Pop Star Joins New Season of 'White Lotus'

Lalisa "Lisa" Manobal of the K-pop group BLACKPINK has joined the cast of 'The White Lotus' Season 3.

By Michael Hein

The White Lotus Season 3 has added Korean pop star Lalisa "Lisa" Manobal to the cast. The news was first reported by Variety on Monday, noting that this will be the 26-year-old singer's acting debut and a sign of the rising influence of Korean pop music. The White Lotus Season 3 began filming this month, and series creator Mike White has promised that it will be "longer, bigger, crazier" than anything fans have seen so far.

Lisa's real name is Lalisa Manobal, and she is a member of the K-pop girl group BLACKPINK. The group hit the scene in 2016 and has become a global favorite, referred to by some as the "biggest girl group in the world." Their music and image are generally associated with female empowerment and self-confidence. Even passive listeners might recognize their songs "Whistle," "Boombayah," "Playing with Fire," "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du," "Kill This Love" and "How You Like That."

Lisa joins previously announced cast members Patrick Schwarzenegger, Parker Posey, Leslie Bibb, Jason Isaacs and Walton Goggins, among others. Season 1 star Natasha Rothwell will return for this new installment as well, but The White Lotus is generally an anthology series, with a new cast and characters every season. The dark-comedy series is set in a fictional resort called The White Lotus, where the guests and employees are all overcome by various psychosocial dysfunctions.

The White Lotus Season 3 is filming in Thailand, where Lisa was born. The singer's mother is Thai and she was raised in that country, though she became involved in the Korean pop music industry at age 13. She was the first non-ethnically Korean person accepted into the YG Entertainment training program. Since then, she has used her Thai background to distinguish herself and has taken every opportunity to give back to the country where she grew up.

HBO and The Tourism Authority of Thailand have made press releases together indicating that they are coordinating their efforts to make sure that filming The White Lotus in the country is a mutually beneficial undertaking. The agency's governor, Thapanee Kiatphaibool, said: "We are honored to have Amazing Thailand featured as the filming location for the highly anticipated upcoming season of The White Lotus. The kingdom's exotic natural beauty, rich historical sites and diverse landscapes are the perfect settings to share our fascinating culture, fantastic cuisine, top-notch wellness and luxury offerings, and most importantly our people and Thai hospitality. Thailand has long been considered one of the world's favorite filming locations. The White Lotus project will certainly strengthen the kingdom's status as a preferred filming destination and a beacon of experience-based tourism, inspiring even more visitors to Amazing Thailand."

As for the plot, little is known except that all those working on the project are excited. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, White said: "It's going to be a supersized White Lotus. It's going to be longer, bigger, crazier. I don't know what people will think, but I am super excited, so at least for my own barometer, that's a good thing ... I'm super excited about the content of the season."

The White Lotus Season 3 is filming now, and it has no projected premiere date yet. Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming now on Max.

0comments

Related:

Start the Conversation

of