Updated: Now that Sex And The City sequel And Just Like That started airing on HBO, we finally discovered Samantha Jones' fate on the show. Shockingly — and to the surprise of viewers — it was revealed that Samantha has moved to London after cutting ties with Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte. Sadly, the friendship ended on a bad note too. Carrie explained that after "firing" Samantha as her publicist, the latter retaliated by "firing" Carrie as a friend and ghosting the group despite their overtures. This direction raised some doubts among the audience, as Samantha's character has always been portrayed as a loyal friend. Hopefully, this rift will be further explored as more episodes are released.
Original story below.
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With many of our beloved shows from the last two decades getting a reboot (see: Gossip Girl), we knew it was just a matter of time before Sex And The City got its own. The day finally arrived on 11 January, when show producer and star Sarah Jessica Parker shared the trailer of the inevitable reboot on her Instagram.
We have to admit, hearing the familiar clacking of Carrie Bradshaw's laptop keyboard made us squeal a little with excitement. That is until we remembered that Kim Cattrall, the actress who brought the iconic Samantha Jones to life, wouldn't be joining the rest of the crew following a public rift between her and Sarah Jessica Parker. Kim also decided to no longer partake in any revivals as she had already played the role "past the finish line".
Is there a possibility to still see Samantha then? If the role gets recast, yes, but let's not get our hopes up. Based on Sarah Jessica's reply to a fan on Instagram, it seems like it's unlikely. "Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do," she wrote.
So that sounds like a finality. The production for the reboot, aptly titled And Just Like That, will start in the spring in the U.S. (March to May in our region) without Samantha Jones. We're a little torn. We are very curious to know how the brunch bunch are doing in their 50s, but we're still a little sad that we won't get to see how Samantha's life as a bachelorette in her 60s will be. Here's why we'll miss her zany character and our musings on what the Sex And The City reboot without her would look like.
Why Samantha is important
In television and movies, single ladies over the age of 35 rarely get the spotlight and the few remarkable ones that graced our screen in the last two decades have one denominator: they eventually end up finding the loves of their lives. Ambitious copywriter Peggy from Mad Men ended up in a relationship with her co-worker, fiercely independent single mom Lorelai Gilmore of Gilmore Girls found love in her long-time friend Luke and even Sex And The City's other single gal Miranda Hobbes married "nice guy" Steve.
Don't get us wrong, we're not against happily ever after. What we're saying is Samantha Jones-esque characters are rare. She's an outlier. She actually thrives in her singledom. Not because she's emotionally inept — something that we see her grow out of in the course of the series — but because she just really likes her own company. That's it. "I love you too, Richard but I love me more" when she walked away from an unfaithful man remains one of the show's most iconic lines.
Samantha Jones was groundbreaking because finally there was finally a character who's single without any insinuations that she's somehow lacking or less than her coupled friends or needs fixing. Seeing her in her 60s could have been an inspiring arc and maybe even abate the fears of women embracing singlehood.
What Sex And The City reboot without Samantha would look like
In our very best Carrie Bradshaw impression: We couldn’t help but wonder… what would a Sex and the City reboot without Samantha look like? We're far from 1998 and a lot of things in our social consciousness have changed since Britney Spears released ...Baby One More Time. With terms like "Karen" and "Becky" entering our vocabulary, watching three cisgender white women onscreen get scrumptious brunch and shop for designer labels will seem — forgive us — a little out of touch in 2021 especially with the pandemic wreaking havoc in our financial situation.
Samantha's content, self-assured bachelorette character in her 60s may be one of the few elements of the show that could be groundbreaking today. We can totally imagine her using her publicist skills in promoting new dating apps.
please respond below with your suggested plotline that explains Samantha's absence https://t.co/8UBDhcxfBM
— Taffy Brodesser-Akner (@taffyakner) January 10, 2021
Still, sans Samantha, what we have left is something that can still be interesting and of value. After all, married women also have colourful lives. If, for some miraculous plot armour, Mr. Big and Carrie's marriage survive after all these years, then it would be fascinating to find out how they managed to solidify their bond. We're also curious about how motherhood is like for Charlotte; our bets are that she's now the mum who heads parent-teacher meetings and chaperones soirees. As for Miranda, we're eager to know if she's already figured out how to balance her life and career. If we do end up seeing three divorcees in their 50s, we're still eager to see their adventures.
And Just Like That officially premiered on 9 December, with new episodes airing every Thursday. Just like many of you, we're ready to rediscover our love for Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha.
(Cover photo credit: New Line Cinema, HBO Films, Warner Bros. Pictures)
Next, learn how to dress like Carrie Bradshaw.
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