Kim Cattrall Had Quite a Few Demands to Appear on ‘And Just Like That…’

Kim Cattrall looks to the side at a red carpet

(Image credit: Getty)

published 4 June 2023

No way you missed this news, but there is big time news on the And Just Like That… front this week: Kim Cattrall, aka Samantha Jones herself, will make a cameo appearance on the Sex and the City reboot’s second season, which premieres later this month. This news comes after a “well-publicized fallout” with costar Sarah Jessica Parker that meant she was absent for the show’s first season, Page Six reports.

The outlet reports that Cattrall’s appearance—which is being billed as a “cliffhanger”—was not without its stipulations. The actress apparently refused to film with former costars Parker, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon, for starters. She also apparently wouldn’t step foot on the set if showrunner (and SJP ally, according to Page Six) Michael Patrick King was there. “Kim had two stipulations,” a source said. “One, that she would not act with any of the other girls, and two, she did not want to see Michael Patrick King.”

Kim Cattrall, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis stand outside Bergdorf Goodman

And perhaps the biggest demand of all: “She [Cattrall] will have gotten a s—load of money,” the source said. “It just shows the power of Kim. They still need her on the show. But even though this may get fans thinking she’ll be back for the next season, she’ll never do that. She was treated poorly.”

If you’ll remember, Samantha’s absence was explained away in the show’s first season by saying she was in London, and that she and Carrie Bradshaw (played by Parker) had a falling out after Carrie dumped Samantha as her publicist.

Sarah Jessica Parker walking down the street

“I’m glad she gets to be the hero,” the insider said. “I’m sure it took a lot of massaging to make the cameo happen.” In the scene—filmed in Queens on March 22—“Samantha is reportedly seen in a car having a phone conversation with Carrie,” Page Six reports. Cattrall’s appearance was apparently a surprise to the crew, as her name was not on the call sheet: “The crew had no idea she was gonna be inside a car they were lighting,” a source said.

“The offer presented to Kim was always to be a phone call, shot alone as most calls would be,” a spokesperson for HBO and Max (the network on which And Just Like That… airs) told Page Six. “This was an easy and convenient way for Samantha to return. We are delighted it worked out.”

Candace Bushnell, whose Sex and the City columns inspired the hit show, told Page Six “I love Kim. Everyone loves Kim. I’m sure she got paid handsomely…Kim is a grown woman and she does things on her own terms. It’s what the fans want.”

While the show returns on June 22, Cattrall’s cameo won’t be seen until August.

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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