Samantha will be back for the second season of And Just Like That… but Kim Cattrall won’t
Showrunner Michael Patrick King has found a way to continue her storyline
Aux News Kim Cattrall
And Just Like That… fans know better by now than to expect a Kim Cattrall cameo on the show any time soon. But showrunner Michael Patrick King says viewers can expect a return to Samantha’s storyline in the HBO Max series’ second season… and a lot more texting between her and Carrie.
“Yes!” King told Variety when asked if Samantha and Carrie will still be exchanging texts in new episodes. During last season’s finale the two meeting up in Paris after Carrie scatters Mr. Big’s ashes in the Seine river—for obvious reasons, this all happens offscreen.
“It’s very funny, because every single one of the writers has a different version of what happened during that conversation,” King said of Carrie and Samantha’s mysterious meeting.
His personal take on what the ladies discussed? Well, King explained: “So, I think there was some champagne. I think there was a grownup back and forth, and a love affair that they realized that something’s more important than being afraid to heal. I’m sure they had a great night. To me, they had a great night and things became resolved. Once Carrie let go of an old, old love, one of her current loves came back in.”
Although Cattrall has been clear she has no interest in returning to the role of Samantha (or returning to a close relationship with her former cast members), her character brings a blunt heart to the show that King clearly knows he shouldn’t underestimate.
“Let’s face it; without Samantha, the show doesn’t really work,” Gwen Ihnat wrote in The A.V. Club’s review of the first season’s finale.
Back in February, King explained to Variety why he didn’t expect a return from Cattrall ever. “You have to look at the reality of something: You can literally not make an actress play a part,” he said.
Although Cattrall can’t be forced to return to Manhattan, Samantha and Carrie’s disembodied text relationship can bring a sliver of Cattrall’s character back to the show. Here’s to the post-2010 ubiquity of iPhones—although it’s hard not to chuckle imagining a Samantha character arc carried out solely via beeper…
56 Comments
I feel Miranda’s storyline would have worked a lot better with Samantha. Samantha and Miranda butting heads and then figuring out each others perspectives. Carrie does asshole things regardless of who is in her life (and that’s her character, I don’t want them to change that). But Miranda and Samantha had a really complicated relationship too but they brought out a lot of good qualities 🙁
“And Just Like That… fans know better by now than to expect a Kim Cattrall cameo on the show any time soon.” This show has fans, other than people who hate-watch it?
I don’t even hate watch it. I just “hate read” articles about it.
My girlfriend enjoyed it. Not sure how much of that was ironic, though.
I have mixed feelings about it. Some of it was enjoyable, and some of it not so much.
FFS, just let her die on the way back to her home planet.
Or even just let the show die entirely. We don’t need to reboot everything, we don’t need to reanimate the corpses of characters we last cared about 20 years ago, and we don’t need to tie ourselves in knots explaining how Jimothy has been lost on the Appalachian Trail for the past 6 months and couldn’t be available for even a cameo. They already got their curtain call in the way of two movies. The audience has left the building. The show’s over.
I think we need a slideshow on the least needed reboots. I’ve read about so many lately that AJLT might not even make the top 25 or 50.
She turned back into a mannequin.
It is weird knowing that Kim Cattrall doesn’t really like the whole “Samantha via text” thing either.
Like…. friends come and go… jesus.
Well this just feels sad. Are we approaching a recast or just Weekend at Bernies a Kim Cattrall dummy?
You mean a Kim Cattrall mannequin?
“If we want Samantha on the show, nothing’s gonna stop us now.”
You mean sex doll?
They can’t even afford a mannequin.
Thanks, I hate it.
I’m sure Claudia O’doherty is available!
Honestly, I would shout this at every casting call I see for an eternity. I want more Claudia all the time and that’s remarkably hard to come by. The fact that she’s not a huge star in comedy yet is a crime against humanity IMO.
Mmmm, I love fucking.
I don’t know, her career seems to be going well enough that this show is probably not worth her time.
Who the fuck is Claudia O’Doherty-googlesWait, Reg Mombassa’s daughter?!?
Just seems hilarious that Kim Cattrall can be replaced by an iPhone at the table.
She can’t be, that’s the point. No matter how hard they try, Samantha’s absence is glaring and it actively hurts whatever they’re trying to do with the other characters.
Recast with Nicolas Cage. The guy’s having a moment right now, and you know he’ll throw himself into the role.
Screw this show. Watch Harlem instead.
Sounds like there’s been some scrambling since they realized trying to sexpot-up Miranda doesn’t work. Would not be surprised if they are trying to ease in a recast.
If there is a God, they made this show to determine which women they should make infertile so humanity can continue on.
How long do they actually think they could keep that gag going?
And just like that, no one seemed to care because the show sucks.
This is what every show needs! A beloved character that exists only in text messages!
Do it like Charlie’s Angels.
Just have her always just offscreen. Been too long since we had a good Maris.
I’m good if the entire show is just text messages.
They should have a seat for Samantha at their ladies’ signature lunches and just prop up an iPad (facing away from the camera), with Samatha zooming in for each lunch.For audio, they can just use recycled audio clips from the original series wherever appropriate.
“So… I… grabbed… Carrie’s… sweet…can. Sweet, sw-sw-sweet can.”
They’re making another season? Not that excited. Maybe SATC is just a property best left alone from here on out and we can all just assume “And just like that” didn’t exist.
I think I’m more surprised there will BE a second season.
Have Lauren Lapkus just phone it in
Here’s what I think happened. They got together, had a couple beers, Miranda said, “Why the long face?” like she always does because she thinks its hilarious and Carrie slapped the bitch.
Is this the opposite of alienating/shunning? Instead of not inviting, they force you to be involved even though you refuse to participate. It seems abusive; or at the very least, mean spirited.
Kim Cattrall isn’t being forced to be involved: Samantha isn’t her, just a character she played. This is far from the first or last time a character has continued beyond the original actor’s involvement, even if this is a far dumber way to do it than most.
I don’t think its abusive, but I do think its mean spirited and spiteful. They definitely weren’t true to the character.
Just end it. It is well and truly past it’s use by date. It wasn’t that funny, clever or compelling. It was just sad
More like Text And The City, amirite?
Why doesn’t anyone recast things any more? Surely that has to be better than “Samantha’s not talking to us”. It could also solve the show’s bad-for-2022 diversity problem.
They already brought in additional characters to deal with the diversity issue. Che went over like a lead balloon, but Carrie’s friend Seema was supposed to be somewhat Samantha-esque. I don’t think it would have helped matters if we got a new Samantha like a new Darren from Bewitched.
“It’s
very funny, because every single one of the writers has a different
version of what happened during that conversation,” King said of Carrie
and Samantha’s mysterious meeting.It doesn’t sound very funny.
You had to be there. And by “there,” I mean trapped in the writers’ room with King and a mountain of modestly priced cocaine.
I am not the demographic for this show but I would watch if every time Carrie looks at her phone for a text, this was Samantha’s photo:
Tacky and embarrassing, like the reboot. Didn’t any of these people save their goddamn money??
No dragon has ever said “this hoard is big enough.”