On Kim Cattrall’s show Glamorous and how she tackles the sequel to Sex And The City amid a feud with Sarah Jessica Parker
The long-running feud between Kim Cattrall and her former Sex And The City co-stars is set to be reignited as she launches an eerily similar show.
While Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon reprise their roles in the second season of Sex And The City spin-off And Just Like That, the 66-year-old actress will star in the Netflix series Glamorous, which is due out on the same date appears.
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And her leading role of Madolyn is a nod to Samantha Jones, who she played alongside the other ladies on the hit TV show that ran from 1998-2004.
Just like Sam, Madolyn is a single pro from New York with a sleek wardrobe and an even sharper tongue.
After years of casting feuds, Sex And The City fans probably thought the snipers were over when Kim was offered a small cameo in the second season of And Just Like That, which aired Thursday on Sky becomes.
However, that truce could end if the Liverpool-born actress’ former co-stars see their rival released at the same time.
A TV insider said: “They probably felt they had extended an olive branch by allowing her to return to Sex And The City – something that would have smoothed things over.
“Big star who still pulls through”
“But Kim isn’t the type to hang around waiting for a favor or be grateful for what he’s been given.
“She knows she’s a big star who still has appeal.
“Many fans were excited when they thought she was returning in the Sex And The City sequel – only to be disappointed that it would only be a cameo and not a scene she starred with Sarah, Cynthia or Kristin shares.
“Furthermore, there is still no guarantee that she will be re-engaged as a full-time character on And Just Like That.
“So Kim went out and did her own thing, which has a lot of similarities with Sex And The City – only this time she’s clearly the leading lady.”
It was the constant desire to be in the spotlight at SATC that created tensions with Sarah, who was supposed to be the star of the show.
But as the more mature, sex-crazed PR executive Samantha, Kim tended to deliver the best lines and stole almost every scene she starred in.
In 2008, Clifford Streit – the inspiration for Carrie’s boyfriend Stanford Blatch – claimed that problems arose because it was obvious that Kim was “a natural born comedian and a scene stealer in the best sense of the word — the camera was pointed right at her.”
Kim also felt that she was not being paid enough and that her character was becoming increasingly one-dimensional.
She said: “I felt like I was cast as a Puma now, which wasn’t as positive as other aspects.”
Those feuds were never resolved, which is why the “fab four” haven’t been seen together on screen since the 2010 film Sex And The City 2 flopped.
Last year came And Just Like That, a sequel to the ladies’ world of lunch and lovemaking in Manhattan, but starring only Cynthia, Kristin and Sarah, who again starred.
That meant enough was enough, regardless of the conflict between the stars.
Cynthia, who plays Miranda Hobbs, has hinted that the Sex And The City cast “walked on eggshells” when Kim brought back her brief shock and changed the dynamic on set.
She told Vanity Fair of the spin-off show, “Yeah, it felt very different.
“It felt very different, partly because we have these new amazing characters, we’re older, and our fictional kids are pretty much grown now.
“But the main thing was that it felt so great [in season one] was that everyone who was there really wanted to be there. That’s just the bottom line.
“So that makes an enormous difference — that you’re not walking on eggshells with someone who’s unhappy for reasons that are difficult to understand.”
Kim was also ready to grow up and leave Samantha behind by saying goodbye to sex scenes and stripping naked in front of the camera. She told Variety: “I don’t want to be naked anymore.
“I’m 65, I’m in great shape, but I’m just not interested. I feel like I’ve filled my quota for it, and that’s without an intimacy coach.
“There is great wisdom in knowing when enough is enough. I also didn’t want to compromise on what the show meant to me. The way forward seemed clear.”
Still, there’s something about Samantha that always comes through in new characters.
Kim added, “Parts of Samantha are with me. I played her and I loved her. I felt like I protected her in the end.”
In Glamorous, Kim now takes center stage, playing Madolyn, a former supermodel who is launching Glamorous Cosmetics in the Big Apple.
The story is driven by New Yorkers in their 20’s and 30’s in their family and on their payroll.
The male protagonist is Gen Z wannabe Marco Mejia, played by YouTube star Ben “Miss Benny” Pierce.
“Gender-nonconforming queer” Marco manages to land a job with his idol, Madolyn, after a chance meeting at a store.
Of course Madolyn is a diva. And with her power dressing and technicolor wardrobe, the parallels between her and SATC’s Samantha are obvious.
Patricia Field, the guru who styled the women on Sex And The City, was commissioned to create the looks on Glamorous.
Speaking to The Sunday Times this month, Kim said that before she met Patricia, she was “used to having costume designers read the script, take my measurements, give me a clothes rack and then try everything on.”
“But she [Patricia] has such an incredible visual connection to you and the characters. She wants to find a way that not only expresses the character’s individuality, but also myself.”
Kim, who turns 67 in August, seems completely unaffected by the times and obviously isn’t trying too hard to shed her old SATC look.
Still sporting Samantha’s signature side-swept bangs and blow-dried slightly curled hair, she gives her her trademark scathing looks.
As for her incredible complexion, Kim says it’s not just down to clever makeup and lighting.
She said: “I’m in my sixties now and I’m trying to fight aging in any way I can. There are so many alternatives – treatments that stimulate your body to fight aging.
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“There are fillers, botox. There are so many different things you can try. But yes, if you have the money and, more importantly, the right surgeon. . .
“It can’t be stressed enough, you want to look like you! But I want to look like the best version of myself.
“So whatever I can do… because luckily I have the means to do it.”
“It’s not just a matter of vanity. I play a certain type of woman who looks a certain way. And professionally, I take care of myself.”
Glamorous creators will likely dismiss the similarities between Samantha and Madolyn as mere coincidence.
But there’s no denying that they’re trying to conjure up some of the old New York magic that made SATC a multiple award winner.
The trailer for Glamorous, which will run for ten episodes, features full shots of the sun shining over the familiar cityscape of lower Manhattan.
It’s almost exactly the same section of the skyline used in the opening title of Sex And The City.
As Madolyn, Kim even seems to have stolen one of the love interests from her old show – in the form of US actor Mark Deklin, 55.
In “Sex And The City” he played the dashing sailor Matt Cook, who met Charlotte on one of her many dates in 2002’s episode “Anchors Away” and shared a hickey with her.
He reappears in Glamorous as Madolyn’s lover. He’s just as handsome, but has grown a beard and a head of silver hair over the past two decades.
Where the rivalry between “Glamorous” and “And Just Like That” will lead in the relationship between the four women remains to be seen.
When they heard Kim would be returning in “And Just Like That,” fans were ecstatic.
Then they realized that she would only perform in a small scene and perform alone.
But that didn’t stop her — and industry insiders alike — from speculating that this was the start of Kim’s rejoining the Sex And The City circle.
That seems much less likely now.
- And Just Like That is available Thursday on Sky Comedy and Glamorous on Netflix.
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