Last week, the trade papers announced that Kim Cattrall had secretly filmed a cameo for the second-season finale of And Just Like That. AJLT is the off-shoot of Sex and the City, with the same characters (minus Cattrall’s Sam Jones) and some bonus new characters. AJLT is Sarah Jessica Parker’s baby, because she just loves beating this dead horse, and I would assume she’s making a lot of money from it, given she’s still executive producing the series. It was actually when SJP became EP of SATC that everything went sideways between Cattrall and SJP – Sarah Jessica used her power to marginalize Kim and the Sam character and give Sam stupid storylines. Which is the whole reason why Kim refused to come back for a third SATC film, and why she refused to come back for AJLT. Producers must have kept coming back to Cattrall though, and kept begging and offering her more and more money. So she was in a position of power to dictate terms:

Page Six can reveal that Cattrall’s surprise second-season — said to be a “cliffhanger” — appearance did not come without its demands. According to sources, the actress refused to film with her former co-stars Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis. She also would not set foot on the Queens set if showrunner — and SJP ally — Michael Patrick King was there, highly-placed sources told Page Six.

One show source said: “Kim had two stipulations -—one, that she would not act with any of the other girls, and two, she did not want to see Michael Patrick King.”

The actress was a fan favorite but refused to return for a third “SATC” movie amid reports of friction between her and SJP — including the revelation that Cattrall felt she and her co-stars were not financially compensated well enough, with SJP paid more than them. Producers dismissed Samantha’s absence in the first few episodes of “AJLT” by making it clear that the character now lives in London and that she and Carrie had a fallout after the writer dumped her as a publicist.

But it seems like Cattrall got the last laugh in her buzzy return, as the show source said: “She will have gotten a s–tload of money. It just shows the power of Kim. They still need her on the show. But even though this may get fans thinking she’ll be back for the next season, she’ll never do that. She was treated poorly. I’m glad she gets to be the hero … I’m sure it took a lot of massaging to make the cameo happen.”

In the scene, Samantha is reportedly seen in a car having a phone conversation with Carrie. A spokesperson for HBO and Max told Page Six: “The offer presented to Kim was always to be a phone call, shot alone as most calls would be. This was an easy and convenient way for Samantha to return. We are delighted it worked out.”

Candace Bushnell, the celebrated writer, and creator of the “SATC” franchise, told Page Six: “I love Kim, everyone loves Kim. I’m sure she got paid handsomely … Kim is a grown woman and she does things on her own terms. It’s what the fans want.”

Bushnell who still gets a creator credit for “AJLT,” added: “Listen, I hope this series runs for a long time!”

[From Page Six]

Variety revealed as much last week, that Michael Patrick King wasn’t there, that Patricia Field came in to dress Kim one last time, and that Kim didn’t see or work with any of the other actresses. That being said, we didn’t know that Kim had specified that those were her conditions – we just assumed it. Of course she wouldn’t want to see MPK or SJP. I do think it’s funny that (supposedly) the scene she filmed was supposed to be a phone call between Sam and Carrie, and usually, between actors, the other actor “on the phone” will show up to run through the lines, off-camera, so it sounds like a natural conversation. Someone had to sit there and feed Carrie’s lines to Kim. I wonder if she specified who should do that. I would also assume that she got script approval, at least for that one scene. What would be the point of negotiating all of this if they were going to make her say some dumb sh-t? And no, I don’t believe Kim is “coming back.” This was a one-and-done thing for her, and she probably just did it for her fans, not for anyone else.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.