Natasha Rothwell is back on The White Lotus. Rothwell starred in Season 1 as Belinda, an overworked spa manager at a Hawaiian resort. She and the majority of the show’s cast members didn’t return for Season 2, which was set in Sicily, Italy; however, on Wednesday, Rothwell announced on Twitter that she’ll appear in the show’s upcoming third season.
“Belinda is back baby!!!” she wrote, quote-tweeting a Variety story that first reported her return.
The news is the first casting announcement for Season 3, which will reportedly be set in Thailand. According to Variety, series creator Mike White has begun scouting locations in the country to film the next season.
For her work in Season 1, Rothwell landed a supporting actress Emmy nomination in the limited series category for her performance. She acted alongside Jennifer Coolidge, who won the Emmy category for playing the wealthy and lonely Tanya McQuoid.
"My heart is full!" Rothwell tweeted late Wednesday. "Words cannot even begin to express how excited, grateful and humbled I am to have the chance to breathe life into Belinda once again. Thank you for the outpouring of love and support today. I am overwhelmed, overjoyed and over the fucking moon!"
Coolidge and Jon Gries, who played Tanya’s conniving husband Greg, were the only Season 1 actors to return in Season 2, which featured new characters played by the likes of Aubrey Plaza, Michael Imperioli, Meghann Fahy, Will Sharpe, and Theo James.
Much of what’s to come in Season 3 is still a mystery. White first hinted at it taking place at a resort in Asia immediately after the Season 2 finale aired. In the “Unpacking Season 2: Episode 7” clip that followed the Dec. 11 finale, White said he wanted to portray a “satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality” after focusing on money in Season 1 and sex in Season 2.
There’s an argument to be made about whether karma exists in the show’s universe. Spoiler alert: At the end of the first season, Tanya doesn’t make good on a promise to Belinda that she’d fund a new spa business venture. In the Season 2 finale, Tanya dies while trying to escape from a boat of gay men trying to murder her.
It’s unclear whether Belinda will be returning again as a White Lotus employee. Perhaps she’s managed to become one of the elite guests staying at the luxury resort. Maybe Tanya left Belinda some money in her will? Who knows! Well, Mike White, probably.