Fans of the Sex And The City sequel And Just Like That… got a big treat on Wednesday night as original star Kim Cattrall briefly returned for the new series.
The 67-year-old actress, best known for her role as Samantha Jones on the original series, appeared early in the season 2 finale of And Just Like That… in a scene that was independent of Sarah Jessica Parker’s reactions was filmed.
Samantha called Parker’s Carrie from a car and informed her that her flight was delayed and she wouldn’t make it in time for a dinner party she planned to throw to say goodbye to her old apartment before moving on, although Carrie was unaware of planning to attend.
Viewers who reacted to the scene on Twitter (recently renamed X) were shocked and moved in equal measure by the brief scene, which was first announced months earlier.
One fan summed it up: “[Cattrall’s] “Presence was the best minute of the series.”
She is back! Fans of the Sex And The City sequel series And Just Like That… got a big treat on Wednesday night when original star Kim Cattrall, 67, briefly returned for the new series
Social Distancing: Samantha (Cattrall) calls Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) from a car to tell her she’s going to be late and will miss a dinner party to leave her apartment before a move. The two actresses were not on the set together, nor did they speak to each other on the phone
Couldn’t have asked for more: Fans were largely thrilled to see Samantha’s return, with one fan gushed, “Her presence was the best minute of the series.”
This fan also wrote that they “didn’t realize how much they missed Samantha at AJLT,” before adding that the season 2 finale was “the show’s best episode yet” and “brilliant.”
Another viewer wrote that Cattrall returned to the show to give fans what they “really want,” and they said it felt “so good” to see her character “back on our screen when.” even for a short time.”
“I love this woman so much she practically raised me,” they added.
Another fan referenced Cattrall’s widely publicized statement that she “didn’t want to be in a situation for even an hour that I wasn’t having fun with.”
“Glad she saved herself a few moments of uneasiness for the #And JustLikeThat finale,” they continued, before adding, “Wishful belief that Samanha Jones can make a full return in Season 3.”
The same poster paid tribute to Kim in a subsequent tweet, writing that she “brought something to Sex And The City that they haven’t replicated in #AndJustLikeThat.”
One fan wrote that Cattrall’s return was “more perfect than I ever expected,” and they said she was “proud” of the original series with its “pristine television minutes.”
For one viewer, Cattrall’s performance was one of only “three things” in her life “worth getting up at 3 a.m. to see,” along with “The 1969 Moon Landing” and “Princess Diana’s Wedding in 1981.”
Love it: Another viewer wrote that Cattrall returned to the show to give fans what they “really want,” and they said it feels “so good” to have her character “back on our screen.” to see, if only for a short time.”‘
It’s worth it: Another fan referenced Cattrall’s widely acclaimed statement that she “wouldn’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not having fun”.
Something’s missing: The same poster paid tribute to Kim in a subsequent tweet, writing that she “brought something to Sex And The City that they haven’t replicated in #AndJustLikeThat.”
Couldn’t be better: One fan wrote that Cattrall’s return was “more perfect than I ever expected” and they said she was “proud” of the original series with its “pristine minutes of television”.
Big event: For one viewer, Cattrall’s performance was one of only “three things” in her life “worth getting up at 3 a.m. to see,” alongside “The Moon Landing 1969” and “Princess Diana’s Wedding 1981.”
But it wasn’t all praise for Cattrall’s big moment.
One fan noted that they were trying to keep their expectations in check, but were still disappointed that no attempt was made to make it appear like Carrie and Samantha were meeting in person, and also liked the disappointing position of the guest appearance not early in the episode.
“I expected her to show up at the last second to surprise Carrie,” they wrote. “Like they could have taped in different rooms – but like Carrie opened the door and Samantha was standing there,” they mused.
One fan felt that if she didn’t show up for the fictional dinner party, it wasn’t even worth letting Cattrall do the detached scene.
“Why would anyone even think there’s a seat for 16th at the dinner party if you couldn’t get Kim Cattrall to show up?” they tweeted.
Others celebrated how much money Cattrall made for probably less than a full day of shooting. “Kim Cattrall stopped for a 5 minute scene and left with a bag,” joked one viewer.
TV critic Alan Sepinwall joked that the scene should have been shot like Archie Panjabi’s infamous closing scene in The Good Wife, in which she and series lead actress Julianna Margulies filmed a conversation at a bar separately before going digital were put together.
But other fans were so overcome with emotion that they said they cried during the return scene with Samantha.
For another fan, it was “lovely” to see Cattrall “back on TV, no matter how short it was.”
Didn’t work: One fan noted that they tried to keep their expectations in check, but they were still disappointed that no attempt was made to make it seem like Carrie and Samantha were meeting in person, and they were also don’t care for the disappointing position of the cameo at the beginning of the episode
What gives? One fan felt that if she didn’t show up for the fictional dinner party, it wasn’t even worth letting Cattrall do the detached scene
Making money: Others celebrated how much money Cattrall made for probably less than a full day of shooting
Awkward: TV critic Alan Sepinwall joked that the scene should have been shot like the infamous scene in ‘The Good Wife’ where Archie Panjabi and series lead Julianna Margulies filmed a conversation in a bar separately before being digitally stitched together
Tearful: But other fans were so overcome with emotion that they said they cried during the return scene with Samantha
It’s worth it: For another fan, it was ‘nice’ to see Cattrall ‘back on TV, no matter how short it was’
Laugh:
Another viewer shared a clip of Oprah Winfrey crying on TV to express his own feelings.
“Live footage of me in my bedroom as the camera revealed Kim Cattrall,” they wrote.
Cattrall previously shared that the cameo was “as far as” she wanted to go with And Just Like That… signaling that this is truly the end for Samantha.
However, her return was shocking enough in the first place that fans may not be ready to write her off entirely just yet.