The White Lotus cast tease who’s the ‘Jennifer Coolidge’ of season 3

It’s adored for its intricate character studies of the rich and irredeemable and its desert dry humour, but Mike White’s satirical comedy The White Lotus has cemented itself in popular culture for one big, blonde and busty reason: Jennifer Coolidge.

The previously critically under-appreciated American Pie star played opulent airhead heiress Tanya McQuoid for two seasons of the HBO series, reviving her career in the process (the role won her two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe, and two Critics’ Choice Awards, among others). Thanks to much-memed quotes about gay men – “These gays, they’re trying to murder me!” and “Do you know these gays?” – plus Coolidge’s soft, blithe delivery, and Tanya’s quiet emotional complexity, the actress became part of the very fabric of White’s smash hit series.

That is, until, she wasn’t. At the end of season two – spoiler! – Tanya died. Despite elaborate fan hopes of bringing her back as some sort of ghost, Tanya remains dead and gone in the upcoming third season, which returns on Sunday (16 February).

Thankfully though, the brand new cast of misfits have absorbed some of the intrigue that Coolidge exuded. “There’s definitely some performances I feel rival her as far as hopefully iconic performances,” White told TIME last month. Now, the season three cast have shared a little more about one specific performance to keep an eye on.

Season three welcomes to Thailand incompatible couple Chelsea and Rick (Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood and Fallout’s Walton Goggins), and silently fractured trio of girlfriends Jaclyn (True Detective’s Michelle Monaghan), Kate (Palm Royale’s Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (The Gilded Age’s Carrie Coon).

Then there’s the dysfunctional Ratliff family, helmed by troubled father Timothy (Harry Potter’s Jason Isaacs), his delightfully gaudy Southern matriarch of a wife Victoria (Mr & Mrs Smith’s Parker Posey), and their three eternally at-odds children, Saxton (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Lochlan (Sam Nivola), and Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook). Plus, season one’s spa manager Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) returns, the only character to make a comeback this season.

Speaking to PinkNews, Wood, Monaghan and Rothwell all lathered praise on their The White Lotus castmates, but each took a moment to shine a particularly bright light on Parker Posey, whose character seemingly brings some of Coolidge’s “iconic” energy.

“The fact that Parker Posey’s in this season, I mean, when I saw that I was like, ‘Well!’,” Wood recalled.

“Her and Jennifer have worked so much in the past together, and so it felt like she was taking the mantle from Jennifer in a great way. I mean, Parker, she’s so iconic.”

Similarly, Monaghan teased that Posey’s role in the new season is “unexpected”.

“We were together for almost seven months, all going around Thailand, various different islands and hotels. So we formed deep bonds and relationships that’ll just go well beyond the show,” the Mission Impossible star began.

“I think the person that I was most excited to work with, [who] I actually got to live with, was Parker Posey. She is someone that I’ve loved as long as I’ve loved Mike White. I love Parker Posey and I got to live with her and she does not disappoint,” Monaghan continued.

“Let me tell you what, she is the coolest cat in town. She’s so talented. She’s a bit of a witch, just like this ethereal but grounded witch. And I love her tidbits.”

Describing Posey’s role as deadpan grande dame Victoria, Monaghan said: “She’s so unexpected. She acts with such an abandon, and that’s such a beautiful quality. I think that’s a quality that as actors, certainly for myself, I just always want to inhabit. I’m always longing for that abandon and she just has it effortlessly.”

Rothwell added that Parker contributes to season three’s “ridiculous star power” in her role as a mother of three children, and a soon-to-be ‘mother’ to the show’s legions of LGBTQ+ fans.

“I’ve been watching Parker Posey since I was old enough to rent a movie. That’s dating myself because they were actually VHS tapes,” Rothwell laughed. 

“And so meeting her was just like… from The House of Yes, Waiting For Guffman, all of these iconic movies that kind of raised me. And so it was just really cool to be in her orbit and it’s just ridiculous, the star power of this season. I just feel lucky to be able to share this show with them.”

The White Lotus launches on Sky and streaming service NOW on Monday 17 February.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.