Sex and The City’s Biggest Star is Back, or is she?

When Sex in The City’s cast returned to our screens in the new generation of the show And Just Like That, you couldn’t help but notice that something wasn’t quite right. The show had always had four main characters but now there were only three. What could have happened to the firmest of friends to explain why one of them was missing?

This franchise was a fundamental part of many people’s lives, following the twists and turns of these four sassy women’s lives in the Big Apple. The characters went on to develop a presence outside of the TV show. Merchandise from tote bags to bottle openers can be purchased – Cosmopolitan magazine compiled a list of gifts that fans would love in their recent December issue. There’s a trivia board game available and at the best online casinos in USA you can find a Sex In The City slot game at the Golden Nugget Casino.

While fame and money are very attractive, not every actor wants to only be known for one thing. Back in 2017, Kim Catterall, who played Samantha Jones, announced that she no longer wanted to play the part after having done so for six seasons. In an interview with Piers Morgan, she said that she wanted to move on to a new chapter in her life. There were also reported tensions between her and her co-stars but that is not so unusual in a tight-knit cast.

When Sex In The City was reimagined as Just Like That, it was obvious that there were going to have to be some changes in the make-up of the team.  It’s not unusual for a TV show to lose a character along the way. Possibly an untimely death or other freak accident moves the story along. Other shows have simply recast the part. However, in Just Like That, we know Samantha’s still around, waiting in the wings for a possible triumphant return. If you are a big fan and you haven’t started watching the series yet, you may want to stop reading.

Spoiler alert!

The opening episode of Just Like That introduces Samantha’s absence without ever bringing her on screen. It is explained that Samantha is not impressed that her friend Carrie’s career as a writer has advanced so far that Carrie now has a new publicist. It was all too much for Samantha’s pride and she broke ties with her friends and moved to Europe. They miss her when they meet up for cocktails and go clubbing, each of them pining for her advice when they have to tackle new problems. The fracturing of the friendship is a source of sadness for Miranda, Carrie, and Charlotte.

When friendships have been deep, it’s very hard to stay distant emotionally in the long run. Over the series, tensions start to ease, and Carrie finds that Samantha is starting to return her messages. It appears that Samantha is back, but only in the form of texts, lines of type on Carrie’s phone. The physical character remains elusive. The phone became a key character in its own right in the series. The ellipses would appear – the ones that showed Samantha was starting to return a message. Alternatively, the messages would simply be deleted without any response at all.

Through the medium of text alone, the friendship is rebuilt, and the final episode sees Samantha agreeing to meet up in Paris with Carrie where she will scatter her late husband’s ashes. While the drinks are arranged, the series concluded without us ever seeing Samantha on screen. The friendship that was so core to the women’s life was restored but the action takes place ‘off-stage’.

With the possibility of a second season of And Just Like That, the production team have left a door open for Catterall to change her mind and appear in a future episode. Now they just need to work out how they can persuade her to step back on the set, even if just for a final send-off.