Could the next season of the hit HBO show “The White Lotus,” about the dramatic and sometimes hilarious happenings at tony getaway resorts, also be its most Jewish one?
It certainly seems so.
Last month, we got the news that Jewish comedy legend Sandra Bernhard is starring in this new season, possibly as a stand-in for the iconic comedic female characters of seasons past, like Jennifer Coolidge’s heiress Tanya McQuoid and Parker Posey’s wealthy southern socialite Victoria Ratliff.
This week, new season four cast members have been announced, including Kumail Nanjiani, Chloe Bennet, Charlie Hall, Jarrad Paul and… Max Greenfield.
Greenfield is best known for his role as Schmidt in “New Girl,” who gave us immortal quotes like “Judaism, son!” He recently starred in the supremely Jewish animated series “Long Story Short” as unruly teen turned observant Orthodox Jew Yoshi Schwooper, and played nice Jewish doctor Lev Levenson,in the first season of “Running Point.”
Greenfield, 46, has also played many non-Jewish roles, too (notably in the long-running “The Neighborhood”), but in my opinion, a Max Greenfield role is always somewhat Jewish-coded (this is a man who had an SNL-themed bar mitzvah).
And it seems that Greenfield will take up quite a bit of “White Lotus” screen time (yes, please!). Deadline reports that his character, possibly named Mitchell, will be one of the season’s meatiest recurring roles, along with Nanjiani’s yet unnamed character.
If that’s not enough, Bernhard and Greenfield won’t be the only iconic Jewish actors in this new season. Ari Graynor (“Mrs. America”) is also in the cast, as is the indomitable Helena Bonham Carter (yes, she’s Jewish!).
Other exciting season four cast members include Steve Coogan, Marissa Long, Chris Messina, AJ Michalka, Vincent Cassel, Corentin Fila and Nadia Tereszkiewicz.
Season four of the show will be shooting in France (in the French Riviera, ooh-la-la), between April and October of this year.
That means it will hopefully premiere sometime in 2027. Here’s hoping it’s sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, if you’re jonesing for more Max Greenfield, he’ll be reprising the role of Lev Levenson next month in season two of “Running Point,” and starring in the very Jewish upcoming Happy Madison movie “Don’t Say Good Luck” opposite Sunny Sandler, slated to premiere later this year.
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