There is a light at the end of this TV drought, and her name is Carrie Coon.
Yes, the Emmy nominee has been announced to be joining the cast in season three of HBO’s hit The White Lotus after her successful turn in the second season of the network’s The Gilded Age. From 1880s New York to 2020s Thailand, Coon is a welcome addition to the cast alongside a collection of veteran performers whose time in the sun is long overdue.
Known best for her breakout performance as Ben Affleck’s sister in Gone Girl (2014), as well as her award winning turn in FX’s Fargo, Coon’s star has been truly on the rise over the last few years thanks largely to supporting roles in prestige projects. The same can be said of the other cast members joining her, which includes Parker Posey, the indie icon of the late 1990s.
Much like Coon, albeit of a different generation, Posey made a name for herself in starring in a collection of critical darlings that saw limited commercial success. Posey’s biggest projects to date include You’ve Got Mail (1998) and Scream 3 (2000), however her reputation for being “too indie” withheld her from considerable mainstream success. In an interview with Deadline in 2023, Posey stated that she “would audition for all these great parts that ended up going to bigger names like Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock.”
With the cast extending out to other under-appreciated performers, such as Jason Issacs and Michelle Monaghan, they all find themselves in good hands with series creator, writer and director Mike White. Arguably, White’s affinity for talent over stardom is one of the many factors that made seasons one and two of The White Lotus an overwhelming success. Combining genius character actors with newer, more zeitgeist-friendly stars, appealed to both critics and audiences alike. The clearest example of this can be found in Jennifer Coolidge’s performance as Tanya McQuoid, a role that earned the 62 year-old actress both a Golden Globe and an Emmy award after years of type-casting and bit parts.
Love The White Lotus? Check out Emily Nutbean’s review of season two right here!
With the newest season set to begin filming in Bangkok in February, viewers can expect The White Lotus to arrive any time in the first quarter of 2025. Whilst this may be quite the wait, due largely to the strikes that disrupted the entertainment industry throughout 2023, White has continually impressed audiences and will no doubt make up for lost time when we arrive in Thailand next year.
Words by Ben Carpenter
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