Why Kim Cattrall Should Get Her Own ‘Samantha in London’ Spinoff to ‘And Just Like That’
25.08.2023 - 14:19
/ variety.com
Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” gave way to “Rhoda”; “Cheers” eventually brought us “Frasier.” Could the legacy of “And Just Like That” be the London-set dramedy “Samantha”? Yes, it’s unlikely; a potential spinoff based on the ongoing adventures of Kim Cattrall’s character from “And Just Like That” and “Sex and the City” necessitates the participation of, well, Cattrall, who’s been very clear that her cameo on the “AJLT” finale was a once-ever thing. But that cameo, too, once seemed unlikely-to-impossible, given the haze of bad feeling between Cattrall and her former castmates.
And on “Samantha,” just like Frasier in Seattle, she’d get to make a whole new set of friends! I’m being facetious, but only a little. I agree with my colleague Alison Herman that Samantha’s cameo was electric, and I’d go further: It provided a much-needed jolt for an episode of television that at times felt lugubrious.
Samantha, to this point, has been an unseen but occasionally felt member of the ensemble. As the distant former member of Carrie’s crew, Samantha, in her absence, provided a painful reminder of the passage of time.
Back in top form — overpronouncing “Heathrow,” demanding to be placed on speakerphone to speak to an apartment, dressing in classic Patricia Field styling that this show edges up to but can’t consistently match — she made for an appealing reminder of the vanities and the dramatics of this crew. Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte have learned, with time, to speak about their desires in softer, more measured tones; what a pleasure to see that Samantha is still living out loud.