Carrie Coon Responds to ‘White Lotus’ Fan Theory About Laurie and Portia

On the February 20 episode of Radio Andy’s “The Julia Cunningham Show,” actress Carrie Coon spoke about “The White Lotus” Season 3 fan theory about her character, Laurie, and Haley Lu Richardson’s character from Season 2, Portia, being mother and daughter.

“I have seen that theory going around,” Carrie confirmed.

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Speaking about the show’s director, Mike White, Carrie said, “He has, like, same spirits, new forms, right? He’s inviting the possibility of connection, I think, between the seasons. And, of course, we have these characters that are carrying through. And it’s so early that anything’s on the table, really, in this kind of show.”

“The White Lotus” returned to Max for Season 3 this past Sunday, more than two years after the conclusion of Season 2. So far, the returning characters include Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) and Greg (Jon Gries). The show continues to follow its tradition of weekly episode releases, creating what Carrie described as a “collective sleuthing.”

“We don’t have very much of that anymore,” she said. “People are watching shows alone in their underwear. At least the conversation that’s happening on the internet feels connecting, like people are connecting, and they’re connecting over art.”

Carrie continued, “They’re connecting over art that is challenging. It’s entertainment, yes, but also, Mike is always — it’s a Trojan horse. I mean, he’s always talking about the things that are interesting to him in the human condition and doing it with a lot of laughs. That’s the only kind of work I trust. If it doesn’t have a sense of humor, it doesn’t feel real to me or grounded in human experience. Mike just — he’s really good at putting the mirror up to nature, as they say. It’s just that classic, old Shakespearean thing he’s doing.”