From creator/writer/director Mike White, the second installment of the HBO series The White Lotus is set at a beautiful resort in Sicily, Italy, where hotel manager Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore) is ready to assist various guests achieve everything they want out of their trip, whether that’s with family, for business reasons, or of a more romantic nature. When Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) arrives for a getaway with her husband Greg (Jon Gries), he’s not thrilled that her new assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) has been brought along for the ride, and insists that she be sidelined so that they can have some alone time together.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Coolidge and Gries talked about how they found out about a second season of the series, how Coolidge felt there was still more to explore with Tanya, whether Tanya is more or less stable this season, and that Greg has his own demons. Coolidge also talked about how often she’s surprised by the projects and roles she does.

Collider: The first season of this took everyone by surprise. No one knew what to expect. Were you just as surprised that there was a Season 2? Was that even a possibility, when you originally signed on?

JENNIFER COOLIDGE: Yeah.

JON GRIES: Absolutely. There was no mention of it when we were doing Season 1. I think maybe Mike White might have said it in passing like, “If there’s a Season 2, if we get that lucky...”

the-white-lotus-jennifer-coolidge-jon-gries
Image via HBO

How did you find out? Was he the one that made the phone call to tell you that it was actually happening?

GRIES: He texted me. I was eating in a café and I looked down at my phone, and there was a text from him saying, “Are you available in May? I’m writing your character back in, and if you’re not available, I don’t wanna write it.” That’s how simple it was. I said, “I’m there. Doesn’t matter, I’ll be there no matter what.”

Jennifer, what about for you? Did you feel like there was more to explore with Tanya? Did you want to return to her and live with her for a little bit longer?

COOLIDGE: Yeah, I really did. Someone asked me once, if I would rather have been a new character and come in as a whole new person, and I have to say that Tanya, as a character, was really cool. She was so burdened with her incredible despair and depression with the loss of her mother, and she was grieving so much of the time, that I felt like you barely even got to know who she is. But who is she, beyond that? So, when Mike offered Tanya again, I would have been an idiot to say no. I loved the storyline of this season, once I found out what it was.

Would you say that Tanya is more or less stable in Season 2 than she was in Season 1?

COOLIDGE: I’d say that she’s less stable, but she finds her footing.

Jon, it feels like your character is up to something and we’re not really sure what yet, including Tanya. Once we find out what’s really going on with Greg, how do you think we’ll feel?

GRIES: I don’t know if I can even articulate that. I can’t speculate how you’re gonna feel, but Greg has his own complexities and we’ll get to see and know those a little bit better. He’s also got his demons.

the-white-lotus-jennifer-coolidge-haley-lu-richardson
Image via HBO

Jennifer, every time I see you play a character, I can’t imagine anyone else playing that character. When you read a script, do you always instinctively know whether it’s a character that you want to play? Have they all felt suited to you, or have some surprised you?

COOLIDGE: That’s a really good question actually. No one’s ever asked me that.

GRIES: That is a good question.

COOLIDGE: That’s such a good question because I do feel like there are scripts where I’ll open it up to the first page, read a paragraph or two, and go, “Oh, my God!,” and I can feel immediately whether I could do it or not. And then, once in a while, I’ve thought to myself, “No, I don’t think I can do this.” And then, my agent or manager will call and say, “I think you can do it.” And then, there’s that conversation. It’s weird, if you come to conclusions about yourself, because then you eliminate possibilities for yourself. I met with (writer/director) Emerald Fennell about Promising Young Woman, and I had this strong feeling that I wouldn’t be able to do the part. I was really doubting myself. But I’m glad I didn’t bail at the last minute because I really enjoyed it. Sometimes you just don’t know. There’s nothing worse than having a role where you’re really wrong for it and you’re doing it, and you’re like, “Oh, my God, why did I accept the fireman? I can’t even handle the hose.”

The White Lotus airs on Sunday nights on HBO and is available to stream at HBO Max.