Warning: This article contains spoilers for And Just Like That.
The Sex and the City revival, And Just Like That..., has finally come to HBO Max, and despite featuring most of the original cast, it doesn't see the return of Kim Cattrall's Samantha Jones for a couple of reasons. Following years of speculations, the New York-based girl group led by Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) returned on the small screen in the sequel titled And Just Like That. But while the notable columnist is joined by Miranda Jones (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kristen Davis), the original foursome is missing Sam, which is understandably disappointing for many.
Based on Candace Bushnell's books of the same name, Sex and the City aired on HBO from 1998 to 2004; running for six seasons, the show set and filmed in New York followed Carrie, Sam, Miranda, and Charlotte as single women navigating life and love in the city. Known for its bold exploration of modern social issues from a woman's perspective, the series garnered several critical accolades including several Emmys. That said, the show was also criticized for its unrealistic portrayal of New York living, specifically Carrie's outrageous shopping sprees, not to mention its often misguided and sometimes downright hypocritical take on feminism. Regardless, there's no denying Sex and the City's impact on fashion and pop culture, so it's no wonder there was immense excitement around And Just Like That...
Unfortunately, however, Samantha doesn't appear in the upcoming HBO Max project as officially confirmed, though she wasn't killed off as some speculated ahead of release. Long before Just Like That was announced, Cattrall was already adamant that she has no intentions of revisiting the role. In 2017, she told in an interview with Piers Morgan (via BBC), she admitted that Samantha is a great character, she had "an empowered decision in my life to end one chapter and start another." The actress added that if a Sex and the City follow project was to move forward, she hoped that Samanta would simply be recast and she even added that perhaps it's best if they tap a person of color to take over the role. The reality is that Samantha was not recast for And Just Like That..., with Carrie Preston instead explaining that she moved to London to take a job when the former relationship and sex columnist fired her as her publicist and Sam was unable to forgive her and remain friends.
In addition to that, Cattrall also has a public feud with Parker, whose Carrie is arguably the true lead star of Sex and the City, which will more likely also be the case for its sequel. In 2018, the actress lambasted her former co-star after she sent her condolences for the death of Cattrall's brother. On Instagram, she posted: "Your continuous 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." Meanwhile, Parker insisted that there's no beef between them and Samantha is mentioned in the first episode of And Just Like That... quite fondly, with a firm clarification that there is no way back for the characters. Carrie also receives flowers for her husband's funeral after the first episode of And Just Like That... killed off Mr Big (Chris Noth).
Since Parker is also producing And Just Like That, Cattrall's decision all the more makes sense. It's obvious that she has issues with her old Sex and the City co-star, but they could've made it work with limited screen time together and personal interactions off-camera — all for the sake of their fans. But knowing that Parker also has a hand on all the other elements of the sequel outside of her role as Carrie could simply be too much to take. In any case, Samantha not appearing in And Just Like That is a major disappointment; while Sex and the City primarily focused on Carrie, it's the girls' friendship that's the backbone of its success. Furthermore, being the most forward-thinking out of the gang, Samantha's take on the modern world would arguably be the most interesting to see in the Sex and the City revival.