Sex and the City reboot: HBO reveals reason why Kim Cattrall won't feature

HBO bosses have commented on why they decided not to bring back Kim Cattrall's character for the Sex and the City reboot. Photo / Getty Images

HBO Max have explained Kim Cattrall's character Samantha Jones won't be returning for the Sex and the City spin-off series because they wanted to reflect the "actual stages of life" which often see friends part ways.

Last month it was confirmed that Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis – who played Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbes, and Charlotte York Goldenblatt respectively in the original drama – would be reprising their iconic roles for a Sex and the City revival series titled And Just Like That….

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At the time, questions were raised as to why fourth Sex and the City star Cattrall wasn't on the list to return as Samantha Jones, and it has now been confirmed by HBO Max's chief content officer Casey Bloys that show bosses thought it would be unrealistic for all four of the original leading ladies to still be best friends almost 17 years after the original show came to an end in 2004.

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Speaking during a panel event on Wednesday (US time), he said: "They're not trying to say that these characters are reliving their 30s. It is very much a story about women in their 50s, and they are dealing with things that people deal with in their 50s.

"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 … 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."

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Cattrall's absence from the spin-off series also comes as she has been locked in a feud with 55-year-old Parker for some time.

In 2017, 67-year-old Cattrall said she has "never been friends" with her co-star, before later insisting the actress "could have been nicer" on the set of the popular TV show.

She said at the time: "We've never been friends. We've been colleagues and, in some ways, it's a very healthy place to be."

The Filthy Rich star then said she didn't know what Parker's "problem" was, before later slamming her as "toxic" and "cruel".

And Just Like That… has been ordered by HBO Max for 10 episodes, and is due to enter production in late spring.