Jennifer Coolidge has a Fargo

Jul 27, 2023

In conversation with The Bear star Jeremy Allan White for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series, Coolidge explains that she has a somewhat specific fate in mind for her character Tanya McQuoid's deceitful beloved on the series, one that recalls both FX's Fargo reboot and the recent Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd.

"My hope for Jon [Gries] is that he's not finished with Greg," Coolidge says of the actor who plays her two-timing husband on the HBO hit. "I hope there's some comeuppance for evil Greg. I think he should, I don't know, end up in a meat-grinding machine."

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After two seasons serving as the series’ kookiest axis, Tanya finally (spoiler alert) met her end in season 2's final episode, floating ashore at the resort after drowning while unconscious at sea. What became of Greg? Not so set in stone. If Greg does return in The White Lotus’ upcoming third season (rumored to be set in Thailand) he’ll be the only character who has featured in all three seasons of the anthology series.

Although Coolidge thinks Tanya deserves slightly more karmic bang for her buck when it comes to Greg, she also sees director Mike White's thought process in killing The White Lotus’ most beloved darling.

"Mike was looking for a big Italian opera ending, and it was big and dramatic, so he wanted me to die for many reasons," Coolidge recalls. "But I also think Tanya's a lot. Maybe people would get sick of her on another season. Maybe people would be like, ‘Oh, my God. Get rid of Tanya!’"

Although any sick-of-Tanya fans are welcome to make themselves known, the general public's reaction to the death read more reverent than relieved, and even spawned some mourning-chic Etsy merch. Beyond the immediate grief, Tanya's death also sparked questions about what character might take her place as The White Lotus’ resident resort denizen. (If this writer were a betting man, they might just go all in for Natasha Rothwell's spa manager Belinda Lindsey, who is slated for some sort of comeback next season.)