And Just Like That Creator Says Door Isn't Open for Kim Cattrall's Return as Samantha

Speaking with Variety ahead of the Season 1 finale, series creator Michael Patrick King was asked whether "the door was open for her to come back" and whether he thought that would ever happen. The short answer: "No."

"Just like there was no thought that Kim would ever participate in 'And Just Like That,' because she’s said what she had said," King explained. "The only place I participate in magical thinking is in fiction. You take people at their word, and you're a smart producer — you don't back yourself into a corner. Magically thinking, it's great to have Samantha."

"I have no realistic expectation of Kim Cattrall ever appearing again," he added.

Of course, Cattrall herself has said as much, so he's probably right to forge ahead without even considering her possible return. Still, some viewers thought it was odd Samantha continued to be a strong presence this season, considering Cattrall's absence. When asked whether it felt "loaded" for them to write scenes for someone who wasn't physically on the show, King said, "No, it feels exciting!"

"I'm happy to be Samantha. We use it sparingly and well. I love Samantha!" he exclaimed. "I'm happy when she's in the show. It was important emotionally for everybody. Me and the fans; me and the viewer."

Speaking of the fans, there's a pretty vocal group of them who are not feeling Miranda's storyline this season -- especially her relationship with nonbinary standup comedian Che Diaz, played by Sara Ramirez, and the end of her once-loving marriage to longtime fan favorite Steve. King, however, knew the backlash would be coming from the jump.

"I said in the writing room, 'Uh, get ready. Because what's coming is outrage about Miranda calling out her marriage,'" he recalled. "But the real issue is — and I say this with love — 90% of long-term relationships are watching television, sharing dessert and talking about kids. So that's trouble when Miranda points a finger at that relationship, which a lot of people are very happy with, and says, 'This isn't enough.'"

King also feels that most fans are simply projecting onto Che and their anger actually has nothing to do with them. "People are going to look for who's the villain," added King, "Che is, in my estimation, honest, dangerous, sexy, funny and warm."

While we don't know what will happen in the season finale, it sounds like King and Sarah Jessica Parker are pretty serious about a second season of the revival.

"Definitely, yeah," said Parker when asked whether she'd want to do more episodes. "Michael and I spoke two weeks ago, and said: 'OK, when are we going to talk about this?' Because there's a calendar and you don't want to let too much time pass. There feels like there's momentum."

The season finale of "And Just Like That" drops Thursday on HBO Max.