Blackpink member Lisa has joined the cast of “The White Lotus” Season 3, Variety has learned exclusively.
She will be credited under her given name, Lalisa Manobal, in the third season of the hit HBO series. As with all castings for the third season, her role is being kept under wraps. “The White Lotus” is set to begin production in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok, Thailand, in February. Exact plot details are being kept under wraps aside from the fact it will follow a new group of guests at a White Lotus resort property.
The expansive ensemble cast already includes: Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Tayme Thapthimthong, Christian Friedel, Julian Kostov, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris, Carrie Coon, Scott Glenn, Francesca Corney, Nicholas Duvernay, Arnas Fedaravičius, Natasha Rothwell, Walton Goggins, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wood, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola.
Manobal’s role in “The White Lotus” will mark her acting debut. She is now the second member of Blackpink to appear in an HBO series. Jennie (credited as Jennie Ruby Jane) made her own acting debut in the drama “The Idol,” which premiered in June 2023.
Blackpink — consisting of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa — is one of the most popular musical groups in the world. They launched in August 2016 with the single album “Square One” under YG Entertainment. Their single “Boombayah” reached number one on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, setting the record as the most-viewed debut music video by a Korean act. They became the highest-charting female K-Pop group on Billboard Hot 100 with “Ddu-Du Ddu Du,” peaking at number 55, and were the first K-Pop girl group to enter and top the Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart. The group later collaborated with artists like Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Cardi B, and Selena Gomez.
Manobal, who recently established her own management company named Lloud Co., has broken several individual records herself. With the release of her solo album “Lalisa” in 2021, she was the first female artist to sell 736,999 copies in the first week in South Korea. Both her singles from the album — “Lalisa” and “Money” — charted in the top ten of the Billboard Global 200, the latter becoming the longest-charting song by a female K-Pop soloist on the US Billboard 100 and UK Singles Chart. She broke three Guinness World Records in 2023 as the Most Instagram followers for a K-Pop artist and the first solo K-Pop winner at the for both the MTV Video Music Awards and the MTV Europe Music Awards.
Manobal is repped by Lloud Co.
Mike White created “The White Lotus” and serves as executive producer and director. David Bernad and Mark Kamine also executive produce. HBO has partnered with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to support the filming and promotion of the third installment.
“The White Lotus” proved to be an immediate hit for HBO when it debuted in 2021. The first season, set in Hawaii, received 20 Emmy nominations and ten wins, including best limited or anthology series. The second installment, which premiered in December 2022 and was set in Sicily, earned 23 Emmy nominations, including best drama series, ultimately winning five awards.
Laura Sirikul contributed to this story.
From Variety US