Cynthia Nixon Says She Loves How 'And Just Like That' Handles Samantha's Absence

While Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbes, and Charlotte York might have lots of new friends on the HBO Max Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That, one absence on the revived series is noticeable -- Samantha Jones. 

The iconic character, played by Kim Cattrall, did not return for the reboot after the actress made it clear that she did not intend to come back to the franchise. 

The show has explained Samantha's absence by noting that she had a big falling out with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) after the writer fired her friend as her book publicist. Samantha later moved to London. 

While on Thursday's episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda on the series, said she thought "it was great" how Samantha's absence was handled. "I have to say, I love how we addressed it head-on in the first minute," she noted.

In the reboot's first scene, Carrie and Co. are dining out when they encounter old pal Bitsy von Muffling (Julie Halston), who asks where Samantha is and they tell her that the publicist is living in London. 

"I loved how there began to be layers of it. Like, there's the thing you tell Bitsy von Muffling, and then there's the way you talk about it amongst each other," Nixon added. 

One callback to Samantha that Nixon found to be incredibly meaningful happened in the reboot's second episode when Samantha sent Carrie flowers to be laid on her husband, Mr. Big's, casket at his funeral. 

"I felt like the flowers at the funeral were just [so special], and I love how we keep checking in with her from time to time. I love that," Nixon shared.

ET previously spoke with show runner Michael Patrick King about how the show chose to handle Samantha's absence. 

"We knew Kim wasn't going to do the series because she had, for her reasons, finished playing Samantha. So then it was the beginning point," King explained. "Rather than ignore it, we decided to make it part of the story and we did everything we could to honor Samantha, who we love."

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