Ahead of the release of Sex and the City follow-up And Just Like That, one of the key talking points was how the show would deal with the absence of key character Samantha Jones.
Whereas Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis have all returned to play their characters from the original, Kim Cattrall chose not to reprise the role, and so it was always clear that her character would be written out of the series.
And Samantha’s absence has now been addressed in the first episode of the new series – which is now available on Sky Comedy and NOW – with the remaining characters explaining that she is no longer speaking to her friends.
It is revealed that Samantha had ended her friendship with Carrie after she stopped working as her publicist and has now relocated from New York to London, with the trio discussing the matter in one of the very first scenes of the premiere.
Carrie says: “It’s kind of like she’s dead, we never talk about her, she stopped returning my calls,” before Miranda adds: “Her pride got damaged.”
Carrie then expands: “I thought I was more to her than an ATM,” with Miranda and Charlotte revealing that Samantha had failed to reply to their texts and messages as well.
“I guess that’s all we could do,” says Miranda, with Carrie adding: “I always thought the four of us would be friends forever.”
Speaking about Cattrall’s absence after the reboot had been announced, Parker wrote on Instagram: “Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do.”