Global pop force Lalisa Manobal is officially stepping in front of the camera as an actress. HBO confirmed in February 2024 that the Thai superstar, credited as Lalisa Manobal, joined the cast of The White Lotus season 3, which began filming in Thailand the same month across Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok.
Why it matters lands fast: it is her first scripted role, the series is an Emmy magnet, and the setting taps her roots while the world watches. Details of her character remain under wraps, but the timing is clear – an A-list show, a supersized new season planned for 2025, and an artist with rare global pull.
Lalisa Manobal the actress: from record-breaking music to a high-stakes TV debut
Lalisa Manobal did not arrive quietly in entertainment. As a member of BLACKPINK since 2016, she helped ignite K-pop’s global surge, then shattered solo records in 2021 with “Lalisa”. Guinness World Records certified the music video for “Lalisa” as the most viewed by a solo artist on YouTube in 24 hours with 73.6 million views on 10 September 2021.
Recognition kept coming. In 2022, Guinness noted her as the first K-pop soloist to win at both the MTV Video Music Awards and the MTV Europe Music Awards, including Best K-pop at the VMAs. That same momentum carried onto historic stages when BLACKPINK headlined Coachella in April 2023, the festival’s first K-pop headliner.
Her solo mangement pivot arrived in early 2024. Lalisa Manobal launched LLOUD in February, then announced a partnership for solo releases with RCA Records in April 2024. The move gave her agility – music, fashion, now acting – while keeping control over pace and priorities.
Inside The White Lotus season 3 in Thailand
The White Lotus is not a casual first role. Created by Mike White, the anthology premiered in 2021, first set in Hawaii, then moved to Sicily in 2022. Season 1 dominated awards season, winning 10 Primetime Emmys in 2022. The third chapter shifts to Thailand with an expanded scope and a fresh ensemble, where Lalisa Manobal joins as a new face in a series known for dark satire and sharp character work.
Production in Thailand started February 2024 with support from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, signaling a showcase of local landscapes alongside the show’s trademark social chessboard. The locations matter: Koh Samui brings lush resort drama, Phuket adds coastal luxury, Bangkok injects urban intensity. HBO signaled a 2025 release window, giving post-production time for a larger season.
Fans have seen Lalisa Manobal on set only in brief glimpses, yet the creative fit tracks. Precision performance is her baseline. Years of touring, high stakes live broadcasts, and multilingual communication – Thai, Korean, English – build instincts that translate on camera. She also served as a dance mentor on China’s “Youth With You 3” in 2021, guiding trainees under pressure and on schedule.
What this debut means for Lalisa Manobal’s next chapter
Crossing from arenas to acting sets requires a reset. The White Lotus demands character nuance, razor timing, and ensemble rhythm. Lalisa Manobal enters with enormous visibility, but she also brings discipline shaped since trainee days and refined by global stages. The upside is obvious – credibility in a prestige series, a role set in Thailand, and an entry point watched by critics and streaming audiences alike.
The career arc lines up in dates that tell a story. 2016: debut with BLACKPINK. 2021: solo breakthrough and YouTube record. 2022: first VMA win for a K-pop soloist. 2023: Coachella headliner. 2024: LLOUD launch, RCA solo partnership, and an HBO acting debut with filming underway in February. Next up in 2025: the season’s release, when performance meets verdict.
The unanswered piece is her character’s direction – comedic bite or darker turn. Either way, the platform is built. An Emmy-winning series with set locations in her home country, a global fanbase primed for appointment viewing, and a team designed for cross-market moves. She moves fast – from stadiums to set – and this time the spotlight follows into a new language: scripted storytelling.