We Have The Full Scoop On Why Kim Cattrall Isn’t Coming Back To Sex And The City

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As I write this sentence, I couldn’t help but wonder…why aren’t all the cast members returning for the ‘Sex and the City’ reboot?

For that first sentence to work, you have to picture me at my computer, staring wistfully out the window at the NYC skyline. 

The reality is I’m on my couch eating a bag of stale kettle cooked potato chips, wondering what the mystery stain on my sweatpants is and why only three of the four titular SATC leads will be prancing around Manhattan in their Jimmy Choos. 

We have Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, Big, even Big’s wife (that he cheated on with Carrie!) — but no Samantha?

How do you reboot an iconic series, not to mention two big screen features, without the extremely sex-positive, devourer of men Samantha Jones, played with gusto by Kim Cattrall?

Well, there’s the whole feud thing between actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall, for starters. 

Onscreen, Carrie Bradshaw and Samantha were thick as thieves, the kind of friends who were always there for each other. 

Offscreen was a different story. 

When The Drama Began

In 2004, Cattrall made an appearance on ‘Friday Night With Jonathan Ross,’ where she said that a reason the show ended was due to a financial issue.

“I felt after six years it was time for all of us to participate in the financial windfall of ‘Sex and the City,’” she said. “When they didn’t seem keen on that I thought it was time to move on.” 

That left little hope for a seventh season or another feature film. 

Cut to May 2008, when rumors about tension over salaries between Cattrall and Parker resurfaced. 

“Parker was given an executive producer title back in the second season, which bumped her salary up to $300,000, causing Cattrall to reportedly negotiate for a higher salary,” reported Elle, and apparently “crew members said the girls were not happy about this and ‘wouldn’t even sit with [Cattrall] at mealtimes.’”

Sounds kind of mean girl-ish to me. 

At the 2004 Emmy Awards, Parker, Cynthia Nixon (Miranda), and Kristin Davis (Charlotte) all sat together while Cattrall sat by herself. 

See? Mean girl clique alert! 

When asked why, Cattrall said, “Are we the best of friends? No. We’re professional actresses. We have our own separate lives.”

Friends Or Frenemies?

But hold up, because during that same time period, Parker was singing a very different tune (SJP can sing, she was in ‘Annie’ on Broadway!), telling outlets that they WERE friends. 

“Honestly, we are all friends and I wish I saw more of Kim. She mentioned money and no one should vilify her for it. People made a decision that we had vilified her,” Parker said. 

Seems like Cattrall felt the exact opposite, and the public was quick to pick sides — and the side they chose wasn’t Cattrall’s. 

In 2009, the New York Post reported that “Parker and Cattrall were no longer speaking, making everyone on the set of the new Sex and the City movie uncomfortable.” 

In an interview with Elle that same year, Parker addressed the gossip of disharmony between Cattrall and the other cast members, saying “I don’t think anybody wants to believe that I love Kim. I adore her. I wouldn’t have done the movie without her. Didn’t and wouldn’t.”

Maybe Parker should have expressed those sentiments to Cattrall instead of Elle Magazine? Just a thought. 

But Cattrall did get the message and in an interview, when asked about Parker’s lovey-dovey sentiments, Cattrall said, “I think Sarah was right: People don’t want to believe that we get on. They have too much invested in the idea of two strong, successful women fighting with each other. It makes for juicy gossip and copy. 

“The truth of us being friends and getting along and happily doing our jobs together is nowhere near as newsworthy. I think Sarah is fantastic. She is a born leader and she guides the crew and the cast in such a strong but gentle way. She and I are sick of this. It’s exhausting talking about it, and a real bore.”  

One by one, each cast member dismissed the feud gossip and ‘Sex and the City 2’ was released in 2010, and all seemed quiet on the SATC front.

Hold On To Your Manolos

Fast forward to 2017, when SJP let the world know that there would be no third ‘SATC’ movie — and Cattrall was thrown under a NYC bus AGAIN. 

In an anonymously sourced article, Cattrall took the brunt of the blame “due to her demands.”

Cattrall, in a tweet the next day, wrote “Woke 2 a @MailOnline [poop emoji] storm! The only DEMAND I ever made was that I didn’t want to do a 3rd film….& that was back in 2016.”

Even though she’d said over a year earlier that she was not up for a third installment, fans and the press went after her. 

The difference this time is she went right back after them with an appearance on Piers Morgan. 

“The answer was always no,” Cattrall told the British talk show host. “I never asked for any money, I never asked for any projects. To be thought of as some kind of diva is ridiculous.”

She went on to say that she could not remember the last time she’d spoken with any of her co-stars — and not one of them contacted her when rumors were rampant about her “diva” behavior stalling the movie.

“Nobody ever picks up the phone and tries to contact you and say, ‘How you doing?’ That would have been the way to handle it,” she said. “This is, it feels like, a toxic relationship.”

“This is really where I take to task the people from ‘Sex and the City,’ and specifically Sarah Jessica Parker,” she added. “I think she could’ve been nicer. I really think she could’ve been nicer. I don’t know what her issue is.”

This backbiting goes on for years and I feel the way Chris Noth, Mr. Big himself, felt his character would respond to the ongoing drama surrounding the cast — when asked in 2018, Noth rolled up his car window.

Classic Mr. Big. 

Team Carrie or Team Samantha

In an August 2019 interview with The Guardian, Cattrall said that she “went past the finish line playing Samantha Jones because I loved Sex and the City. It was a blessing in so many ways, but after the second movie I’d had enough. 

“I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just replace me with another actress instead of wasting time bullying. No means no,” and went on to say “I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself.”

Greenlight For Reboot

‘And Just Like That…’

No, seriously, that’s what the limited series is called. 

In January 2021, the cast, sans Cattrall, gave us the news that SATC devotees have been white-knuckling their designer clutches for — a new 10-episode HBO Max reboot was finally happening. 

Cattrall has been mum on the topic, but Parker talked about Samantha not being a part of the series in her IG comments.

“Happy to see you back but will miss Kim/Samantha,” one comment read. Parker replied, “We will too. We loved her so. X,” while another insinuated that Parker and Cattrall dislike each other. 

To that, Parker responded, “No. I don’t dislike her. I’ve never said that. Never would. Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do.” 

Fans think Cattrall was throwing shade at SJP with this IG post: 

Kim posted a short video of herself cuddling up to a dog named Pixel, whom she is set to star alongside in her new project Sensitive Skin, accompanied by the caption “When your co-star is a real dog.” Either way, as Buzzfeed said, “WOOF.”

Sex-less City?

How the show will tackle a Samantha-less storyline was explained by Casey Bloys, HBO Max chief content officer. 

“They’re trying to tell an honest story about being a woman in her 50s in New York. So it should all feel somewhat organic, and the friends that you have when you’re 30, you may not have when you’re 50,” Casey said. 

“Just as in real life, people come into your life, people leave. Friendships fade, and new friendships start. So I think it is all very indicative of the real stages, the actual stages of life.”

Will the reboot be good? Most definitely, but it will be way less horny without Samantha — to that I say BOOOOO. 

Cattrall looks to be in a good place without SATC, so I’ll leave you with an inspirational Samantha Jones quote: “If I worried what every bitch in New York was saying about me, I’d never leave the house.”

Will you be watching the SATC reboot? Let us know in the comments!

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