Why ‘Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall’s cameo return to ‘And Just Like That’ can’t save the show

Although Kim Cattrall’s Samantha Jones wasn’t my favourite character of the show, her unapologetic attitude to sex was undoubtedly revolutionary at the time in terms of female characters in TV shows. Despite not appearing in the first series of ‘And Just Like That,’ Kim is set to make a cameo in the second series.

According to Variety, Kim Cattrall “will only appear in one scene. According to sources, Cattrall shot her dialogue on March 22 in New York City, without seeing or speaking with the stars of the series, including Sarah Jessica Parker, or with 'And Just Like That' showrunner Michael Patrick King.”

When I heard the news about Kim Cattrall making a cameo in ‘And Just Like That,’ I wasn’t remotely happy, but simply indifferent. Why? The simple answer is that not even a cameo appearance by Kim as Samantha Jones can convince me to tune into the show because I absolutely HATE everything about it and at first it pained me to say this out loud. 

To say I am a passionate ‘Sex and the City’ fan would be a gross understatement. I was OBSESSED. I have watched reruns of the two parter ‘An American Girl in Paris’ from Season 6 more times than I care to remember. I love the scene when Sarah Jessica Parker’s character falls down in the Dior store and feels compelled to buy everything in the store to conceal her embarrassment. Who can forget Carrie Bradshaw’s quote? “I fell in Dior. So I decided that the more I purchased, the less they’d think of me as the American who fell in Dior.”

However, my ‘Sex and the City’ journey came to a dramatic ending after I watched the first episode of ‘And Just Like That.' I loved the ‘Sex and the City’ movie, and although I absolutely hated the sequel, I was of course desperate for ‘And Just LIke That’ to begin. I had been waiting for it for years! I promise you that this is no exaggeration.

Within minutes however of watching the first episode of ‘And Just Like That’ I couldn’t quite believe what I was witnessing. I of course appreciate that ‘Sex and the City’ wasn’t politically correct and they were trying to address that in the new series, but this isn’t what I had a problem with.

My issue was with the original characters, I simply felt that the writers had destroyed the essence of what the likes of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte were about. I particularly felt aggrieved at their treatment of the male characters, in particular, Charlotte’s husband, Harry Goldenblatt (played by Evan Handler) and Miranda’s husband, Steve Brady (played by David Eigenberg). Let me clarify what I mean. In ‘And Just Like That’ the character of Miranda finds she is sexually attracted to Che Diaz (played by Sara Ramirez) and loses interest in her own husband. Whilst I have no issue with Miranda’s new romantic interest, and subsequent lack of interest in Steve, what I do have a problem with is the treatment of the character of Steve Brady. 

In ‘Sex and the City,’ Steve was funny, and utterly obsessed with Miranda and in ‘And Just Like That,’ he seemed to serve no other purpose than just to exist alongside the other characters. The same could be said for the character of Harry Goldenblatt. Again he was incredibly funny in ‘Sex and the City,’ only turned into a dull and unwatchable character in ‘And Just Like That.’

I understand that no show can stay the same, and it has to evolve to stay relevant, but I wholeheartedly believe that this shouldn't be at  the expense of the essence of the characters. It is not only the characters, but the subject matters. In an attempt to be ‘all things for all people,’ it fails on every level. It is almost as if the writers had a tick box of all the new subject matters they had to cover such as gender and sexual fluidity, but instead of handling them sensitively, I felt they were just added in because they felt it was the ‘right thing to do.’

It is safe to say that even the allure of Kim Cattrall making a cameo appearance in ‘And Just Like That,’ is not going to persuade me to watch the new series. Just like Grease 2 should never have been made, I stand firmly by the statement that ‘And Just LIke That’ shouldn’t have been either!