As soon as HBO Max’s Sex and the City revival was announced, fans all had the same question: what about Samantha? With Kim Cattrall confirming that she wouldn’t be reprising her iconic role, conversation immediately shifted to how writers were going to explain Samantha’s absence — especially considering the other three ladies are returning. Well, the answer’s a lot less dramatic than most are expecting.
No, Samantha Jones hasn’t been killed off. HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys told TVLine that it’s merely a case of friends drifting apart. The new Sex and the City “is very much a story about women in their 50s, and they are dealing with things that people deal with in their 50s,” Bloys explained. “Just as in real life, people come into your life, people leave. Friendships fade, and new friendships start. So I think it is all very indicative of the real stages, the actual stages of life.”
Bloys stressed that the SATC revival, titled And Just Like That…, isn’t just a remake of the original series, which ran from 1998 to 2004. The three other main ladies — Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis — have obviously changed in the past 17 years. And their characters have, too! “They’re trying to tell an honest story about being a woman in her 50s in New York,” Bloys said. “So it should all feel somewhat organic, and the friends that you have when you’re 30, you may not have when you’re 50.”
Makes sense! That doesn’t mean the decision to not include Samantha, one of the best parts of SATC, in the revival comes without controversy. Kim subtly weighed in on the decision by liking a tweet after the news was announced. The January 11 tweet from a fan read, “I absolutely love Sex and the City and whilst I am saddened that Samantha will not return, I applaud doing what is best for you and think this is great example of putting yourself first. Well done @KimCattrall.”
Kim has stated multiple times over the years that she has no desire to return to SATC, and has also publicly slammed SJP in an October 2017 interview with Piers Morgan, saying they were “never friends.” Though Samantha isn’t dead in the SATC universe, it doesn’t appear that she’ll be making any cameos.