The squad from ‘Sex and the City’ will return to screens this week in a new spin-off, minus a familiar face.
With ‘And Just Like That…’ debuting on HBO Max on December 9 (a UAE release date has yet to be announced), cast member Chris Noth has addressed the highly publicised feud between Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall, which resulted in the latter refusing to return for the spin-off.
Noth, who returns as Mr Big in the new show, spoke to The Guardian about Cattrall’s decision not to reprise the role of PR guru Samantha Jones in the spin-off, calling it “sad and uncomfortable.”
“I have to tell you, I have absolutely no idea what her thinking is or her emotions,” he told the UK-based daily. “I do know that I’m very close with SJ and [Cattrall’s] descriptions of her don’t even come close. I liked her, I thought she was marvellous in the show and some people move on for their own reasons. I don’t know what hers were. I just wish that whole thing had never happened because it was sad and uncomfortable.”
There had been rumours of in-fighting during the shoot of ‘Sex and the City’, which ran on HBO between 1998 and 2004. The show was followed by two corresponding films, in 2008 and 2010. A third film was shortly cancelled after being announced when Cattrall famously quit the project on account of being ‘treated badly’ by Parker.
Things went public in 2018 when the actress lashed out at her former co-star after Parker expressed her condolences over the death of Cattrall’s brother, Chris.
“Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now,” Cattrall wrote on Instagram at the time. “Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven’t already) You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.”
In The Guardian interview, Noth said he was unhappy with the way his co-star was treated. “I just don’t like to see anyone talking down about SJ because she’s a target and people can be nasty. I feel very protective of her and I was not happy about that.”
The actor also addressed returning to the character made after his last outing in ‘Sex and the City 2’ was panned by critics and fans alike.
“I was a little uncomfortable with the, um, in the second one, how the issues between Carrie and Big were resolved,” he shared. While adding like most fans, “I don’t remember [the films], to tell you the truth. I just remember the series being a lot of fun. I saw the movies once at the premieres and that was it.”
He almost decided not to return to the role for the HBO continuation but after a long conversation with executive producer Michael Patrick King, he decided to return, as did the other lead stars of the show including Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon to reprise their roles as Carrie Bradshaw, Charlotte York and Miranda Hobbs.
The first season of ‘And Just Like That’ will feature eight episodes.
