The White Lotus: Jennifer Coolidge Set to Return for Season 2 of HBO Satire
The White Lotus has booked its first Season 2 guest — and she’s a repeat customer.
HBO isn’t commenting, but multiple sources confirm to TVLine exclusively that Jennifer Coolidge is set to return for the forthcoming second season of Mike White’s acclaimed dark comedy.
The actress earned widespread raves — as well as considerable Emmy buzz — for her performance as boozy socialite Tanya McQuoid (pronounced Mc-Kwad), who ventured to the Hawaiian resort to scatter her dead mother’s ashes (and found love in the process).
As reported in early August, Season 2 will leave the setting of Hawaii behind and largely follow a different group of vacationers as they jet to another White Lotus property (we’re hearing somewhere in Europe).
In a recent interview with TVLine, White shared his desire to to potentially bring back a few Season 1 favorites. “I don’t think you can credibly have [all the Season 1 guests] on the same vacation again,” he explained. “But maybe it could be a Marvel Universe type thing, where some of them would come back. We only made one-year deals with the actors, so we’d have to find out who is even available.”
For his part, White found all the love being heaped on longtime friend Coolidge “hugely satisfying,” adding, “She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. She’s also a really nice person. And we had some false starts with other [projects] we tried to work on together, so this is very gratifying. It’s probably one of the most satisfying aspects of the whole experience for me.”
In a poll conducted shortly after White Lotus‘ Season 1 finale, TVLine readers chose Coolidge’s Tanya as the character they most wanted to see return for Season 2.
Doesn’t that mean they are out of the limited series category for the Emmys?
I don’t see why it would. If American Horror Story could still run in the Limited Series categories when they had characters from previous seasons so should TWL. I think there’s room for interpretation of that rule.
The TV Academy changed the rules for that because of the Apocalypse season where they had returning characters.
Exactly, they are considered limited series because both shows are anthologies. Each year it is a different story, so it doesn’t matter that some or even most of the cast are the same, or that each year will be under the same umbrella name AHS. Another example of these two shows that would be classified as a limited series is the “The Haunting of”
series on Netflix.
Not if they are playing new characters.
OK (not like going to say no to more Coolidge) but that’s it. All new blood otherwise please. And I also assume this means it will have to compete in Drama Series categories not Limited/Anthology for awards – which I hope Coolidge and Bartlett (and more) make the rounds next awards season.
I wouldn’t mind Belinda/Natasha Rothwell returning, as I feel a returned guest/returned staff would make sense and those two have a lot of potential in terms of a continuing storyline. Plus Belinda getting transfered after everything that happened(with a promotion?) makes sense.
Yah would love to have Natasha back. Her ending while realistic felt unsatisfying.
If it’s an ongoing series, I think it would be put in the comedy category and not drama. It seems most consider it a dark comedy or satire.
I can see her hopping from white Lotus resort to another.
When does season 2 start?
It was only recently ordered. They need to write the scripts, cast actors, build sets, sew costumes… Lots to do!