And Just Like That star Cynthia Nixon has reflected on what it was like to shoot season 1 without Kim Cattrall as Samantha. The Sex and the City sequel series, which premiered on Max (formerly HBO Max) in December 2021, brought back main characters Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis). Cattrall did not return to reprise the role of Samantha due to an alleged behind-the-scenes feud between her and Parker.
Vanity Fair recently sat down for an interview with Cynthia Nixon ahead of the release of And Just Like That season 2 on June 22. During their conversation, Nixon explained what it was like to be on set without Cattrall. She explained what a big difference it made to be on a set where “you’re not walking around on eggshells.” Read her full quote below:
This is not something that we speak about, really, but I will try and address it really briefly. Yes, it did feel very different. It felt very different also because we have these new amazing characters, and we’re older and our fictional children are now largely grown. Many things felt different. But the main thing that felt so great was that everybody who was there really wanted to be there. That’s just the bottom line. We all love each other, we love our show, we wanted to do more of it. And we all wanted to be there. So that makes an enormous difference, that you’re not walking around on eggshells with someone who’s unhappy for reasons that are hard to even understand what they are.
And Just Like That’s Samantha Absence Explained
While the exact nature of the behind-the-scenes tension with Cattrall has never been fully addressed, the actor did not sign on to join the And Just Like That cast. She had previously backed out of the planned Sex and the City 3 movie, saying she had “passed the finish line” with her character. Her tensions with Parker also became public in 2018 when she took to Twitter to call her co-star “cruel” and a “hypocrite” after the star offered her condolences following a Cattrall family tragedy.
And Just Like That season 1 wrote around Samantha’s absence, explaining that the character and Carrie had a fight shortly before she moved to London for work. Samantha was referenced frequently and even appeared via text messages, but she never appeared onscreen. However, the season 1 finale saw Samantha and Carrie plan to get drinks together, implying a possible reconciliation was in the cards.
Indeed, Cattrall is now set to return for a cameo appearance in And Just Like That season 2. However, her scene – one side of a phone call with Carrie – was filmed without the participation of her co-stars or showrunner Michael Patrick King. Though the situation is still murky, Nixon’s statement and the nature of the Samantha cameo would seem to imply that the tension may still be high enough that Samantha won’t return for a full scene in the near future.
Source: Vanity Fair
