Culture / TV

Will Jennifer Coolidge get a ‘White Lotus’ prequel series with Tanya?

WORDS Jahlia Solomon    PUBLISHED Wed, 14 Jun 2023 - 4:20 pm

Ever since HBO dropped that The White Lotus would be returning for a third season (which comes as a shock to absolutely no one), we've been scouting for news about where we might be jetting off to next, and which guests might be joining us on our stay.

 

The show, released in July 2021 immediately hit home with viewers and critics, boasting 20 Emmy nominations with 10 wins under its belt. Unsurprisingly, creator, director and executive producer, Mike White is happy with how things are going.

“There’s no place I’d rather work than HBO and there’s no people I’d rather partner with than Casey Bloys, Francesca Orsi, Nora Skinner and their incredible team,” White said. “I feel so lucky to get this opportunity again and am excited to reunite with my amazingly talented collaborators on ‘The White Lotus.’”

 

So, what can we expect from season 3 of The White Lotus?

In keeping with the last two seasons, we were fairly certain we would be swept away to yet another fab holiday destination, and now it's been all-but-confirmed that the latest season will be set against the luxe tropical backdrop of Thailand (White himself having been spotted scoping out potential filming locations in the country).

We're likely to return to another of the Four Seasons Hotel's luxury locales for the new series, after having spent the first two instalments at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, and San Domenico Palace, Taormina, respectively. There are four, in fact, to choose from in Thailand.

In terms of a storyline, White wants to focus on spirituality. "The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” White said in a behind-the-scenes video released after last season's finale, "I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.”

 

Who will be joining the cast?

It looks like White will continue his tradition of keeping a familiar face between seasons. While we're sad to be saying goodbye to Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge), it's been confirmed that Natasha Rothwell will reprise her role as Belinda Lindsey.

Rothwell confirmed the news via Twitter.

 

We also suspect, given the show's recent award show sweeps, that White will have his pick of actors for the new season.

 

What's this about a prequel series?

While in Sydney for an 'In Conversation' event at Vivid this month, White and Coolidge joked about expanding The White Lotus' universe to potentially include a prequel series, which would follow a young Tanya McQuoid and be set before the events of season one.

White said of the idea, “I absolutely think that’s possible, we were just talking about that. It’s a funny idea – and making Jennifer, you know, 20 years younger, that would be fun too. I think Jennifer’s like, ‘Sure, let’s do it!’.”

 

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