By David T. Valentin
If you didn’t know already, Sex and The City’s TV mini-series sequel, And Just Like That, premiered today on HBO Max, once again throwing us into the life of Carrie Bradshaw and her friends living in New York City.
According to HBO Max, And Just Like That will follow Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbes and Charlotte York as they navigate the big apple in their 50’s with their marriages, jobs, and children. As Sarah Jessica Parker said of the show, “I’m excited about the time that has passed. I think young women still really relate to this story, it’s about finding friends that matter, looking for work that fulfills you, and pursuing love, even when it drags you down the street!”
You might notice the famously comedic Samantha Jones, played by Kim Cattrall, is not on the cast list. Although Sarah Jessica Parker has denied rumors and fan speculations of her and Cattrall’s rumored disagreements and rivalry, Cattrall herself has come out publicly back in 2018 practically confirming the two actresses heated rivalry.
Vox writes of the incident, “Cattrall’s younger brother Chris died in February 2018 and she posted a remembrance of him on February 4. Two days later, she thanked fans and colleagues for sending her family support. Six days later, Cattrall clarified that ‘thanks’ post, saying she received warm wishes from a person she didn’t want them from: Sarah Jessica Parker,” even going so far as to directly @ Parker. Along with the photo posted on Instagram, Cattrall wrote a long paragraph calling out Parker for what is, essentially, emotional abuse.
In the premiere episode of And Just Like That, the show addresses Samantha’s absence by explaining very quickly that Samantha is not talking to the rest of her friends because Carrie had fired her friend Samantha from being her publicist, and Miranda going on to explain, Samantha’s “pride got damaged.”
While there were rumors that Parker added some storylines that humiliated Cattrall’s character throughout the run of Sex and The City, as if bringing their offscreen feud onscreen, the explanation for Samantha’s absence seems like the final nail on the coffin for both the character and the relationship between two actresses.