Kim Cattrall joined And Just Like That with promise of 'career boost'

EXCLUSIVE: Kim Cattrall was lured to join And Just Like That with promise of a ‘career boost and great payday’ – after ‘dear friend’ Darren Star convinced her to give Samantha ‘swan song send off’… but there is still no hope of reconciliation with SJP

• The actress recently confirmed her return as Sex And The City’s Samantha Jones
• The 66-year-old will return for only one ‘cliffhanger’ scene, according to reports
• A source has since told DailyMail.com Kim was persuaded to join by Darren Star

Kim Cattrall was convinced to join And Just Like That with promise of ‘nice career boost and great payday’ by her ‘dear friend’ and producer Darren Star, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.

The iconic actress, 66, confirmed her shocking return as Sex And The City’s Samantha Jones for the second season of the spin-off earlier this week – despite her explosive feud with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker.

According to Variety, Kim will return for only one ‘cliffhanger’ scene, which she shot in New York City, without seeing or speaking with 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 up for a cameo on the sequel – which she admitted last year that 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 upcoming return, with the source revealing that he was the one who convinced Kim that she needed to give the character a proper goodbye.

Kim Cattrall was convinced to join And Just Like That by her ‘dear friend’ and show producer 

The iconic actress, 66, confirmed her return as Sex And The City’s Samantha Jones for the second season of the spin-off 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 make her return by friend and series producer Darren Starr who insisted she needed to give Samantha a proper goodbye (pictured together)

Kim’s decision to join the And Just Like That cast, even for just a short time, marks a big U-turn for the actress – who had previously insisted that she had no desire to be a part of the sequel in any way. 

‘What made her finally fold to do it now? It was her connection with her 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 shared. 

‘Kim decided if she was ever going to button up the character and then not be asked about it again, she should do it now.  

‘She is doing it for her friend Darren first. But she is also doing it as she realizes it will be a nice career boost and a great payday above all of that.

‘She got to an understanding with Darren that she needed an amazing send-off and they figured it out. 

‘Everything has now fallen into place, Kim still can’t believe she was convinced to do it, but she is going to do it and let the scene speak for itself. 

‘Sex And The City gave Kim so much, so she is giving the appropriate 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 Sarah, 58, the source explained – revealing that while the two women have come to ‘an understanding’, there is likely no chance they will ever be friends in the future.

According to Variety, Kim will return for only one ‘cliffhanger’ scene, which she shot in New York City, without seeing or speaking with stars SJP, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis 

The source concluded: ‘Kim and Sarah both have an understanding, but them being friends in the future, don’t hold your breath’ (pictured together in 2008)

Confirmed! Season 2 of And Just Like That… will return June 22 on HBO Max 

‘Kim and Sarah both have an understanding, but [as for] them being friends in the future, don’t hold your breath,’ they said. 

The source continued that Kim was ‘assured’ her involvement in the show will give her a leg up within HBO’s newly-revamped streaming service Max.

‘She has also been reassured that this will open some more doors on projects that she wants to do that she would bring to Max when the time is right,’ they continued.

Kim’s abrupt about face was also motivated 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’, the source went on. 

‘Kim was really excited to work with [filmmaker] Tate Taylor on Filthy Rich and she really thought that was going to be her next big project and a show that she believed would have taken her to another level in her storied career as she still believes that the show should still be on TV,’ the source shared.

‘The show was being done right 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 issues with Sarah. 

‘She was done. She loved her time playing Samantha, but she wanted to move on.’

Interestingly, the decision to bring Samantha Jones back into the And Just Like That picture sits very much at odds with Sarah’s own thoughts about it – with the actress insisting in February last year that she would not be ‘OK’ with Kim returning to the fold 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 haven’t participated in or read articles, although people are inclined to let me know.’ 

Sarah also confirmed that Kim had not been asked to be a part of the sequel series, explaining that the show’s creators made the decision to move ahead without her after she turned down the opportunity to do a third Sex and the City movie. 

‘We didn’t go to Kim for this, you know,’ she said. ‘After we didn’t do the movie and the studio couldn’t meet what she wanted to do, we have to hear her and listen to her and what was important to her.’ 

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