Will New Sex and the City work without Samantha?

Three's company - well it's going to have to be...

Whether you’re a fan of Sex and the City or not, the long running HBO show ran from 1998 to 2004 changing the face of TV and was a cultural ‘moment’.  After a successful movie, and one slightly less successful one, fans around the world rejoiced last week at the news that Sex and the City is coming back to our screens next year.

The girls are back in town

Things aren’t exactly going to be the same however with the glaring omission of nympho PR sauce pot Samantha Jones. This huge change may not come as much of a surprise to those who have been keeping up with the showbiz goss but nevertheless it’s shocking that there will be no Samantha.

Kim Cattrall is pretty in purple at the thought of not returning

It’s no secret that there is no love lost between Kim Cattrall (Samantha) and lead role Carrie Bradshaw actress Sarah Jessica Parker and talk of a reunion for a third Sex and the City were scotched by Cattrall on more than one occasion. Their feud culminated in an Instagram post by Cattrall where she said of Parker ‘how cruel you really were then and now’. When the 64-year old’s brother died, Kim spurned SJP’s words of kindness publicly.

Manalos at dawn 

With that in mind she was most likely never going to turn up for the new show which will air in the US on pay service HBO Max under the new name And Just Like That. It remains to be seen whether the show will work without arguably the best character

Cynthia Nixon, SJP and Kristen Davis all smiles  

To add to the growing story, there have been calls for actress Jennifer Coolidge to step into the role of Samantha or maybe a new, similar one. On US TV show Watch What Happens Next, Coolidge rejected the idea saying that Cattrall simply couldn’t be replaced as she embodies the character. What that means for the show is anybody’s guess. How will it fair without Samantha’s filthy quips and Cattrall’s delivery?

And so it goes... 

So, if no Samantha then who will provide the fun and the sexuality? It’s clear it will be about ladies of a certain age but beyond that its subject matter is a closely guarded secret. We can only hope that whoever they pick to fill the large hilarious void left by Cattrall will fit right in and fill her very high and pointy shoes.