With the news of And Just Like That... getting renewed for a second season, fans are missing Samantha Jones even more, as she was infamously absent from season 1 of the revival. As one of the funniest and outgoing women in Sex and the City, Samantha moves through the New York social scene with ease and her friends by her side.
Samantha is a big part of the original series' six seasons and the two movies that followed, and her character development was one of the most dramatic in the series. From being sex-positive to falling in love to being a powerhouse in business, Samantha's transformation in SATC was fabulous.
Season 1: The Beginning Of Samantha
In the first season, Samantha's personality and sense of the style are tamer compared to later seasons. While Samantha has quotes full of wisdom in season 1, her fashion choices weren't as flashy as they are later.
In this season, Samantha has a new love interest in every episode. She dates a young chef, a married man, and gives a man a makeover to see if she can change her mind about him. By the end of the season, Samantha finds a standup man whom she actually falls in love with. Alas, there's trouble in paradise because he can't satisfy her in bed.
Season 2: Sex Confident & No Apologies
At the start of season 2, Samanta is still dating James, but when they slowly stop sleeping together and she is forced to attend couple's therapy, the relationship is doomed. James isn't Samantha's ideal boyfriend because she isn't fond of commitment to begin with.
Later, Samantha dates a man in his seventies, a club owner, and a gym instructor. By the end of the series, she gets into a big fight with Charlotte when she sleeps with Charlotte's brother, and Charlotte calls Samantha some unforgiving names. As always, the women make up but Samantha refuses to apologize for who she is.
Season 3: Age & Sickness Scares Samantha For The Better
In the third season, Samantha is shunned by her elderly neighbors because of her active sex life. She looks for a new place to live where her neighbors don't judge her, which is when she moves to the Meatpacking District.
Samantha grows in season 3, especially when she thinks she's approaching menopause when her period is late. The thought of menopause brings Samantha to have some uncomfortable talks with her friends about her age. Samanthas hit another big moment when she's under the weather and realizes having a man around the house to help her might not be as bad as she thought. To bring some fun to Samantha's character in this season, the girls headed to California for Carrie's business meetings, and Samantha meets her idol: Hugh Heffner.
Season 4: Partnered Up With Maria And Richard
In season 4, Samantha's love life is center stage. She starts dating a woman (Maria) for the first time when she realizes how much they get along. But when Maria becomes jealous of Samantha's past lovers, the relationship crumbles.
Samantha's company is doing exceptionally well and she sets herself on Richard's hotel business. It takes some time, but Richard eventually hires Samantha to do his PR and it doesn't take long for them to start a romantic relationship. Samantha knows she could lose herself in Richard's shadow because he is the male version of her, but she can't help falling in love with him. Sadly, Samantha discovers that Richard is cheating on her, and she ends it. Samantha's episodes with Richard show a new, emotional side to her.
Season 5: Carrie's Publicist
At the start of season 5, Samantha takes Richard back but regrets it when she realizes she can never trust him again. By episode 4, Samantha is single and back to her old self. She signs on to be Carrie's publicist for her book release. Seeing more of Samantha's professional life is a fun change for her character.
By the end of the season, Samantha travels to California with Carrie before throwing a huge party at Richard's Hampton's house. But her real transformation begins in the following season.
Season 6: Cancer And Smith Jerrod
In the sixth and final season, Samantha has the ultimate transformation. After sleeping with an attractive waiter (Jerry "Smith" Jarrod), Samantha finds out he's an aspiring model and actor. She takes him under her wing and makes him a star. All the while, Smith considers Samantha his girlfriend, which put her in an awkward position.
But when Samantha finds out she has breast cancer, Smith steps up and becomes her support system. Though she never asks Smith for anything, he is there to help. His generosity makes Samantha realize how much she cares for him and doesn't want him to see anyone else. She ends the series in remission and in a strong relationship with Smith.
Sex and the City 1: From The West Coast With Love
Years after the original series ended, the four women come back together but this time on the big screen. In the first Sex and the City movie, Carrie's dream wedding to Big falls apart, which leads Samantha to launch into best-friend mode.
Samantha has moved from New York and was living in California for Smith's career. However, she flie to New York every chance she could to be with the girls. At the end of the movie — after she nurses Carrie back to emotional health — Samantha realizes she is more focused on Smith's happiness than her own. In one of the saddest scenes, Samantha breaks it off with Smith and moves back to New York.
Sex and the City 2: A PR Trip To The Middle East
Some fans liked the first SATC movie better than the sequel. Samantha's storyline in the first movie is more developed but she is still entertaining in SATC 2.
Viewers find out Samantha's PR business is doing sensational and she's invited as Smith's red carpet date for the premiere of his new movie since she gave him his career. What follows is a PR trip to Abu Dhabi. Although the women have a busy few days planned in the Middle East, Samantha is more concerned about her hormone therapy and going into menopause. Her active sex life gets her into some trouble at the hotel, which ends her trip early. In the end, Samantha is single, thriving, and successful.
And Just Like That...
It's been long noted that Kim Cattrall was never supposed to be a part of the revival, so fans were interested in how the series was going to explain her absence.
In the first episode, it's explained that Samantha moved to the UK. After Carrie fires her as her publicist (due to book sales not being the same as they once were), Samantha is embarrassed and stops returning the girls' calls. Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda mourned the loss of their friend because they've all changed so much. Samantha and Carrie do exchange a few promising text messages about catching up, and things end on an optimistic note when Carrie is in Paris.