Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis and Kim Cattrall took the world by storm when Sex and the City first hit in 1998. The ensemble quickly proved to audiences that they were a fearless series set in NYC that consisted of three-dimensional women fueled by friendships, dating forays and individualistic personal pursuits. But before the show became a pop culture staple, Cattrall had her doubts and reportedly didn’t sign on until her fourth offer.
Let’s rewind the clock before we begin. Specifically, before And Just Like That was on our 2025 TV guide, the discourse of the now imagined reboot, the Cattrall-Parker feud vibes and the full SATC franchise. The Mannequin actress shared with The Times why it took four asks before she said yes to Samantha Jones, and it has to do with her viewers’ (and her) thoughts about her age. In her words:
Self-inflicted ageism. Well, that changed — 40 became sexy. It became, ‘Man, let’s have more of that.’
Thank goodness the ageist expectations shifted, because I’m not sure anyone else could’ve played Jones like Cattrall did. He thoughts behind it aren't wrong; the decade experienced a lot of social changes, especially in Hollywood, and moving into new ground, past cookie-cutter character checklists, was a great feat.
The other side of that coin for the Fabulous actress was showcasing the wild amount of rendez-vous' Jones found herself in, which was edgy for the time regardless of age. I’m just so glad things were changing then, the Samantha actress said yes and made the boldest of the pals all her own.
As we all know, following the four besties’ lives proved to be one of the biggest hits and best romantic comedy shows (which remains true to this day). Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha were blended seamlessly together to navigate all things love as working professionals, and equally relevant characters. It’s why they have six seasons to their name and three movies and fans continue to want more.
While you can watch the OG franchise with a Max subscription, the megastreamer also took on the reboot, And Just Like That… But, obviously, Cattrall called it quits before the HBO original series, and the fans’ reactions to no more Samantha Jones say it all about her and the PR exec’s legacy. Though we were quickly teased with Cattrall's brief return to AJLT during the season 2 finale, and some of us couldn’t help but wonder if she would return again (it’s seemingly a no).
And just like that, we all know the story of why Kim Cattrall paused a few times before saying yes to Ms. Samantha Jones and Sex and the City.
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