Blackpink Lisa to join cast of ‘White Lotus’

BANGKOK: Singer Lisa of megastar K-pop girl group Blackpink will join the cast of “The White Lotus”, HBO said Tuesday, as the third season of the hit TV series moves to her homeland Thailand. Filming for the latest round of the award-winning dark comedy is set to begin this month in Bangkok as well as the holiday islands of Phuket and Ko Samui. Lisa, full name Lalisa Manobal, will feature in the show alongside veteran Hollywood star Scott Glenn, HBO’s streaming service Max said in a post on its official account on social media platform X.

The 26-year-old is perhaps Thailand’s bestknown celebrity, with legions of adoring fans and her image plastered on adverts across the kingdom. A dark, stylish satire on wealth and hypocrisy, “The White Lotus” has been a commercial and critical hit for HBO, with both previous seasons garnering multiple Emmy nominations. The second season, set in Sicily, reportedly fuelled a spike in searches for travel to the southern Italian island -something Thai tourism bosses are hoping to repeat.

But the show suffered a blow earlier this month when producers were forced to drop Serbian actor Milos Bikovic after Ukraine complained about his ties to Russia.

Meanwhile Lisa is quoted by The Korea Herald as having announced last Thursday that she is establishing her own label, Lloud.

With a photograph of herself wearing an androgynous suit, she wrote that it is a platform through which she will be able to showcase her vision for music and entertainment and asked fans to join the exciting journey that will navigate across new boundaries.

She set her fans abuzz the previous day with a post that only said “Coming Soon.”

The four members of Blackpink decided to let YG Entertainment manage their group activities in December last year. Jennie launched her own label, Odd Atelier, last month with her mother, and Jisoo is reportedly preparing to set up one with her brother.