“And Just Like That” star Evan Handler is all for Kim Cattrall’s unexpected return to the “Sex and the City” franchise — even if she had “no contact with anybody” while filming her upcoming cameo.
Handler, who plays Kristin Davis’ husband in “And Just Like That,” praised Cattrall’s decision to reprise her role as PR extraordinaire Samantha Jones in a recent interview with People magazine. The “Sex and the City” alum is slated to appear in a single scene of the reboot starring her former TV besties, Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker.
According to Variety, Cattrall will not share the screen with her ex-castmates during the sequence, which she shot in Manhattan on March 22.
“I think it is great. I do,” Handler said of Cattrall’s limited involvement in Season 2.
“Apparently, [her cameo] was shot in the garage somewhere with no contact with anybody, so the only place I have to welcome her is into my living room when it airs on television.”
Reports of Cattrall’s surprise “And Just Like That” appearance began to surface after executive producer and co-creator Michael Patrick King told Variety he had “no realistic expectation of Kim Cattrall ever appearing again” in the “Sex and the City” universe.
Cattrall hasn’t been active in the franchise since she declined to sign on for a third “Sex and the City” movie in 2017.
It’s also no secret that Cattrall isn’t a fan of Parker. After years of feud rumors and eyebrow-raising interviews, the “How I Met Your Father” star explicitly and publicly told the “Hocus Pocus” actor, “You are not my friend,” in early 2018 when Cattrall’s brother died and Parker offered her condolences via Instagram.
“Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now,” Cattrall wrote on Instagram at the time.
“I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.”
The first season of “And Just Like That” chalked up Samantha’s glaring absence to a business disagreement between her and Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw (side-eye emoji). The beloved character still lived on (sort of) in text exchanges between the two women.
Last year, King told Variety that getting Cattrall to return for “And Just Like That” was never even a “thought,” explaining that the actor “said what she had said.”
“The only place I participate in magical thinking is in fiction,” he said. “You take people at their word, and … you don’t back yourself into a corner.”
The sophomore season of “And Just Like That” premieres June 22 on HBO Max.
