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I Just Learned This 'White Lotus' Star and I Are Obsessed with the Same Show—and She'd Totally Be Down to Make a Cameo on It

This made my day

'The White Lotus' cast
Getty Images

You know that feeling when you meet someone new and gasp with excitement after realizing that you both share the same obsession? This was me a few days ago, when I sat down with the Natasha Rothwell from HBO's The White Lotus.

During our chat, we primarily focused on her return to season three and her captivating new series, How to Die Alone, but there was one facet of our conversation that made me grin from ear to ear: Her eagerness to get more fans plugged into ABC's Abbott Elementary.

"I think what Quinta is doing is just so incredible," she told me. "To do the documentary style comedy that harkens to The Office and Parks and Recreation, but again, centering marginalized voices. It gives you that sort of like, 'will they, won't they,' [storyline] with comedy and heart. So, I hope audiences are watching that."

Now, for context, I've religiously watched this series since it first aired in 2021. I still live for Ava's sassy moments and Mr. Johnson's quirky one-liners, and I've been rooting for Janine and Greg for what seems like ages. In fact, I've become so invested in the main characters that I've already theorized where each of them will end up by season five. So, you can imagine my excitement when Rothwell opened up about her love for the show.

CHRIS PERFETTI, JANELLE JAMES, TYLER JAMES WILLIAMS, QUINTA BRUNSON, SHERYL LEE RALPH
Disney/Gilles Mingasson

Naturally, I had to ask if she'd consider appearing on the series. Without hesitation, she replied, "My God, yes. You know, fun fact: I used to be a high school theater teacher. I was teaching in the Bronx at NYC College Prep High School for four years, and I was doing that from like 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. And then I was doing comedy and sketch in the evening. So [I] was just this very weird superhero with a weird day job, but I loved it. And so when I see when I see Abbott, I'm reminded of that."

Another fun fact? Rothwell's family are Philadelphia natives, so she already has plenty of insight into the show's setting. She added, "My family's from Philly, where the show takes place, and my older sister is in education. She was in the classroom for like 20 years, and now she's working at the city level for the school district, and so I would love to be able to use all of that experience and figure out how to be a substitute teacher on the show. I hope I see it. Fingers crossed."

Cree Summer
Disney/Gilles Mingasson

So far, I've seen stars like Bradley Cooper, Leslie Odom, Jr., Ayo Edebiri, Cree Summer, Taraji P. Henson and Kevin Hart make cameos on the beloved sitcom. And Given Rothwell's brilliant comedic talent, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Insecure alum join this star-studded list.

Quinta, if you're reading this, could we please (please) make this happen?

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