The White Lotus creator teases series prequel with Jennifer Coolidge: ‘Absolutely possible’
Jennifer Coolidge’s fan favourite White Lotus character Tanya could make a return in a new prequel, according to series creator Mike White.
Ever since Jennifer Coolidge‘s resident ditzy socialite Tanya McQuoid plunged to her watery death at the end of the second season of The White Lotus, the gays have been in mourning.
The 61-year-old collected several accolades, including a Golden Globe, for her scene-stealing performance and, along with fans, has shared her enthusiasm for the possibility of seeing Tanya resurrected in future seasons.
Now, we might have the chance to see just that, as the creator of the hit HBO series, Mike White, has said that he’s open to a prequel show centred on the loveable character.
While attending the Vivid Sydney Festival on Saturday (10 June) alongside Coolidge, White was asked about the possibility of a Tanya-centric season of The White Lotus.
“I absolutely think that’s possible, we [him and Coolidge] were just talking about that,” he replied. “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!'”
Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya. (HBO)
Although that morsel of information is all we have to go on for the time being, it contains endless potential for uncovering how Tanya truly ended up trapped on boat with a bunch of evil gays trying to kill her.
We want to see everything from growing up as a mega-fortune heiress and her fraught relationship with her late mother, to her later-in-life pursuit of touring White Lotus hotels around the world.
As for where the prequel could be set, that’s a whole other story. The first season took place on the shores of Hawaii, the second under the Sicilian sun and the third has begun filming in Thailand.
At the Sydney press conference White admitted it was his “dream” to traverse every continent, so Australia is in the running for its own dedicated season.
“We kind of have to come to Australia if we keep going,” White explained. “It would be so fun. Obviously, there’s a huge wealth of talent here and the beauty is inarguable, so it feels like it checks all the boxes.”
Coolidge, meanwhile, added that Down Under “gets my vote” for the prequel series. But if the prequel plan falls through, there are plenty of other ideas for how Tanya can return for another season, including coming back as a seagull, a nefarious twin sister or just resurrecting like Jesus Christ.
While fans patiently wait for Coolidge to expand the White Lotus cinematic universe, the noughties acting legend is booked and busy. In a recent interview with GQ that featured a fabulous photoshoot, she teased her future projects.
“I have big things happening,” she said about life post –White Lotus. “What’s cool is I’m being offered parts that I didn’t show any sort of glimmer of in any of the things I’ve done. It’s not like they saw another character and were like, ‘Oh, then you can do this, too’.”
Although she is remaining coy, we know she will star opposite Gabrielle Union in new crime-comedy film Riff Raff and will more than likely make an appearance in the highly-anticipated Legally Blonde 3 written by Mindy Kaling.
The White Lotus seasons one and two are streaming now on NowTV and Prime Video.