Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker on location for Sex and the City in New York. Photo / Getty Images
Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker on location for Sex and the City in New York. Photo / Getty Images
Kim Cattrall's absence from And Just Like That, the Sex and the City reboot, has made headlines for months.
The show writers explained the separation of the best friends by weaving in a narrative about Samantha's new job in London and a falling out with Carrie.
The need for that to be in the script derives from Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker's alleged long-running feud, which led to Cattrall not taking part in the reboot.
Now, Sarah Jessica Parker has addressed Samantha's absence from the show.
In an interview with Variety, Parker, who plays Carrie Bradshaw, answered a question many fans have been wondering: would she be ok with Cattrall returning to the show to play Samantha?
"I don't think I would, because I think there's just too much public history of feelings on her part that she's shared," Parker said. "I haven't participated in or read articles, although people are inclined to let me know," she added.
Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker on location for Sex and the City in New York. Photo / Getty Images
The show's director, Michael Patrick King, also told Variety that he does not think Cattrall has any interest in returning to the show.
He added that the text messages Carrie exchanges with Samantha throughout the first season of And Just Like That are a way to "respect the legacy" of Cattrall's character.
The actress who plays Carrie Bradshaw agrees: "There's a very distinct line between Samantha and Kim. Samantha's not gone. Samantha's present, and I think was handled with such respect and elegance. She wasn't villainised. She was a human being who had feelings about a relationship, so I think we found a way to address it which was necessary and important for people that loved her."
WARNING: Spoiler ahead for season finale of And Just Like That. Stop reading here if you'd rather not find out.
Carrie and Samantha have an offscreen reunion in the season finale of the show, with the two old friends meeting up for a drink. While the fictional reunion is not shown on screen, it was an important point in the story and, Parker says, a reflection on the growth the characters have gone through.
"Because a friendship with that amount of time underneath it is really valuable," Parker explained. "Carrie experienced a life-altering and devastating incident (the death of her husband), and it's changed her perspective and how she loves and who she loves."
