Mike White is open to a ‘White Lotus’ prequel series with aged Jennifer Coolidge

Fans of ‘The White Lotus’ have gotten used to seeing Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya McQuoid appearing in every episode of Mike White’s HBO anthology, but the events of season 2 made it extremely unlikely to return for a third season. But that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of the ultra-rich characters.

White and Coolidge appeared together at a press conference on Saturday in Sydney, Australia (via Expiration), with the writer teasing that they may collaborate again on a “White Lotus” prequel series starring an aging Coolidge.

“I totally think it’s possible, we were just talking about it,” White said when asked about a Tanya-focused prequel. “It’s a fun idea. And also making Jennifer, you know, 20 years younger, that would be fun. I think Jennifer goes, ‘Sure, let’s do it!’”

Coolidge has jokingly added that he wants to film the hypothetical prequel in Australia, prompting White to say he hopes to make an Australian season of ‘White Lotus’ soon.

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“My dream would be to hit every continent, so yeah, this is like his continent, basically,” White said. “We have to come to Australia if we continue. That would be so much fun. Obviously, there’s a huge wealth of talent here and the beauty is indisputable, so it seems like it checks all the boxes.

White has never been shy about the fact that he is exploring different ways to expand the “White Lotus” universe. He recently revealed that he’d ultimately like to make a star season made up entirely of returning characters.

“It would be easy to just be a full anthology, but I think it’s more fun to have little threads throughout the show,” she said. “If the show goes on for a couple of seasons, it would be fun to have a star season.”

The showrunner also explained that future seasons don’t necessarily have to continue to follow the narrative formula he established with the murders in seasons 1 and 2.

“I don’t think it always has to be a body,” she said. “There are so many ways we want to reinvent the show every year. For example, what is this show – other than people? A new mystery, perhaps people are expecting it. But I don’t feel bound by expectations. It is funny.”