US Weekly
Every Star Who Wants to Join the Cast of ‘The White Lotus’: Bette Midler, Hayden Panettiere and More
By Kat Pettibone
March 29, 2023
Ready for vacation! The White Lotus has been a critical darling since its 2021 premiere — and Bette Midler is one star of many who would check into the fictional hotel in a “New York minute.”
“It’s a big sendup. [Series creator] Mike White pokes fun at the worst kind of people, the truly entitled and rich people behaving badly. Everybody likes to see them get their comeuppance. I really enjoy that,” the First Wives Club star told Variety in a February 2023 interview. “It’s the great saga of the haves and the have-nots, which is eternal. I do tend to watch the stuff that’s — I don’t want to say hopeful — but I do like to laugh. I love to laugh, but there’s just not enough laughter. So I really do look for the stuff that makes me laugh.”
The White Lotus premiered in July 2021 on HBO and acts as a satirical anthology series. The show tracks guests and employees over the course of a week during their stay at a fictional resort chain as they unleash their worst, most privileged impulses. The first two seasons, which were set in Hawaii and Sicily, respectively, received praise for their writing and performances, taking home a total of 11 Emmys and countless other awards between them.
In November 2022, the show was renewed for a third season. After the season 2 finale the following month, White shared during HBO Max’s Unpacking S2 E7 special that the next installment may take place in Asia and focus on “death and Eastern religion and spirituality.”
“The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” he explained. “I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus.”
Due to its overwhelming critical success and undeniable popularity, celebrities have been vocal about wanting a chance to join the cast in future seasons. Hayden Panettiere told E! News in March 2023 that booking a role on the show was at the top of her to-do list after returning to the acting world for Scream VI.
“I want to do it so bad,” she gushed. “I want to do it, like Tom Cruise jumping on [a] couch bad.”
When it came to how she could see herself fitting into the White Lotus universe, the Nashville alum cited Jennifer Coolidge’s breakout character, Tanya McQuoid — a role that won the Legally Blonde star multiple Emmys, Critics Choice Awards and a Golden Globe — as her way into the fold.
“She is my favorite, I love her,” Panettiere shared at the time. “I will be her anything — bag holder, shoe shiner, I will be her guardian angel, I will be her long-lost child. I will be whatever she wants me to be.” (Coolidge’s character was found dead in the ocean during the season 2 finale, but was one of only two actors brought back for both installments.)
