‘The White Lotus’ Star Jason Isaacs On ‘The OA’ Return: ‘It Can’t Be Done. It Mustn’t Be Done.’
For actor Jason Isaacs, ‘The White Lotus’ is just one of many acclaimed and beloved projects on his impressive filmography, which also includes ‘The Patriot’, the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise, ‘Sex Education’, and ‘The Great’, among others.
So for Isaacs to say he’ll “start weeping” when Decider asked him about his work on ‘The OA’, it speaks volumes about his emotional connection to the project, which was cut short by a Netflix cancellation in 2019, two seasons into planned five season arc.
Fans have continuously mobilized in an effort to reverse the decision, using tactics from hunger strikes to petitions to fan-funded billboards, and have fervently followed the comments and social media accounts of the cast and creators, Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, for any clues or shreds of hope pointing to a potential path forward.
Isaacs comments in this interview may be the most encouraging to date, as he opened up about his communication with the duo stating, “We want to finish it”, referencing the millions of fans and more notably “executives at various different streaming companies” who share their sentiments.
Marling and Batmanglij’s most recent project, A Murder at the End of the World, attained critical and viewership success for FX on Hulu, making the best TV shows of 2023 lists for Variety, Elle, Rolling Stone, LA Times, Boston Globe, The New York Post, and Vulture among others. If Disney, who is in the process of merging Hulu with Disney+, wanted to back a continuation of the series, they would still need to negotiate with Netflix to obtain the rights to the show.
Isaacs seems hopeful, saying, “It ain’t over ’til the large lady sings.” He spoke to the magic of the show and the profound ways it connected with the audience, proclaiming that its continuation is necessary, stating definitively, “It can’t be done. It mustn’t be done.” Watch the full discussion on Decider’s TikTok account below:
