And Just Like That…. We Could Mend Friendships – Season 3 Returning Characters

Samantha Jones Sex and the CIty And Just Like That tv show Kim Catrall season 3
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SUMMARY
  • Sex and the City to And Just Like That roots in friendship
  • The hype around Cattrall’s return
  • The opportunity to help audiences learn how to mend real friendships… or move on after a discussion

Sex and the City was a staple for me in the early 2000’s. I was in my very early 20’s and I felt like finally there were women being portrayed that were totally flawed. While looking back now, sheesh, some of the situations and dialogue didn’t age well, but man, there were plenty of it that did.

But the one thing across the board that they got right….. friendship.

This show put a shiny spotlight on what women friendships often looks like… and it aint pretty. But they were all for each other.

And yes, I’ve heard the backlash about Carrie ditching her friends for a man… but let’s be honest here, she always touched base with them and they were still there for her.

It happens in real life, a new love comes into your life and it does take up a massive amount of time. That doesn’t mean you don’t still love your friends… and she clearly still loved them as much as they loved her. So, I definitely related and didn’t hate that about the character. It felt relatable to me.

When the new series came out of And Just Like That (ps how much I hate that name), I was incredibly disappointed with the absense of Samantha’s character.

But, I understood the realness behind Kim Cattrall’s need to move on from that character. And of course, we’ve all known about the conflict between her and Sarah Jessica Parker so it wasn’t a complete shock.

Let me be clear here. I like Kim Cattrall and I like Sarah Jessica Parker in totally different ways. I don’t feel any way about their behind the curtain personal feud with each other as it’s not my business and they are humans with real feelings.

I am able to separate their real life from the characters and the onscreen friendship.

With Samantha’s (Cattrall’s) short reprisal at the end of Season 2 of AJLT, it was a little glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, she’d possibly come back for a little bit more in Season 3.

I thought, wow, that would be cool if they were able to set aside their real feud and give these characters a chance to mend their friendship (or not).

No such luck according to Cattrall as of July 2024.

Returning characters for “And Just Like That” Season 3 include:

  • Sarah Jessica Parker: As Carrie Bradshaw
  • Cynthia Nixon: As Miranda Hobbes
  • Kristin Davis: As Charlotte York Goldenblatt
  • Mario Cantone: As Anthony Marentino
  • Sarita Choudhury: As Seema Patel
  • Nicole Ari Parker: As Lisa Todd Wexley, a documentarian and mom
  • John Corbett: As Aiden Shaw
  • Evan Handler: as Harry Goldenblatt
  • David Eigenberg: as Steve
  • Christopher Jackson: Herbet Wexley (husband of Lisa Todd)
  • Niall Cunningham: as Brady Hobbes
  • Cathy Ang: as Lily Goldenblatt
  • Sebastiano Pigazzi: as Giuseppe (Anthony’s boyfriend)
  • Dolly Wells: as Joy (possible love interest of Miranda)
  • Alexa Swinton: as Rock Goldenblatt

Not Returning Characters in “And Just Like That” Season 3 confirmed:

  • Karen Pittman: as Professor Nya Wallace (eh, she was ok)
  • Sara Ramírez: as Che Diaz (good riddence)
  • And….. Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones (total bummer)

While that’s disappointing, I started thinking about the realness of their feud and the character’s fallout and how that could really be a substantial opportunity to address real friendship mishaps. I can’t think of anywhere that I’ve been invested in a relationship like theirs (friendship) over what, 20 years, and have seen it play out in real life, besides the show Friends I guess.

It could be so beneficial to see how to go about fixing or just talking about a friendship that has dissipated.

I’ve had that happen in my own life with very long friendships that they have just halted for different reasons. Not even big reasons or ones that I could put a finger on.

They just…. dissolved over time.

We grew up, we stopped talking, our lives went different ways, there was something that happened to offset it, and so on.

I found this amazing take on what would be a great way for Catrall to come back as Samantha by Hannah Postlethwait at ScreenRant:

If Samantha Jones had appeared in And Just Like That season 3, I would have wanted her to have honest conversations with Carrie about their friendship. Audiences deserve a more sturdy explanation for what kept the friends apart. There is no one better to deliver that than Cattrall, who could channel her frustrations into the narrative. It’s natural for friends to fall out of touch, and the series has honored that by portraying Samantha as hesitant to open back up to Carrie after being hurt. Read the full article >

This struck me hard and I immediately said YESSSS!!! THAT!!!! ☝️☝️☝️ 💯 💯 💯

It’s so true and it would be such a perfect way for older and mature women to see how to fix longtime friendships that have dissolved for whatever reason.

I could surely use the advice and guidance that these two characters could really effectively achieve due to the audience knowing that there is a real situation behind the character’s conversation.

She goes on to say that the fallout between the Samantha and Carrie’s characters isn’t believable.

The irreconcilable difference is that Carrie chose not to use Samantha as her publicist anymore, and Cattrall’s character took it as a personal offense and put their friendship on pause.

Well, I disagree, kind of….

To me, I would think Samantha would completely take it as “business not personal”, but, in friendships there is often a very lopsided, and justifiable, reason for one person to be upset with another that may not make sense to the other.

But the feelings can be very real and raw and those feelings should be honored. And the hurt from a friend should be acknowledged if not full-heartedly felt if there is a true deep friendship there.

In this case, the characters DID have had a true and deep friendship.

I would absolutely love for them, Parker and Cattrall, to turn their frustrations and disagreement into a narrative that can fit these characters to help all those women out there (myself included), learn how to address longtime friendship issues.

Whether the friendship is mended or not, perhaps even just showing how to have the discussion in a mature and non-abrasive fashion while allowing for those feelings to be expressed, would be an opportunity for a show to give the audience in an incredible way.

Do you agree? What are your thoughts? Have you had mishaps with longtime friends and never had them mended?

 

~~ And as always friends, take care, be kind to yourself and others, and always keep learning to be better and do better.

 


COMMENTS QUESTION:

Do you think it would be beneficial to have Kim Cattrall come back as Samantha to have a narrative on how to address friendships that have dissolved?

Let me know what you think👇 in the comments below!

 

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