Kim Cattrall was convinced to join And Just Like That with the promise of “nice career boost and great payday” by her “best friend” and producer Darren Star, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
The iconic actress, 66, confirmed her shock return as Sex And The City’s Samantha Jones for the spin-off’s second season earlier this week — despite her explosive feud with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker.
According to VarietyKim returns for just one “cliffhanger” scene, which she shot in New York City, without seeing or speaking to Sarah or their fellow leading ladies Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis.
Now, a source close to the actress has revealed exactly what convinced Kim to sign on for a cameo in the sequel — which she admitted last year she “was never asked to be a part of.”
According to the well-placed insider, fans of the show can thank show creator Darren, 61, for Samantha’s imminent return, with the source revealing that he was the one who convinced Kim that she should give the character a proper goodbye.
Kim Cattrall was convinced by her ‘dear friend’ and show producer to join And Just Like That
The iconic actress, 66, confirmed her return as Sex And The City’s Samantha Jones for the spin-off’s second season earlier this week – despite her explosive feud with star Sarah Jessica Parker (pictured together in SATC season six)
A source told DailyMail.com that she was persuaded to return by friend and series producer Darren Starr, who insisted she give Samantha a proper goodbye (pictured together)
Kim’s decision to join the cast of And Just Like That, even if only for a short time, marks a major sea change for the actress – who had previously insisted she didn’t want to be part of the sequel in any way.
“Why did she finally fold to do it now? It was her bond with dear friend Darren Star, who created Sex that kept asking her to be a part of the show that finally convinced her to do it,” the insider told me.
Kim decided that if she was ever going to button up the character and then not be asked about it again, she should do it now.
“She does it for her friend Darren first. But she also does it because she realizes it will be a nice boost in her career and most of all a great payday.
“She came to the agreement with Darren that she needed a great goodbye and they figured it out.
Everything has now fallen into place, Kim still can’t believe she was convinced to do it, but she’s going to do it and let the scene speak for itself.
“Sex And The City has given Kim so much, so she’s giving the right swan song and Kim hopes everyone is happy with the results.”
However, Kim’s return to the franchise has done little to change her frosty relationship with 58-year-old Sarah, the source explained. future.
According to Variety, Kim will return for just one “cliffhanger” scene, which she shot in New York City without seeing or speaking to stars SJP, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis.
The source concluded: ‘Kim and Sarah both have an understanding but they are friends in the future, don’t hold your breath’ (pictured together in 2008)
Confirmed! Season 2 of And Just Like That… returns June 22 on HBO Max
“Kim and Sarah both have an understanding, but [as for] they are friends in the future, don’t hold your breath,” they said.
The source continued that Kim was “assured” that her involvement in the show would give her an edge within HBO’s recently revamped Max streaming service.
“She’s also reassured that this will open more doors for projects she wants to do and will bring to Max when the time is right,” they continued.
Kim’s abrupt face was also prompted by the fact that another project she had previously been a part of – the Fox series Filthy Rich – was canceled despite her high hopes that it would have “taken her to another level in her career.” . source continued.
“Kim was very excited to work with [filmmaker] Tate Taylor on Filthy Rich and she really thought this was going to be her next big project and a show that she felt would have taken her to another level in her storied career as she still believes the show is still on TV should be. source shared.
The show was done around the same time as And Just Like That and she knew she was going to be asked about it all the time and asked to be a part of that, but she didn’t want to do it with her problems with Sara.
‘She was done. She loved playing Samantha, but she wanted to move on.’
Interestingly, the decision to bring back Samantha Jones in the And Just Like That picture is very much at odds with Sarah’s own thoughts on it – with the actress insisting last February that she wouldn’t be ‘OK’ with Kim returning to the group. in light of everything her former co-star had said about their broken relationship.
‘I don’t think I would [be OK with Kim returning]because I think there’s just too much public history of feelings on her part that she’s shared,” she told Variety at the time.
“I didn’t participate or read articles, although people tend to let me know.”
Sarah also confirmed that Kim had not been asked to be part of the sequel series, explaining that the show’s creators made the decision to continue without her after she was offered the chance to get a third Sex and the City star. to make a film had declined.
“We didn’t go to Kim for this, you know,” she said. “After we didn’t make the movie and the studio couldn’t fulfill what she wanted to do, we need to hear her and listen to her and what was important to her.”