Boogie Nights and Empire star Nicole Ari Parker has been cast as Carrie Bradshaw's best friend in Sex and The City reboot And Just Like That, according to reports.
Parker is said to be replacing Kim Cattrall, who will not star in the new HBO Max show.
There was a backlash earlier this year after news emerged that Cattrall, who played Samantha in the original series and two movies, would not be reprising her standout role.
Ari Parker (50) will replace Cattrall as the fourth member of the New York friend group playing Bradshaw’s new best friend, documentary-maker Lisa Todd Wexley, the Mail on Sunday has reported.
And Just Like That will see Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon - as well as writer Michael Patrick King - returning to the show, which was one of the defining TV series of the nineties and noughties, winning seven Emmys and eight Golden Globe awards.
In 2019, Cattrall revealed why her association with the series was over following rumours of tension between cast members.
"I went past the finish line playing Samantha Jones because I loved Sex and the City," she said. "It was a blessing in so many ways but after the second movie I'd had enough. I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just replace me with another actress instead of wasting time bullying. No means no."
As well as Ari Parker’s starring role, the reboot, which will run for 10 half-hour episodes on HBO Max, will also introduce three characters played by people of colour, with Sara Ramirez, Karen Pittman and Sarita Choudhury joining.
WarnerMedia said the new series would follow the characters "as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s".
