The White Lotus: Connie Britton Not Returning as Nicole in Season 3
Nicole Mossbacher will not be checking back into The White Lotus after all.
TVLine has learned exclusively that franchise alum Connie Britton — who starred in the HBO dramedy’s breakout first season as the aforementioned high-powered CFO — will not be returning for the Thailand-set third season.
“She would love to do another season of The White Lotus at some point, but she is not participating in the upcoming season,” Britton’s spokesperson confirms to TVLine.
As we reported back in December, one Season 3 scenario being bandied about had Britton’s Nicole resurfacing in Season 3 alongside Laura Dern’s Abby, the estranged wife of Season 2 guest Dom (Michael Imperioli). Rumor had it that viewers would learn that Nicole and Abby (whom Dern supplied the voice of in Season 2) were, in fact, sisters.
According to sources, Britton had been in preliminary talks to return, but scheduling issues made it an impossibility. It’s unclear what impact this will have on the possible in-the-flesh introduction of Dern’s Abby character.
Britton — who recently signed on to star opposite Oscar winner Robert De Niro in Netflix’s limited series Zero Day — first hinted at a potential White Lotus return last summer, telling our sister pub Deadline, “[Series creator Mike White] wanted me to be in the second season, and there was an idea that I loved for the character. Our intention is to do it in the third season. A piece of casting didn’t work in the second season and we’re hoping to [do] that in the third season.”
The spirit of White Lotus’ Emmy-winning first season will still be felt in Season 3, courtesy of Natasha Rothwell’s returning Belinda. In a recent TVLine poll that asked readers which past characters they would like to see follow in the footsteps of Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya (R.I.P.) by becoming the newest member of White Lotus’ loyalty program, Rothwell’s Belinda placed fifth (view full results here).
She has a habit of not sticking around very long doesn’t she?
This. Regardless of what she says I expect to never see her again on this show. :D
Why is she under any obligations to stick around when they only sign and paid for a season? Anything else is up for negotiation. If they really want her, then they should pay her and/or work with her on storyline that interests her. This sounds like scheduling conflicts. If they were seriously, they should sign her up as soon as they can.
True, but I’m not interested in watching or getting invested in a character that is only going to hang around for 1 season on a TV series. She’s under no obligation but if I was casting, I wouldn’t cast her because of this.
Oh, you make it sound like she’s Emily VanCamp. /s
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Seriously, American Horror Story and White Lotus are anthologies and she did the first season of 9-1-1 as a favor to Ryan Murphy (which probably meant that other casting for the role fell through at the last minute).
Love Connie Britton, but she is in demand!
Besides doing Zero Day all summer she ought not do shows that don’t allow for her to win the Emmy she deserves. She should have won over Coolidge and she shouldn’t get in that position again.
I thought Britons performance was mediocre at best and in no way did she out perform Coolidge. However the little brat I absolutely HATED was Paula so she shoukd have been recognized for being the quintessential stuck up millineal of all time!
Shouldn’t get into that position again? Like Connie is merely focused on awards?
What a weird comment to make.
I think at this stage she’s ready for an award, yes. She is making decisions that will get her into that position.
Britton teased her return to White Lotus on a fairly recent episode of Stephen Colbert. Apparently it really was nothing more than ‘just a tease.’
Am glad she isn’t returning. Overrated.
It would have been nice to see her back. I liked her family and Rachel a lot.
I love The White Lotus and I’ll watch it and support forcas long as it’s running, but I must say that I will miss Tanya a lot. She was really special. I wish she had gotten an open ending instead of being killed off.
she’s always leaving shows midway. why do they even take her? it’s not like the performance is phenomenal.