How Will Samantha Be Written Out of ‘Sex and the City’? HBO Boss Gives Us a Clue.

If you’ve been wondering how the new Sex and the City series is happening without Samantha Jones, then here’s our first insight into how they’re going to write her off — and it’s a refreshingly organic take.

HBO Max’s upcoming revival, which was announced last month, is bringing back the stars of the original Emmy-winning hit — sans Kim Cattrall’s Samantha, as all hardcore fans know by now. But how will the show explain the absence of one of the show’s main foursome? Star Sarah Jessica Parker and writer Michael Patrick King are the creative forces behind the sequel, and “they’re not trying to re-do Sex and the City,” HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys tells TVLine. “They’re not trying to say that these characters are reliving their 30s. It is very much a story about women in their 50s, and they are dealing with things that people deal with in their 50s.”

Which segues into Samantha’s disappearance: “Just as in real life, people come into your life, people leave,” Bloys continues. “Friendships fade, and new friendships start. So I think it is all very indicative of the real stages, the actual stages of life… They’re trying to tell an honest story about being a woman in her 50s in New York. So it should all feel somewhat organic, and the friends that you have when you’re 30, you may not have when you’re 50.”

Parker will be joined by original co-stars Cynthia Nixon (Miranda) and Kristin Davis (Charlotte) when the Sex and the City sequel — titled And Just Like That… — hits HBO Max. And this latest iteration is fueled by a more diverse writing staff, including series newcomers Samantha Irby, Rachna Fruchbom (Fresh Off the Boat) and Keli Goff (Black Lightning). Parker and King “didn’t want to tell a story with all-white writers or an all-white cast,” Bloys notes. “It’s not reflective of New York. So they are being very, very conscious about understanding that New York has to reflect the way New York looks today.”