be the case, telling Variety three months later that she found out about the revival “like everyone else did — on social media.”
In this same interview — which hinged on the “power of saying no” — Kim seemingly criticized AJLT for the first time, going on record to say that she didn’t love the way her character was written off. She also made a snarky comment about “how creative” the script was, quipping that the storylines were “basically” from the premise of the scrapped third movie.
Once again, she made it abundantly clear that she wouldn't consider playing Samantha again under any circumstances, describing her relationship with the character as “finite.”
“Can you imagine going back to a job you did 25 years ago? ... Everything has to grow or it dies,” she said. “I felt that when the series ended … And then the movie to end all the loose ends. And then there’s another movie. And then there’s another movie? Everything in me went, ‘I’m done.’”
When asked about Sarah Jessica’s comments about not being OK with a potential comeback, Kim made it clear that she hadn’t engaged with the chatter, adding that her costar needn’t worry about the prospect because it “would never happen anyway.”
A month after this, Sarah Jessica hit back in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, saying it’s “so painful for people to keep talking about this ‘catfight.’”
“There is not a ‘fight’ going on. There has been no public dispute or spat or conversations or allegations made by me or anybody on my behalf. I wouldn’t do it. That is not the way I would have it,” she said. “So I just wish that they would stop calling this a ‘catfight’ or an ‘argument,’ because it doesn’t reflect [reality]. There has been one person talking.”
She also seemingly agreed with Michael's decision not to even approach Kim about appearing in AJLT, saying that it didn’t “occur” to them that she might ever agree, based on everything she’d said and done. “It no longer felt comfortable for us,” she admitted.
And so, less than a year after Kim confirmed to Variety that it was a “definite no” to a cameo, we now have reports that she has already shot a scene for the upcoming Season 2 finale.
According to inside sources, Kim apparently filmed for the show on March 22 in New York City — and it’ll perhaps come as no surprise to hear that she made her comeback “without seeing or speaking with the stars of the series,” including SJP — or Michael.
If you watched Season 1 — which, if you made it this far, I’m sure you did — you’ll know that Samantha’s essence is kept alive without her actually appearing onscreen, through the medium of text messages and cards.
With this in mind, reports that Samantha’s cameo will be limited to a phone call with Carrie make sense — particularly in light of the fact that the Season 1 finale ended with the former besties making a plan over text to reconcile.
Needless to say, we don’t know a whole lot about Kim’s comeback, other than that the original SATC costume designer, Patricia Field — who has not otherwise worked on AJLT — apparently returned especially to dress Samantha for the scene.
Of course, A LOT of questions remain as to when, where, why, and how this cameo wound up coming to fruition. Although one thing’s definite: We’re certainly in store for something pretty major.
