‘The White Lotus’: F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Tom Hollander & Haley Lu Richardson To Star In Second Installment Of HBO Series

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Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham (Mythic Quest), Adam DiMarco (The Order), Tom Hollander (The Night Manager) and Haley Lu Richardson (Unpregnant) are set as series regulars for the second installment of HBO’s dark comedy series The White Lotus. They join previously announced Michael Imperioli and Aubrey Plaza in the upcoming follow-up to Mike White’s breakout social satire limited series.

The six-part original series followed visitors vacationing at the White Lotus, an exclusive Hawaiian resort. The second installment — also written, to directed by and executive produced by White — will leave Hawaii behind for a new location and is expected to follow a different group of vacationers at another White Lotus property.

Abraham plays Bert Di Grasso, an elderly man traveling with his son, Dominic Di Grasso (Imperioli), and grandson, Albie Di Grasso (DiMarco), a recent college graduate. Hollander is Quentin, an English expat, vacationing with his friends and his nephew. Richardson plays Portia, a young woman traveling with her boss who is believed to be Tanya McQuoid, played by Jennifer Coolidge, reprising her role from the original installment.

Plaza plays Harper Spiller, a woman on vacation with her husband and his friends. White writes, directs and executive produces with David Bernad and Mark Kamine.

Abraham is repped by Innovative Artists and Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell and Vasallo; DiMarco by The Characters Talent Agency and Canopy Media Partners; Hollander by Anonymous Content, and United Agents.

Richardson, whose recent credits include After Yang opposite Colin Farrell for writer-director Kogonada; Montana Story, which which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and will be released through Bleecker Street; as well as The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight, is repped by Gersh, 3 Arts and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern.

Trump Thinks DeSantis Owes Him Everything

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Trump made DeSantis. Can he break him if he chooses? Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Like the crime boss he so often resembles, Donald Trump has a quasi-feudal understanding of the loyalty he commands from his vassals — the people he lifted from obscurity into the dazzling sunlight of his reflected glory. When said vassals don’t show him the proper gratitude, it infuriates him. In the case of some treasonous small fry like Michael Cohen or Anthony Scaramucci, you get the sense that Trump doesn’t expend a lot of rage about them; after all, everyone knows they would be nobody losers without their identification with the 45th president.

But for Republican politicians whom Trump believes he has uniquely blessed, there is a definite expectation of public gratitude and obeisance. This is the most evident reason for the “rivalry” (or even “feud“) said to exist between Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis. Insiders repeatedly tell us Trump has expressed irritation about his governor’s failure to give him proper praise and, worse yet, to decline opportunities to publicly rule out any challenge to a Trump comeback should that be in the cards for 2024. These are the “magic words” that other possible 2024 candidates, such as Nikki Haley and Kristi Noem, have already uttered. DeSantis’s real and imagined debts to Trump explain the growing intensity of this resentment.

In considering how enmity between the two men may increase, it’s useful to compare DeSantis’s situation to that of his Georgia counterpart, Brian Kemp. Like DeSantis, Kemp benefited greatly from a timely Trump endorsement in a 2018 gubernatorial primary (though in Kemp’s case it came during a Republican runoff campaign against an opponent he might have beaten anyway, while DeSantis got an early nod toward the end of 2017 that gave him a huge boost against the dominant frontrunner, Adam Putnam). Kemp’s first big rift with Trump came toward the end of 2019 when he conspicuously rejected the then-president’s instructions for filling an open U.S. Senate seat. More famously, Kemp earned himself a Trump-backed 2022 primary challenge by supporting Georgia secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 win in the Peach State.

It has been all but forgotten that another incident marked the deterioration of the Trump-Kemp relationship between the Senate snub and the November 2020 “betrayal”: a very public April 2020 rebuke of the Georgia governor by the president for reopening key Georgia businesses before getting the high sign from the White House. You got the sense Trump felt Kemp had earned a very short leash and was being reminded to heel. But it was also an indication that Trump was quite (and quite properly) nervous about perceptions of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and counted on followers like Kemp to toe the line strictly.

It’s a lesson DeSantis may want to take to heart, insofar as he is clearly establishing an independent identity as a hard-liner against any public policies that may sacrifice getting and spending (and the God-given freedom to infect your neighbors!) to public-health considerations. Trump is solicitous of all his COVID-19 activities, including vaccines and his on-again, off-again interest in business closures. So even the most indirect disrespect from DeSantis on this subject is going to be deeply resented at Mar-a-Lago.

But you have to figure it’s the sheer gall of DeSantis’s presumption in imagining a national political trajectory for himself — one that isn’t dependent on Trump — that really bugs the former president. Already the Florida governor might have forfeited any inheritance of the MAGA movement if Trump does retire. And if he doesn’t, DeSantis will eventually be made to tug his forelock and submit to Trump’s leadership or risk being squashed like a bug in 2024 (it being too late for Trump to recruit a 2022 challenger, as he did in Georgia). The former president didn’t seem to mind being underrated and openly despised by 2016 rivals like Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham; perhaps he even anticipated the pleasure of watching them crawl into his tent once he had vanquished them. But he likely views DeSantis as just another satrap like Cohen or Scaramucci who has now gotten far too big for his britches. The wrath to come could make the vengeance meted out to Kemp look mild by comparison.

Deadspin takes a look at every Black coach that’s been hired in the NFL since 2000 and how they fared

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When Stephen Ross’ Miami Dolphins fired Brian Flores on Monday, it sent shockwaves around the NFL. For some reason, fans of all genders and races were stunned that Flores was unemployed as if Ross doesn’t have a long history of being a contradictory figure. This is the NFL, a place where Black coaches get treated like third-class citizens.

Over the next few days and weeks, multiple teams will be conducting interviews to fill their head coaching vacancies. And while that happens, the lack of Black coaches will be the most discussed talking point.

Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin and Houston’s David Culley are the lone Black head coaches in a league that’s over 70 percent Black. It’s reminiscent of the end of the 2018 season when five black head coaches were fired and were replaced with five white coaches, leaving Tomlin and Anthony Lynn as the only Black faces, at the time.

And since America loves to ignore blatant racism unless they can watch it on video or it can be quantified into numbers, Deadspin took a look at the plight of Black coaches in the NFL over the last 20-plus years. In 2000, there were three Black coaches in the league. Dennis Green took the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game. Tony Dungy led the Bucs to a Wild-Card Game. And Terry Robiskie served as an interim head coach in Washington – as the interim position would be the highest level he ever reached in his career.

Below is a look at every Black coach that’s been hired since then and a snapshot of their story.

NASCAR’s driver movement for the 2022 season

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Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

The 2022 NASCAR season begins in a few weeks and most of the driver movement during silly season has wrapped up. What are the new entries for the NASCAR Cup Series as we enter the season?

Notable NASCAR drivers changing organizations

Out of every driver who is in a new car this year, Brad Keselowski is the most-notable name to switch rides. Keselowski, 37, has moved on from Team Penske to drive the No. 6 car for RFK Racing in 2022 and beyond.

The 37-year-old driver will be running full-time as a driver/owner after he became a minority owner of the team. Keselowski will be paired with crew chief Matt McCall for the 2022 season.

Another NASCAR champion that changed organizations is Kurt Busch as he joins 23XI Racing in the No. 45 car. Busch, 43, joined the team after Chip Ganassi Racing sold its operations to Trackhouse Racing.

Busch will also be reunited with his former crew chief Billy Scott. The two were a pair at Stewart-Haas Racing during the 2018 season when they won at Bristol Motor Speedway in August of that year.

Related: NASCAR’s significant changes for 2022 season

As mentioned above, Busch moved on from Chip Ganassi after their sale to Trackhouse left them with no stake in NASCAR. However, his teammate decided to make the move to Trackhouse instead of going elsewhere.

Ross Chastain will pilot the No. 1 car for Trackhouse this season. Chastain, 29, will finally have a spot in NASCAR after his illustrious journey featured many heartbreaks and changes along the way.

The 29-year-old driver will continue his partnership with crew chief Phil Surgen as he moves to Trackhouse as well.

New drivers for current NASCAR Cup Series organizations

David Tucker/News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Many organizations stood pat with their lineups from the 2021 season, but others made changes after drivers were either not maintained or moved on to new opportunities.

Austin Cindric got the best of these rides as he moved up from the NASCAR Xfinity Series to drive the No. 2 car for Team Penske. Cindric, 23, drove for Team Penske’s Xfinity Series program from 2018 to 2021.

The 23-year-old driver is expected to be one of three drivers fighting for the Rookie of the Year Award. Cindric will be paired with crew chief Jeremy Bullins as he continues with the No. 2 car in 2022.

Harrison Burton is another Xfinity Series driver that made the jump to the Cup Series this season. Burton, 21, is set to drive the No. 21 car for Wood Brothers Racing. This comes after spending two seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series.

The 21-year-old driver was underwhelming last season with zero victories but still joins Cindric in the rookie class. Brian Wilson will jump from Team Penske’s Xfinity program to become Burton’s crew chief.

Todd Gilliland is the other addition to the Cup Series rookie class. Gilliland, 21, is making a huge jump to drive the No. 38 car for Front Row Motorsports after spending the last two seasons with the organization in the NASCAR Truck Series.

The 21-year-old driver spent a total of four full-time seasons in the Truck Series and only won two races. Seth Barbour will continue as the crew chief of the No. 38 car for the third straight season.

Related: NASCAR today: TV schedule, race highlights and rankings

New teams and drivers for the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

There are no newly formed teams for the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022, but there are two new organizations entering the series after spending time in the lower ranks, such as the Xfinity and Truck Series.

Kaulig Racing will enter two full-time cars throughout the season after buying two charters from Spire Motorsports last year. Justin Haley will be the organization’s only full-time entry as he drives the No. 31 car.

Haley, 22, ran full-time with Kaulig in the Xfinity Series from 2019 to 2021 and won four times at only superspeedway tracks. Trent Owens will be Haley’s crew chief after spending the last five years with JTG Daugherty Racing.

As for Kaulig’s other entry, Noah Gragson, A.J. Allmendinger, and Daniel Hemric will split time in the No. 16 car to help build the organization. Gragson, 23, will run 14 races while the others have not been made official yet.

Related: NASCAR’s latest NextGen tests create a very bright future

Another organization making a jump to the Cup Series is GMS Racing, but this one is not as simple as it seems. Maury Gallagher, the owner of GMS Racing, purchased the majority stake of Richard Petty Motorsports during the offseason.

Due to this purchase, GMS Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports have merged to become Petty GMS Racing. Erik Jones will continue as driver of the No. 43 car after spending the 2021 season in the same car.

However, Ty Dillon will now drive full-time in the No. 42 car for Petty GMS Racing after it was previously announced that he would drive the No. 94 car for GMS Racing. Dillon, 29, gets another opportunity in NASCAR’s top level after leaving the series last season.

The 29-year-old spent four seasons with Germain Racing before they sold their operations to 23XI Racing for the 2021 season. Jerame Donley will be Dillon’s crew chief after spending nine years as the engineer for the No. 42 car.

Obituary: Everett C. Smith

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