Jennifer Coolidge is reportedly set to return for The White Lotus season 2. The series premiered on HBO in July to great critical success, and currently maintains a 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Filmed and based in Hawaii, the show follows a group of wealthy travelers vacationing at the titular White Lotus resort.
Following the announcement of a White Lotus season 2, it was confirmed that the show would morph into an anthology series. The White Lotus season 1 boasted a successful six-episode run, which cast the likes of Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Alexandra Daddario, Fred Hechinger, Jake Lacy, Molly Shannon, Natasha Rothwell, Brittany O'Grady, and Sydney Sweeney. Coolidge, who played the troubled middle-aged Tanya McQuoid, quickly rose to become one of the series' stand out favorites. Helmed by writer and director Mike White, it is currently unclear whether he will seek to bring back any other original stars.
Variety reports that its sources have confirmed the return of Jennifer Coolidge to White Lotus season 2. The extent of Coolidge's involvement in the new series is unknown at this early stage, but Mike White has previously expressed an interest in creating small reoccurring roles for particular characters in White Lotus season 2. This will not be the first time that Coolidge has featured in a reoccurring capacity for a TV show, she has also returned in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, 2 Broke Girls, and Gravity Falls.
One of the more 'normal' and relatable characters featured in the show, news of Coolidge's return as Tanya McQuoid will come as a welcome surprise to many viewers. McQuoid seemed to stand apart, functioning as a more sympathetic presence in a show that was otherwise submerged in the unrealities of the rich and entitled. Though not a complete bystander, nor entirely innocent throughout the show, it was perhaps difficult not to be endeared by McQuoid while she was surrounded by individuals far more toxic than herself, such as Jake Lacy's Shane.
Though the extent of Coolidge's presence in The White Lotus season 2 is unknown, it might be reasonable to assume her involvement will be diminished in order to establish the new faces in the show. No other names have yet been announced, but the series' new anthology format promises a whole lot of new and upcoming names. Still fresh from its critical success and now set within a whole new resort, The White Lotus may yet draw in some big stars for the second season.
Source: Variety