Fans of the Sex And The City sequel series And Just Like That… got a major treat on Wednesday night when original star Kim Cattrall made a brief return for the new series.
The 67-year-old actress, who is best known for playing Samantha Jones on the original show, appeared early on in the finale of And Just Like That… season two in a scene that was shot separately from Sarah Jessica Parker’s reactions.
Samantha called Parker’s Carrie from a car to share that her flight had been delayed and she wouldn’t make it in time to a dinner party she was throwing to say goodbye to her old apartment before moving on, though Carrie wasn’t aware she was planning to attend.
Viewers reacting to the scene on Twitter (recently renamed X) were equally shocked and moved by the brief scene, which was first announced months earlier.
One fan put it succinctly: ‘[Cattrall’s] presence was the best few minutes of the series.’
She’s back! Fans of the Sex And The City sequel series And Just Like That… got a major treat on Wednesday night when original star Kim Cattrall, 67, made a brief return for the new series
Social distancing: Samantha (Cattrall) called Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) from a car to announce she was late and going to miss a dinner party to send off her apartment ahead of a move. The two actress were not on set together or speaking to each other over the phone
Couldn’t have asked for more: Fans were largely thrilled with Samantha’s return, with one fan gushing that ‘Her presence was the best few minutes of the series’
That fan also wrote that they ‘didn’t realize how much’ they had been missing Samantha on AJLT, before adding that the season 2 finale was ‘the best episode’ of the series so far and was ‘brilliant.’
Another viewer wrote that Cattrall came back to the show to give fans what they ‘really want,’ and they said it felt ‘so good’ to see her character ‘back in our screen even if it is just for a short time.’
‘I love this woman so bad she practically raised me,’ they added.
Another fan referenced Cattrall’s widely memed statement that she ‘doesn’t even want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself.’
‘I’m glad she spared a few moments of discomfort for the #And JustLikeThat finale,’ they continued, before adding, ‘Wishful thinking that Samanha Jones can fully return for 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 have yet to recreate in #AndJustLikeThat.’
One fan wrote that Cattrall’s return was ‘more perfect than I ever expected,’ and they said she did the original series ‘proud’ with her ‘flawless minutes of television.
For one viewer, Cattrall’s appearance was one of only ‘three things’ in their life ‘worth getting up at 3am to watch,’ which joined the company of ‘The moon landing in 1969’ and ‘Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981’
Loving it: Another viewer wrote that Cattrall came back to the show to give fans what they ‘really want,’ and they said it felt ‘so good’ to see her character ‘back in our screen even if it is just for a short time’
Worth it: Another fan referenced Cattrall’s widely memed statement that she ‘doesn’t even want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself’
Missing something: The same poster paid tribute to Kim in a subsequent tweet, writing that she ‘brought something to Sex And The City that they have yet to recreate in #AndJustLikeThat’
Couldn’t be better: One fan wrote that Cattrall’s return was ‘more perfect than I ever expected,’ and they said she did the original series ‘proud’ with her ‘flawless minutes of television’
Major event: For one viewer, Cattrall’s appearance was one of only ‘three things’ in their life ‘worth getting up at 3am to watch,’ which joined the company of ‘The moon landing in 1969’ and ‘Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981’
But it wasn’t exclusively praise for Cattrall’s big moment.
One fan noted that they tried to keep their expectations in check, but they were still disappointed with how no attempt was made to make it seem as if Carrie and Samantha would meet in person, and they also didn’t care for the cameo’s anticlimactic position early in the episode.
‘I was expecting she appeared on the last second to surprise Carrie,’ they wrote. ‘Like they could’ve recorded in different rooms — but like Carrie opening the door and Samantha standing there,’ they mused.
One fan thought it wasn’t even worth having Cattrall do the distanced scene if she wasn’t going to show up to the fictional dinner party.
‘Why even introduce the idea that there’s an open 16th spot at the dinner party if you couldn’t convince Kim Cattrall to show up??’ they tweeted.
Others celebrated how much money Cattrall made for what was likely less than a full day of shooting. ‘Kim Cattrall pulled up for 5 min scene and left with a bag,’ joked a viewer.
The television critic Alan Sepinwall joked that the scene should have been shot like the infamous final scene of Archie Panjabi on The Good Wife, in which she and the series lead Julianna Margulies filmed a conversation at a bar separately before being digitally composited.
But other fans were so overcome by emotion that they said they cried during Samantha’s return scene.
For another fan, it was ‘lovely’ to see Cattrall ‘back “on the ‘telly” however briefly it was.’
Didn’t work: One fan noted that they tried to keep their expectations in check, but they were still disappointed with how no attempt was made to make it seem as if Carrie and Samantha would meet in person, and they also didn’t care for the cameo’s anticlimactic position early in the episode
What gives? One fan thought it wasn’t even worth having Cattrall do the distanced scene if she wasn’t going to show up to the fictional dinner party
Making bank: Others celebrated how much money Cattrall made for what was likely less than a full day of shooting
Awkward: The television critic Alan Sepinwall joked that the scene should have been shot like the infamous scene on The Good Wife, in which Archie Panjabi and series lead Julianna Margulies filmed a conversation at a bar separately before being digitally composited
Teary: But other fans were so overcome by emotion that they said they cried during Samantha’s return scene
Worth it: For another fan, it was ‘lovely’ to see Cattrall ‘back “on the ‘telly” however briefly it was’
Having a laugh:
Another viewer shared a clip of Oprah Winfrey weeping on television to express their own feelings.
‘Live footage of me in my bedroom when the camera revealed Kim Cattrall,’ they wrote.
Cattrall previously shared that the cameo was ‘as far’ as she was going to go with And Just Like That…, signaling that this is really the end for Samantha.
However, her return in the first place was shocking enough, so fans may not be willing to completely write her off yet.
