And Just Like That stars on Kim Cattrall return: 'We decided that it was right for the fans'

Now that the cat's out of the bag, the stars of And Just Like That are opening up about the surprise return of Sex and the City veteran Kim Cattrall in season 2 of the successor series, which premieres on HBO and Max Thursday.

After a leak in the press, a spokesperson for Max confirmed to EW last month that Cattrall, who for years declined to do a third Sex and the City movie and was not invited to return for And Just Like That, would be reprising Samantha in a brief scene towards the end of season 2. Sarah Jessica Parker tells EW that she "thought it was a really nice idea."

"Samantha is present in season 1 and more so in season 2 via text. It was just a nice nod to the 25 years [of Sex and the City] to add the face to the text," Parker says. "And it's a really opportune moment in the story, [a] consequential event happening in Carrie's life, that Samantha rings and they have this quick, lovely, sentimental, funny call. And it just feels normal and really nice, and I'm glad that we could manage it and work it out and get it sorted time-wise and schedule-wise."

Craig Blankenhorn/Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection, Craig Blakenhorn/Max 'And Just Like That' season 2 will feature Kim Cattrall's return

"We had a conversation about it and we decided that it was right for the fans," says Kristin Davis, who executive produces And Just Like That alongside costars Parker and Cynthia Nixon and showrunner Michael Patrick King. "The fans miss Samantha. The fans love Samantha. Samantha's a fantastic character. We get it."

"It seemed like something that would be great to do," Davis adds, noting that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the Sex and the City premiere in 1998.

"It also seemed like we had to honor the story," Davis continues. In And Just Like That, Cattrall's Samantha moved to London after having some kind of falling out with Parker's Carrie. Amid the death of Carrie's husband John "Mr. Big" Preston (Chris Noth), the two old friends began texting each other.

"Sometimes people aren't in your life every day, but that doesn't mean that you're not connected," Davis says. "I can't give anything else away about the story, 'cause we're trying to keep what secrets are left secret, but it makes sense for the circumstance that it's in."

After joining her costars in the two Sex and the City movies, Cattrall turned down an appearance in a third movie. The actress spoke with Variety in 2022 about how a third film would've seen Samantha receiving unwanted sexual photos from Miranda's son Brady. Cattrall called it "heartbreaking" at the time. "I would have preferred for all of us to have some kind of event to warrant a third film. That didn't happen," she remarked. Cattrall also said that the falling out plot point between Samantha and Carrie in And Just Like That feels "different than the Samantha that I played."

HBO Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, and Kristin Davis in 'Sex and the City 2'

Then there's the added layer of a reported conflict between Cattrall and Parker off-camera, some of which was made public over social media. Evan Handler, who plays Charlotte's husband Harry Goldenblatt, told PEOPLE that Cattrall's Samantha cameo was apparently "shot in the garage somewhere with no contact with anybody."

Cattrall hasn't spoken about her And Just Like That return much, other than to say "Happy Pride" on Instagram when news dropped just before the start of LGBTQ Pride Month in June.

"It's such a bummer that the cat got outta the bag and that it was leaked, 'cause we went to so many lengths to try to hide it," Nixon tells EW. "The thing that we were also really excited about was to have nobody be expecting Samantha and then have her pop in."

Both Nixon and Davis acknowledge that there's been a lot of build up around Cattrall's return, even though it's a very small part. "I just hope it's not just a tremendous anti-climax, to be frank," Nixon says.

"Now that [fans] know about it, it seems like this very large thing, but it's not really a very large thing," Davis echoes. "So I'm hoping that people are happy."

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Related content:

• Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte celebrate SATC's 25th anniversary — sadly without a Samantha cameo

• Kim Cattrall to make shocking Sex and the City return with And Just Like That cameo

• Sarah Jessica Parker explains why Kim Cattrall wasn't invited to star in And Just Like That