Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for And Just Like That episode 1.
HBO Max’s And Just Like That secretly addresses one of the suspected reasons why Kim Cattrall didn’t return as Samantha - her supposed real-life feud with Sarah Jessica Parker. Right off the bat, the Sex and the City revival had to address the elephant in the room of where Samantha Jones is. The characters clarify that Samantha isn’t dead, but she moved to London for work. Even though Kim Cattrall refused to return and reprise her iconic Sex and the City role in the reboot, And Just Like That is still making the presence of both the actress and character felt in the revival through meta-references to real-life drama.
While Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker seemed to have had a fine working relationship in the original series and sequel movies, Samantha’s actress later took to social media and press interviews to reveal the opposite. The tension between the two actresses began in the original series over Parker getting pay raises and Cattrall getting snubbed. Sarah Jessica Parker has always denied rumors that the women have bad blood, but Cattrall has not. The reason given for canceling Sex and the City 3's movie was that Cattrall’s demands couldn’t be met, paired with the actress being ready to move to another stage of life. Soon after, Cattrall began saying in interviews that she and Parker were “never friends,” until it culminated in Cattrall calling SJP “cruel” and a “hypocrite” on social media, directly calling her out by saying, “Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven't already) You are not my family. You are not my friend.” The two women continue to have differing accounts of their past personal and working relationships, which is secretly included in And Just Like That.
Not only is Samantha Jones not in New York City anymore, she’s not even friends with Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte. Sex and the City’s sequel series quickly explains that Miranda moved to London, but not before revealing that the reason Cattrall’s character left was due to a feud with Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw. She explains that due to the changing business models for books, Carrie couldn’t keep Samantha on as her publicist, so Samantha decided to “fire” her as a friend and move to the U.K. Miranda mentions that they never talk about Samantha anymore because each girl has repeatedly reached out to her without an answer. By making Samantha’s absence due to a feud with Carrie, Sex and the City’s reboot is making a meta-reference to the real-life dispute that may have influenced Cattrall’s absence.
At the same time, making this the reason for Samantha’s absence is seemingly leading to nowhere in its storyline progression. HBO Max's And Just Like That suggests Carrie will be spending a significant amount of time trying to rekindle her friendship with Samantha so she can return to New York City like the old days - which realistically will never happen. Cattrall told BBC in 2017 that if the series moved forward, she hoped Samantha would just be recast, suggesting Sex and the City do so with a woman of color. While Samantha wasn’t recast, And Just Like That is still taking part of Cattrall’s advice by using her absence to give voices to women of color and diverse individuals in the show’s main cast.
Just like viewers, Sex and the City’s sequel series isn’t allowing itself to forget about Samantha Jones or Kim Cattrall. Considering Cattrall has yet to publicly mention any reconciliation between herself and Parker, it’s still curious as to why And Just Like That is using the feud as inspiration for Carrie and Samantha’s fallout since the series is pointing to the characters mending their relationship. Similar to the perceived real-life situation, And Just Like That is also making Miranda and Charlotte on the outs from Samantha as collateral, just like how Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis were involved by association in the real-world quarrel.