Entertainment
Does Kim Cattrall Return as Samantha?
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Warning: This story contains spoilers for the And Just Like That… series finale.
NEED TO KNOW
- Fans have been wondering if Kim Cattrall would return as Samantha Jones for the And Just Like That… series finale, and now we have an answer
- The series finale aired Thursday, Aug. 14, bringing the Sex and the City revival series to a close
- Cattrall played Samantha on all six seasons of Sex and the City and its two feature films, but did not return alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis for And Just Like That…
Ever since it was announced that And Just Like That… was coming to an end, many fans have been on the edge of their seats and wondering if Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) would return.
The series finale, titled “Party of One,” aired Thursday, Aug. 14, and gave viewers the answer to that lingering question.
So, did Cattrall return as Samantha to help the Sex and the City revival series come to a full-circle conclusion after three seasons?
Getty
No, Cattrall does not return as Samantha for the And Just Like That… series finale.
The episode revolved around Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), who decides to work on accepting her next phase in life, while Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) hosts Thanksgiving for the first time in her new apartment. Charlotte York Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis) is included in the episode as well, helping Carrie and Miranda out by bringing stuffing to the gathering.
HBO
Samantha’s absence doesn’t come as a huge shock, though.
Cattrall famously played the outspoken and sexually liberated PR professional for all six seasons of Sex and the City from 1998 and 2004.
After the original series ended, Cattrall returned in the two feature films, released in 2008 and 2010. However, she did not return for the revival series, which first aired in 2021.
Samantha’s absence from the series was first explained in the season 1 premiere, when it was revealed that she and Carrie had fallen out after Carrie fired her as her publicist. As a result, Samantha moved to London.
During season 1, Samantha sent flowers to Big’s (Chris Noth) funeral and connected with Carrie over text. Following the season 1 finale, the two characters had an off-screen reunion for drinks when Carrie was in Paris.
MAX
Cattrall made her only on-screen return on And Just Like That… in the season 2 finale.
Samantha was in a car on the way to London’s Heathrow Airport for a quick trip to New York City, as Carrie was moving out of her iconic Upper East Side brownstone into her Gramercy Park townhome.
With her flight delayed, Samantha called Carrie to tell her she wouldn’t make it to her “Last Supper” at her old apartment. Carrie put Samantha on speakerphone so she could “pay my respects” to that “f—— abulous, fabulous flat.”
Samantha did return once again — in text message form — earlier in season 3. Carrie texted Samantha to ask her about Duncan Reeves (Jonathan Cake), the British author who was living on the garden level of her townhome, and the two had a little banter reminiscent of their Sex and the City dynamic.
HBO/MAX
Michael Patrick King announced on Aug. 1 that And Just Like That… would be ending after three seasons.
In a statement posted on Instagram, the showrunner said, “And Just Like That…. the ongoing storytelling of the Sex and the City universe is coming to an end.”
King explained that while writing the season 3 finale, “It became clear to me that this might be a wonderful place to stop.”
“SJP and I held off announcing the news until now because we didn’t want the world ‘final’ to overshadow the fun of watching the season,” he continued. “It is with great gratitude that we thank all the viewers who have let these characters into their homes and their hearts over these many years.”
HBO/Newsmakers
Parker delivered an emotional tribute to Carrie and the Sex and the City universe while reacting to the cancellation news.
Parker’s heartfelt post encapsulated the breadth of Carrie’s journey over the past nearly 30 years, including all of her ups and downs.
The actress included a callout to Nixon, Cattrall and Davis, writing, “Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte, there will never be better friends.”
There was also a shout-out to Sarita Choudhury and Nicole Ari Parker‘s new characters, with Parker adding, “And what great fortune for Carrie to come to know and love Seema and LTW, most divine new connections.”
“Carrie Bradshaw has dominated my professional heartbeat for 27 years. I think I have loved her most of all,” she wrote. “I know others have loved her just as I have.”
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Sex and the City, as well as its two feature films, and And Just Like That… are all streaming on HBO Max.
Entertainment
Rarely-seen ’80s star Kristy McNichol appears in ‘fangirl’ Carnie Wilson’s selfie

Carnie Wilson had a “fangirl” moment with Kristy McNichol decades after the actress’ retirement.
“Totally fangirling!!!” the singer, 58, recently gushed via Facebook. “Kris ( Kristy McNichol) was a part of my youth. I adored her in her movies … especially ‘Little Darlings’ and ‘The End.’”
The Wilson Phillips member told McNichol, who left the entertainment industry in 2001, “how meaningful her movies are to [her] and [her] bestie.”
Carnie noted in the July 20 upload that she and her pal “were just talking about her … and how special” the 63-year-old is.
Calling McNichol a “gracious sweetie,” she concluded that the “Bionic Woman” star “sure is loved.”
She snapped a selfie with the rarely-seen star, with McNichol smiling in a zip-up jacket and white tee.
Carnie, for her part, sported a patterned top and a black beanie in the cozy shot.
McNichol was a child star who won two Emmys for her role as Letitia “Buddy” Lawrence on “Family” between 1976 and 1980.
Her other notable TV role included Barbara Weston in “Empty Nest,” a “Golden Girls” spinoff.
She is best known for playing Angel in “Little Darlings” in 1980 and Polly in “Only When I Laugh” the following year.
McNichol was nominated for a Golden Globe for the latter.
When she retired from the entertainment industry, McNichol released a statement reading, “My feeling was that it was time to play my biggest part – myself! I must say that it has been the best thing that ever happened to me. So many fans are disappointed that I’m not currently acting; however, some may not realize that the process I’m in at this time is necessary and vital for my personal happiness.”
She chatted with People about the decision in 2014.
“I was on the big stage between ages 8 and 30,” McNichol explained. “I left show business for a variety of reasons, but a big one was my interest in learning what else there is in life.
“This phase of my life is so good,” she continued. “My home life is happy and serene. I love singing. I also enjoy traveling and seeing the world. One of my favorite stops is Hawaii. I like everything about it and may eventually move there part-time.”
When asked about plans to return to her Hollywood career, McNichol quipped, “Never say never.”
Entertainment
Usher boots fan off stage after her painfully awkward response to his seductive dance moves

Usher quickly put a stop to sexily serenading a fan onstage after she got visibly uncomfortable.
In a now-viral moment from the singer’s performance in Nashville on The R&B Tour with Chris Brown on Saturday, a woman from the audience got pulled onstage as the chosen fan Usher sings to. But as a shirtless Usher started singing to her, she looked painfully uncomfortable, though he continued to try to interact with her by lightly touching her chin and face.
But when he tried to get her to recline on the onstage bed and she stiffly moved back, the 47-year-old singer pulled away.
“I don’t think she want to be on the stage, huh?” he asked the audience, looking bewildered.
Eventually, the “Yeah!” singer stepped away from her completely and waved his hand backwards towards the stage in a signal to bring the fan off, looking annoyed as some fans began to boo.
The fan later took to social media to clap back at criticism she received, responding to comments that she should have never agreed to go onstage if she didn’t want to be there.
“First off NOBODY is declining to go on stage,” she wrote. “I looked good asf, you think I wasn’t going to let THOUSANDS of people see me?”
She shared that she and her mom had floor seats to the show, and she was moved up to the VIP section before the concert even started due to “pretty privileges.”
“They don’t say who you’re going up there for!” she wrote. “Y’all wanted me to go up there and f–k him atp?”
On Sunday, she posted selfies, and pointedly captioned her post, “Unbothered 😘.”
But she continued to defend herself on her Instagram Stories, insisting her attitude wasn’t “nasty.”
“Y’all aren’t gonna get on the internet calling me out my name and disrespecting me and expect me to keep it cool!” she expressed, adding, “Don’t think that yall are gonna bully me about an experience that yall didn’t get!”
Usher is known for his spicy concert interactions with fans. His bodyguard hilariously went viral in 2024 for seemingly looking disgusted on the Past Present Future Tour, during the part of the singer’s show when he would let audience members seductively eat cherries.
Usher’s co-headliner, Chris Brown, also went viral in September 2025 but for an entirely different reaction that he got to pulling a fan onstage — that fan being Travis Kelce’s ex Kayla Nicole.
Brown, 37, gave Nicole, 34, a sensual lap dance while singing his 2007 hit, “Take You Down,” during the singer’s Breezy Bowl XX Tour stop in Los Angeles, prompting mixed reaction online. Some fans thought the two went too far, while others praised Nicole for seizing the moment.
Entertainment
John Cusack reveals why he stepped away from Hollywood after decades of films

John Cusack opened up about why he’s largely taken a step back from Hollywood.
The “Being John Malkovich” star, 60, said he wanted to tell stories without studio executives weighing in, prompting him to write his upcoming graphic novel “Momo.”
“I always thought [graphic novels] were the closest things to film, really,” he told Variety at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday. “You’re picking out shots, they’re so cinematic.”
Cusack explained he turned to writing because he “didn’t [want to] negotiate telling a story.”
“When you ask somebody to put $20 million or $30 million into a bank account [for a film], they want to have an opinion and they’re afraid and all that stuff,” he said.
Instead, he teamed up with illustrator Ignacio Noé to create “Momo” on their own terms.
“This was just like, I wrote it, and I said, ‘I like the story,’ and then I got this beautiful, wonderful artist, Ignacio Noé, to do the illustrations and so nobody edited anything I wrote or that he drew,” Cusack said.
“So it’s really a piece of work that was just done by two people. It was just me and Ignacio’s story, and that doesn’t happen today.”
“There’s no bull, and there’s no committee. There’s no computer up in Seattle that’s poll testing it,” he added.
“Momo” — Cusack’s first graphic novel — is set to be released on Sept. 29.
The story follows two fugitives in 1972 who set out to recover an ancient artifact for TV icon Jackie Gleason.
The actor spent decades as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable leading men, starring in “Grosse Pointe Blank,” “High Fidelity” and “Con Air,” but his acting career has become increasingly selective in recent years.
He appeared in the 2025 films “Fog of War” and the Mandarin-language film “Detective Chinatown 1900” after starring in the Chinese espionage thriller “Decoded” in 2024.
Before that, his only screen credits since 2020 were the action thriller “Pursuit” and Amazon’s dystopian series “Utopia.”
Cusack has been outspoken about the state of Hollywood for years.
“My friend Joe Roth ran Disney [until 2000],” he told the Guardian in 2014. “He made things like ‘The Rock’ and ‘Con Air’ to make shareholders happy, but then he also gave six or seven slots to people he liked.
“I got to make ‘High Fidelity’ and ‘Grosse Pointe Blank.’ Spike Lee got to make ‘Summer of Sam.’ Wes Anderson got to make ‘Rushmore.’ I had that memory of film and that’s gone.”
“Now it’s six for them — with a committee cutting the film who weren’t part of making it – and maybe one for you,” he added.
Cusack isn’t the only member of his family to step away from the spotlight.
His older sister, actress Joan Cusack, 63, made her first red-carpet appearance since 2015 in May when she attended the London premiere of “Toy Story 5,” ending an 11-year absence from public events.
“I feel so honored to have worked in this industry for a long time,” the actress told Variety in June. “But it’s also great to live your life and raise your kids and be in Chicago and be a normal person.”
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