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Kevin Winter/GA/The Hollywood Reporter/Getty; Taylor Hill/Getty
Jennifer Coolidge's presence was missed on The White Lotus set.
In an exclusive chat with PEOPLE at the hit show’s season 3 premiere at Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles on Monday, Feb. 10, Natasha Rothwell said she missed hanging out with Coolidge, 63, on set.
"Jennifer is a vibe man! I miss her!" Rothwell, 44, said of her former costar. "She's such a vibe and such a good hang, and just great energy."
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The How to Die Alone star is reprising her season 1 role as Belinda, a spa manager at the fictional White Lotus resort in Maui, in the third installment of the anthology series.
Throughout the twisty first season, Belinda develops a close relationship with Coolidge’s Tanya McQuaid as she guides her through spiritual meditations. The resort guest encourages Belinda to start her own wellness center and even offers to fund it. But the two have a sudden separation when Tanya cancels their dinner plans to go on a date, and Belinda abandons her business aspirations.
Coolidge, who won an Emmy Award for her role in 2024, is not expected to appear in the upcoming season as her character died at the end of season 2.
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Despite missing Coolidge, Rothwell, who was nominated for an Emmy for her efforts in season 1, quickly made friends with her new castmates. "It sounds so diplomatic to say, but literally everyone, we hung out all the time together," she told PEOPLE. "It's a default, I think, of the show because you're in a foreign country, you're traveling together, we're moving to multiple locations."
She went on to say that the new season features a "composite of a bunch of properties, and so we were in this caravan moving around"
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Fabio Lovino/HBO
"It was just really cool to have that text chain poppin’ and if someone wanted to grab a drink, you went downstairs," Rothwell added. "It was like, all right, I'll hang out with Walton [Goggins] and Parker [Posey]. And it was like a cool opportunity to get to know these amazing actors as people."
Season 3 of Mike White’s show takes place at an "exclusive Thai resort and follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week," according to an official synopsis.
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In addition to Rothwell, the new season will star Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Tayme Thapthimthong, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Aimee Lou Wood.
The White Lotus season 3 premieres Sunday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.