Nixon was asked about the return of Cattrall’s Samantha Jones for the new season of “And Just Like That,” as well as how the dynamic shifted filming without her.
Cynthia Nixon just got as candid as she’s been yet about Kim Cattrall’s decision to initially not return to Sex and the City revival And Just Like That.
While Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis all signed on for the Max series, Cattrall previously made it very clear that she had no interest of ever returning and has been quite vocal with her issues with Parker. She will, however, return for a cameo on the revival’s second season — one which does not involve her interacting in person with anyone else from the cast.
Speaking with Vanity Fair ahead of the Season 2 premiere, Nixon was asked whether she had seen Cattrall’s appearance yet. “I read it in the script, but I haven’t seen any of the episodes,” she responded, before being asked whether it was “weird” to return without the Samantha character and if that changed the dynamic on set.
“This is not something that we speak about, really, but I will try and address it really briefly,” Nixon began. “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,” she continued in a comment many have interpreted to be about Cattrall. “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,” she concluded.
When asked whether she’s been in touch with Cattrall at all, she simply added, “That is all I’m gonna say, I’m afraid. And that’s much more than I’ve ever said to anybody.”
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Although there had been rumors of a feud between Parker and Cattrall before, the beef really took off after Cattrall did an interview with Piers Morgan in 2017 and said Parker “could have been nicer to her.” Then, when Cattrall’s brother died unexpectedly in February 2018, Parker reached out to her former co-star and offered her condolences.
On the announcement of her brother’s passing, SJP wrote, “Dearest Kim, my love and condolences to you and yours and Godspped to your beloved brother. Xx.”
Cattrall then went off on Parker in another Instagram post, which she captioned: “My mom asked me today, ‘When will that Sarah Jessica Parker, that hypocrite, leave you alone?’ 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,” Cattrall continued. “So I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.”
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Cattrall later went on to say she turned down doing a third “Sex and the City” movie because of a “heartbreaking” storyline she felt didn’t feel true to the character. She and SJP never really rebounded after that.
When the revival was announced without Cattrall, SJP responded to a fan who said she “disliked” her former costar. “No. I don’t dislike her. I’ve never said that. Never would,” she replied, “Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do.”
In order to address Samantha’s absence, AJLT producers did keep her character alive, but out of the country following a feud and falling out with Carrie. After a few off-camera olive branches from Samantha throughout the season, she and Carrie agreed to meet up for a drink in the finale … though viewers never saw that happen.
“And Just Like That” returns for a second season on June 22.
