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Season 3 of the Emmy-award-winning HBO series “The White Lotus”  is entering its final stretch, with episode six of eight coming this weekend.

Written and directed by Mike White (also of “Survivor” fame), the dark comedy series follows a group of rich and powerful people vacationing at the luxurious White Lotus resort chain. Each installation of the anthology has been sent and filmed in a different country, including Hawaii, Italy and now Thailand.

As the season enters its final 3-episode stretch, there is plenty of time for drama to unfold. Here’s what to know about catching the rest of “The White Lotus” Season 3.

‘White Lotus’: Michelle Monaghan unpacks Jaclyn’s intentions and that brotherly kiss

When do new episodes of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 come out?

Season 3 of “The White Lotus” premiered at 9 p.m. EST/PST on Sunday, Feb. 16. New episodes air on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and stream on Max.

The next episode, “Denials,” airs Sunday, March 23.

‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 full episode schedule

• Feb. 16: Episode 1, “Same Spirits, New Forms”
• Feb. 23: Episode 2, “Special Treatments”
• March 2: Episode 3, “The Meaning of Dreams”
• March 9: Episode 4, “Hide or Seek”
• March 16: Episode 5, “Full-Moon Party”
• March 23: Episode 6, “Denials”
• March 30: Episode 7, “Killer Instincts”
• April 6: Episode 8, “Amor Fati”

How to watch ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3

The eight-episode season will air on HBO and stream on Max weekly at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Max subscription plans begin at $9.99 a month with ads while ad-free subscriptions cost $16.99 a month.

The highest tier, which is $20.99 a month, includes the ability to stream on four devices and offers 4K Ultra HD video quality and 100 downloads. HBO also offers bundles with Hulu and Disney+.

Watch The White Lotus S3 with Sling + Max

‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 cast

Cast members for Season 3 of “The White Lotus” include:

• Leslie Bibb as Kate
• Carrie Coon as Laurie
• Michelle Monaghan as Jaclyn
• Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett
• Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea
• Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff
• Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff
• Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper Ratliff
• Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff
• Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxon Ratliff
• Lalisa Manobal as Mook
• Lek Patravadi as Sritala
• Natasha Rothwell as Belinda
• Tayme Thapthimthong as Gaitok

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Jonathan Majors was on tap to rule the Marvel Cinematic Universe, until legal troubles ended his reign before it ever really got started.

Just over a month after his big-screen debut as Kang the Conqueror in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” the actor’s rocket ride to stardom came crashing down when he was arrested in March 2023 after an alleged domestic violence altercation with then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. Nine months later, a Manhattan jury found Majors guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation, and Marvel fired him.

Since then, there’s been talk of Marvel recasting Kang with various actors, including Oscar nominee Colman Domingo, and Robert Downey Jr. signed on to play the villainous Doctor Doom who, like Kang, is a high-profile Avengers big bad from the comic books. (Last August, Majors told TMZ that he was “heartbroken” over the announcement.) But now, with the high-profile release of “Magazine Dreams” and Majors’ attempt at a Hollywood comeback, the actor told USA TODAY that he’d gladly return to Marvel if given the chance.

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“Disney, Marvel Studios, I love them,” Majors said during an emotional interview. “Tom Hiddleston, loved working with that guy. Loved working with Paul Rudd. Loved working with Gugu Mbatha-Raw. I love the industry so much, and now I’m in the place where I can feel the love from them and actually express my love for them.”

Majors realizes that his Hollywood career is a little out of his control right now. All he can do now is “dream and hope and put a plan in place,” he says, and he’s “putting things together in a way that, in this next chapter, I am the best version of myself, not just playing a really cool character in a really cool way.”

Opposite Hiddleston, Majors first introduced a variant of Kang, a character with multiple versions in the Marvel multiverse, in 2021’s first-season finale of Marvel’s Disney+ series “Loki.” (He also appeared as a different variant in the second season, which streamed in the fall 2023, after his arrest but before the start of his trial.) Kang made his first big foray into the MCU courtesy of “Quantumania,” with Majors appearing as multiple variants in a teasing post-credits sequence. He was set to play a huge role in the fifth “Avengers” film, subtitled “The Kang Dynasty,” though after the actor’s dismissal it was renamed “Avengers: Doomsday.”

Kang appealed to Majors in various projects because he was “the most solid thing” in a heightened landscape, he said in February 2023. “We all, as human beings, know what it is to want something so badly. We also know what it is to fail. We also know what it is wear our failure or when we hide our failure,” Majors adds. “How do we make this guy flesh and blood? You may not like him, or you may, but you can hold onto him, and that’s what’s important, especially as we move forward.”

In southern Spain, among the sprawling terracotta-roofed villas that line the Costa del Sol, plans for Villa Noon at Sotogrande stand as a symbol of the future. The work of architect Fran Silvestre, it will consist of five large marble-clad cylinders connected like a Jenga puzzle, providing 2,000sq m of living space. The villa, for sale off-plan at €11.4mn with a projected two-year build, is designed to be Spain’s first zero-emission luxury house with the Bisol solar panels alone reducing energy consumption by one fifth. It has everything high-end homebuyers expect: a quiet luxury footprint carved into the hillside with six bedroom suites, an expansive spa and wellness centre with internal lifts, along with a cinema, wine cellar and swimming pools, indoor and out.

Behind the scenes, water will be collected efficiently to serve the household. Rainwater will supply non-potable uses, alongside greywater irrigation and atmospheric water generation, powered by surplus electricity generated by on-site solar panels, that will deliver high-quality water for cooking and drinking. The latter is a system that, according to Silvestre, has never been used in real estate in this way before. Villa Noon meets much of the “stringent criteria of a passive house”, says Silvestre, fulfilling the five principles of high-quality insulation, superior windows, airtight construction, heat-recovery ventilation and thermal bridge-free design, eliminating weak points in a building where heat can easily escape.

“With these systems we can collect 300,000-plus litres of water per year and remove the need to take it from the mains,” Silvestre continues. “Heat pumps provide geothermal energy for heating, hot water and cooling using ground heat at 19°C, achieving an efficiency rate of over 500 per cent. This revolutionary design, the combination of geothermal, solar and Sonnen battery storage, stands out for its ability to operate completely self-sufficiently, independent of conventional utility networks.”

Market shifts support the desire for mindful luxury living. The latest Luxury Real Estate Report by American commercial real estate services and investment firm CBRE noted that the significant growth in the global luxury residential market was, in part, “spurred by an increasing base of HNWIs and affluent millennials seeking unique and personalised living experiences”. Accompanying this, the report detailed “a strong trend… towards eco-luxury homes that combine sustainability and luxury”.

Hillary Flur from Vermont in the US is one early adopter. In 2016, while living in LA and straight out of college, she paid $15,000 for 2.5 acres of land in Twentynine Palms, an entry point to the Mojave Desert, and partnered with architect Malek Alqadi to build Folly Joshua Tree. Alqadi designed a striking and entirely off-grid property: two cabins clad in corten steel that appear like hardy, weathered sheds and open to reveal enticing, comfortable and minimal interiors.

We dug two wells; the first was dry and the second involved going down around 700ft

“When we started, it was relatively early days for many of the off-grid systems so there was lots of testing and adjusting to do,” says Flur. “After one year we realised the AC didn’t work well enough at night and that was important in the desert, so we added more batteries and solar panels and we have a back-up generator for emergency use. At first, we had water delivered, but about two years ago we dug a well. Our neighbour had plenty of trees on their land, which was promising, and sure enough we found water. At our second off-grid desert property, Folly Mojave, finding water was much harder. We dug two wells; the first was dry and the second involved going down around 700ft.”

A desire to be sustainable was a key driver for Flur but she also saw this style of living as an inspirational way to experience the isolation and natural beauty of the desert. “I travelled for work and found it depressing that hotels said they were sustainable by asking you to recycle your towel or not change your sheets. I felt we could do so much better, that we could redefine what sustainability looks like,” she says. “Now, from the property, the stargazing is out of this world. There’s no light pollution at all and being so remote adds to the experience of being off-grid.”

Folly Mojave is her second, even more ambitious project with Alqadi: 200 acres in Twentynine Palms crossing both the Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park. Four years in the making and still ongoing, it will have five buildings, four of them two-bedroom suites and one a communal area, each with their own “solar tree” separate from the property with back-up Enphase IQ batteries.

“Imagine saving $1,000 a month just by harnessing the power of the sun,” says Allan O’Neil, owner of Solar Power Palm Desert, who equipped both projects. “In the desert’s scorching summer heat, air-conditioning can drive energy costs through the roof. With a high-efficiency solar system you can turn the relentless sun into free, renewable power. Let the desert work for you, not against you.”

In Spain, UK-based Swedish architect Magnus Ström’s approach connects wellness, health and nature. The result is shown in Ström’s Barcelona House, completed in 2023, a contemporary hybrid off-grid property 30km from the Catalan capital. Photovoltaic roof panels offset electricity consumption, with systems often oversized to export excess energy to the grid in summer. Large batteries store energy for night-time use, lowering carbon footprints and cutting annual CO₂ emissions by “several tons”.

Expansive glass, a Ström hallmark, is essential to ensure a connection with nature, while a 6m cantilevered overhang, supported by a single column, shades the interior without detracting from the wide sea view. An internal olive tree adds a silver-grey biophilic flourish. “A new idea of luxury is developing based on spaces and not objects,” Ström says. “It’s about time, connection with nature, elevating what is most important.”

It’s easy to put solar panels on but if you don’t insulate, it’s basically greenwashing

One hour east of Helsinki, construction is about to start on Ström’s latest design, a totally off-grid house for an American client with Finnish heritage. The location appears unforgiving, a remote peninsula covered with dense blueberry bushes and several outsized, beached boulders, relics from the Ice Age. His design, as in the Barcelona House, starts with a fabric-first approach, ensuring high levels of insulation. “It’s easy to put solar panels on but if you don’t insulate, then it’s basically greenwashing,” he says. He then makes the house airtight. Ventilation is controlled with heat exchange and the residual heating needs are very low, supplied through ground heat-pumps powered by photovoltaic panels.

“We use both air-source and ground-source heat pumps for residual heating needs,” says Ström. “Air-source are easier to install but less efficient, while ground-source, very much the norm in Finland, require more work through horizontal collectors or boreholes but deliver better efficiency. Heat pumps transfer heat rather than generate it, providing three to four times more energy than they consume and reducing household CO₂ output by up to 70 per cent compared with traditional gas or oil heating.”

But where to buy? In the eastern Algarve close to the Spanish border, S+A Architects has designed Verdelago, a collection of apartments and villas for rent and purchase that it believes set a “new standard in eco-friendly hospitality”. It is being constructed using a concept based on the ancient principle of Portuguese taipa in which compacted earth is used to create solid walls with excellent thermal insulation. Properties start from €660,000 for one-bedroom apartments and €980,000 for two-bedroom townhouses.

“Verdelago is not technically off-grid but is designed to be self-sufficient, equipped with a photovoltaic plant that generates more energy than it consumes,” says Miguel Saraiva from S+A Architects. “There’s a comprehensive water-management system that includes rainwater recovery and wastewater recycling. These measures, combined with energy-efficient design and high-quality materials, ensure a low ecological footprint.” 

For self-sufficiency and partial off-grid living, a traditional Mallorquin finca is for sale through Engel & Völkers for €4.6mn. The owners plan to replace the solar panels with a photovoltaic system with lithium batteries. They say this would cost €40,000 to install and save between €350 and €650 a month on electricity bills. The property already has its own well supplying all water requirements, a vineyard and 600 olive trees.

Be lean, be clean, be green. Use less energy, ensure the energy you do use is supplied efficiently, and employ renewable-energy technologies. It’s an effective credo increasingly applied to the very best large-scale architectural designs, in the remotest of locations. 

NEW YORK − You’ve seen Michelle Monaghan on screen for 25 years, in movies from the “Mission: Impossible” series to “Patriots Day” and TV shows such as “Boston Public” and “True Detective.”

Yet nothing has brought the kind of “anticipation and interest” to Monaghan’s life like her role on Season 3 of HBO’s “The White Lotus” (Sundays, 9 ET/PT, and streaming on Max).

“It really is a bit of a cultural phenomenon, and one that is so universally beloved,” says the actress, 48. “I just spent the last couple of months working in Europe, and people are just as excited about the show and the themes of the show as returning to stateside and seeing all of the interest here.”

Monaghan was filming “The Family Plan 2” with Mark Wahlberg. But back in the states, she’s unpacking the actions of her character Jaclyn in Episode 5 of “White Lotus.” Jaclyn tried to play matchmaker for her friend Laurie (Carrie Coon) with Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičius). But after an alcohol-fueled evening of partying, Jaclyn ends up sleeping with Valentin herself. The repercussions will be felt in Sunday’s sixth episode.

“Jaclyn’s holding on to some issues that she has. Maybe she’s not feeling exactly fulfilled at home, and that’s something she hasn’t really shared with her girlfriends yet,” Monaghan says. “She goes looking for some stimulation and validation in other places. (Jaclyn’s) probably going to tell her girlfriends about it the next morning. I don’t think (Jaclyn) thinks it’s going to be a very big deal. So I think that she might be surprised about that.”

In addition to Jaclyn’s night, many fans online are buzzing over the Ratliff brothers, Lochlan (Sam Nivola) and Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), sharing a kiss. The two were partying on a boat with Chloe and Chelsea, and in a drug-induced haze and at the ladies’ urging, Lochlan and Saxon mimicked them and kissed.

“It was very sweet and I adore those two guys so much,” Monaghan says. “This is what (“White Lotus” creator) Mike White does. … He’s got this master of tone. It’s dramatic and it’s comedic and it’s acerbic and shocking at times and very, very confronting. And so I think that’s why people are having a lot of fun with it.”

Season 3 is set in Thailand, where Jaclyn and Laurie are vacationing with their girlfriend Kate (Leslie Bibb). But in last week’s episode, their differences are exacerbated while they are out at a party. Jaclyn and Laurie are doing shots and trying to shout a Russian toast (instead stumbling out “Shia LaBeouf” in the process), while Kate suggests they return to the villa so she can get into her pajamas.

Tensions between the three were already brewing. Leslie, a Texas housewife, reveals in Episode 3 that she goes to church and married a Republican who voted for President Trump (the show was written in 2022 and filmed last year). The revelations create an awkward dinner.

“In real time, people are having these very valid conversations and we’re constantly learning about one another,” Monaghan says. “What’s unique about this relationship, and I think (what) so many of us understand, it’s like we can be lifelong friends and we have shared history. Just because we have that shared history doesn’t mean that we don’t go on to have different life experiences and be impacted in different ways that might change our values. And how all of those things impact conversations and political views is very relevant.”

There are three more episodes on deck (the finale airs April 6). Monaghan calls the addition of Sam Rockwell, Bibb’s real-life partner, “fantastic.”

“There’s drama all the way to the end, so I think you’re not going to be disappointed in terms of the way that is resolved or if it will be resolved,” Monaghan teases. “True to Mike White fashion, the ending is very unexpected and it’s deeply emotional. It’ll be a very satisfying ending.”

Dolly Parton is mourning Carl Dean, her husband of nearly 60 years, while holding tight to their memories.

Parton opened up more about her beloved husband, who died March 3, in an interview with Knox News, part of the USA TODAY Network. The country legend reminisced on Dean’s secret Dollywood visits and revealed that he “suffered a great deal” before his death.

“I’m doing better than I thought I would,” Parton told the newspaper, nearly two weeks after losing her husband. “I’ve been with him 60 years. So, I’m going to have to relearn some of the things that we’ve done. But I’ll keep him always close.”

Dolly Parton on losing Carl Dean: ‘It’s a hole in my heart’

An 18-year-old Parton met Dean in 1964 outside a laundromat on the very first day she moved to Nashville from Sevierville to start a career in country music. The couple secretly wed in 1966 and had no children together.

“I’m at peace that he’s at peace, but that don’t keep me from missing him and loving him,” Parton said, noting that Dean had “suffered a great deal” but not clarifying from what.

“It’s a hole in my heart, you know, but we’ll fill that up with good stuff and he’ll still always be with me,” Parton continued.

Dolly Parton says husband Carl Dean would visit Dollywood alone

Dean was a private man who avoided the spotlight. You never saw him on a red carpet or at a premiere. But you might have spotted him at Dollywood a time or two.

Just without Dolly.

“He used to come to the park; he bought his own ticket – stood in line and got his ticket. He didn’t want somebody giving him a ticket ’cause he was Dolly’s husband,” Parton recalled. “Everybody thinks that’s the funniest thing.”

Though Parton often appears at Dollywood for work or to see the progress of ongoing projects, Dean never joined her. He only visited the park by himself while she was off somewhere else working.

“He’d come up to East Tennessee to see some of my family and people that he loved of my people. And so, he’d just think, ‘Well, I think I’ll go to Dollywood, check things out,’” Parton said.

Dean would indulge in some of the food, like funnel cake, but like his wife, he wasn’t a big fan of the roller coasters. Instead, he walked around admiring the popular theme park. But he’d always come back with a few suggestions.

“He would say, ‘You need more bathrooms,’” Parton laughed, imitating her late husband’s voice. “Or he would say, ‘You need to tell them this or that. It’s crowded over in that area. You might want to tell them they ought to do this or that.’

“He wasn’t coming to criticize, but he would notice things and he would say, you might want to bring this to their attention,” she added.

Parton might carry on Dean’s secret trips. “I think I would do like Carl,” Parton told the paper when asked about her perfect day at Dollywood. “I would just walk around, look at everything,” she said.

Dolly Parton makes first appearance after husband Carl Dean’s death

Parton surprised fans, and Dollywood season passholders, on March 14 at the opening celebration for the theme park’s 40th season, making her first public appearance since her husband died.

Dolly Parton makes first appearance after husband Carl Dean’s death: ‘I will always love him’

“I will always love him, and I miss him,” Parton told the crowd at the time, also thanking fans for their flowers, cards and well wishes. It’s tradition for Parton to lead the season’s opening ceremony, but parkgoers would have understood if she had chosen to skip this year’s event. However, Parton wanted to be at Dollywood for the occasion, she said.

“I need to laugh. I need some fun, so I’m probably gonna be stupid. I’ve been crying enough the last week or two,” she said after ignoring the teleprompter several times and cracking jokes while previewing the season with Dollywood President Eugene Naughton.

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email [email protected]. On X, formerly known as Twitter, @dturner1208. 

“Little House on the Prairie” star Jack Lilley has died at 91.

According to respective Instagram posts from his show co-star Melissa Gilbert and son Clint Lilley, Lilley died Wednesday after a storied career as a Hollywood stuntman and actor, who played various roles on the beloved ’70s historical drama, including a townsman and stagecoach driver.

“Jack went to be with his bride, Irene, tonight. He just couldn’t bear another second without her. You left one heck of a mark on this world, Papa. Your laugh and spark in your eyes when you saw the ones you loved will stay with us forever,” Lilley’s son Clay Lilley posted on Instagram on Wednesday.

“Thank you to all of our family and friends for reaching out. We will let you know about a service to celebrate the life of Jack Lilley,” he continued.

The famed stuntman moved to Los Angeles from Texas as a child when his father rented horses to movie studios, according to an article from The Santa Clarity Valley Signal published in 2022. Lilley followed in his father’s footsteps doing stunts, too, and his son Clay now runs the Movin’ On Livestock motion picture horse rental business from New Mexico extending the family business. He has credits in more than 280 films, according to the paper.

Later, he moved to California’s Santa Clarita Valley with wife Irene, and the pair had two sons: Clint and Cash.

“It’s been heaven living here all these years, and my husband could keep all his horses and still go to work close by, so we just stayed here while the rest of Santa Clarita changed,” Irene Lilley told the Signal for her 90th birthday. “I never thought I would live to 90. I still do all the things like cook, take care of my husband and I could drive, but I don’t since I had an operation on my leg.”

Lilley appeared as a stuntman or actor in projects such as “Sudden Impact” in 1983, “Young Guns” in 1988, 2001’s “Planet of the Apes” and 2005’s “The Legend of Zorro.”

Gilbert took to Instagram to share that “the ‘Little House family has lost one of our own,” adding that Lilley was “one of my favorite people on the planet.”

“He taught me how to ride a horse when I was just a wee little thing. He was so patient with me. He never said no when I would bound up to him squealing, ‘Can we go ride? Please, please, please?’” Gilbert wrote.

She added: “Jack always felt like home to me. He lived quite a life. I am so lucky that he was my friend. All my love and prayers go out to his family and especially Clint (Burkey) Lilley. @stuntbagdrag. Oh Jack….sweet prince…may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

Krysten Ritter thought she had the perfect pitch: a successful lawyer returning home to a small town scandal. A cold case disappearance. A disturbing ritual. 

But it was a hard sell as a TV series, the “Jessica Jones” actor tells USA TODAY. Back at the drawing board, she pitched it as a novel instead. Her idea became “Bonfire,” a 2017 thriller blurbed even by Gillian Flynn of “Gone Girl” literary fame. Now, Ritter has added regular novelist to her accolades. Her next novel, “Retreat,” comes out next week. 

Actors turning to diverse entrepreneurial ventures is nothing new – between haircare, liquor brands, travel and luxury wellness campaigns, your favorite star’s career likely extends beyond the screen.

When it comes to writing books, most actors turn to memoirs. After all, it bolsters an already impressive career built off of celebrity. But what about the growing number of actors including Tom Hanks, Keanu Reeves and Ed Burns who are writing fiction instead? Actors USA TODAY spoke to said publishing novels has given them a new outlet for creativity away from the screen. 

‘What took me so long?’: Longtime actors find freedom in fiction

For years, Sonya Walger – known to many as Penny from the “Lost” TV series – was scared of writing a book. She’s been an avid reader as long as she can remember. As an only child, books were her “siblings,” she tells USA TODAY. Now, her debut novel “Lion,” about a daughter’s reflection of her larger-than-life addict father and unconventional childhood, is out in the world. Her second book is on its way and she’s currently writing her third.

“I’m such a snob about good literature and I just had felt like I don’t want to write a bad book,” Walger says. “I wrote screenplays … short stories and kept journals my whole life, and I didn’t dare write a book until COVID.”

Writing screenplays didn’t scratch the same itch that writing a novel does, Walger says. With more words to spend and luxurious prose to wax, novel writing is “symphonic.” She’s particularly enjoyed describing setting in more imagination and nuance and exploring what’s left unsaid. 

The biggest shift, she says, is going from days on packed sets to writing alone in her office – a beautiful writing shed in the garden she lost when her home was destroyed earlier this year in the Los Angeles wildfires. The whole process has made her realize she’s more of an introvert than she previously thought.

“Acting requires and necessitates other people. To be a novelist is to work completely alone without anyone really caring what you’re doing or when it’s done,” she says. “Nobody is tapping you on the shoulder being like, ‘Where’s that novel of yours?’”

Ritter, on the other hand, says writing “Retreat” with a co-writer has felt collaborative – a sort of “two heads are better than one, and sometimes three, four, five, six heads are better than one” approach, she says. 

The quiet writing time has given the “Breaking Bad” star more time to spend with her son, an invaluable shift in her career.

“It’s this amazing way for me to do all of the things that I love – character development, storytelling,” Ritter says. “And being able to have a bit of a schedule where I can work from my office from home, versus be on set for 17 hours – as a mom, it’s a way to do it all. And I’m not suggesting that I have that conquered, but it’s really important to me to be with my son and also have creative satisfaction.”

New ideas get a fresh perspective in the pages of a book

Ritter didn’t expect to turn into a bestselling thriller writer, for her it was always “creativity first, medium second.” It’s advice she wants to impart to other writers and artists: If you believe in your story, be relentless in your pursuit of bringing it into the world. 

“‘Bonfire’ turned out to be this totally outside-of-the-box approach on how to get something made,” Ritter says. “That’s where I fell in love with that medium and decided to continue in that avenue.”

Now with her second book, “Retreat” (out March 25), she’s leaning all-in to the world of publishing. The new novel, about a beautiful con artist masquerading as a wealthy socialite, is “a little bit older, sexier” with bigger twists, she says.  

Actor Diego Boneta (“Luis Miguel,” “Rock of Ages”) on the other hand, is marrying books and TV with his upcoming debut “The Undoing of Alejandro Velasco.” Amazon Publishing is releasing Boneta’s novel – described as “The Talented Mr. Ripley” meets “Match Point” – in May. At the same time, Amazon MGM Studios is adapting the novel into a series with Boneta starring as the main character. 

The starting idea was to write a screenplay, and it was Boneta’s sister who suggested he turn it into a book instead of a script. 

“It was a massive undertaking,” Boneta says, laughing. “Few things give me more anxiety than a blank page.”

Boneta, a thriller reader, wanted to reach out to other writers for advice before he started. The best he heard? Don’t treat the project like it’s just another film or TV script. The process has been vastly different, he says, but one he would do again. 

“Sometimes (in TV) you don’t even have a script, you have a pitch, you have a couple of pages. … we’ve gotten stuff greenlit from literally a three-page document,” Boneta says. “Here, it’s really practicing the patience of no, no, no, a novel is not the same as a TV show or films.” 

Fiction deepens connection with fans

Part of Boneta’s goal with writing “The Undoing” was to write about a place close to his heart. The novel is set it in San Miguel de Allende, a place the Mexico City-born calls “the Florence of Mexico.” He tells USA TODAY he’s excited for his fans to get a more intimate peek into his creative mind and experience the beloved city on the page.

“We’ve seen the ‘Narcos’ stories, we’ve seen the border crossing stories and that’s part of Mexico, but that’s not entirely what Mexico has to offer culturally,” Boneta says. “We wanted to write from a place that we were close to, that we grew up going to because it’s not just the place; it’s the culture, it’s the people, it’s the family dynamics.”

Ritter says her novels are another chance to explore the “bad girls,” the unlikeable, morally questionable characters her fans know and love her for, like Jessica Jones and Chloe in “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23.”

“My fans roll deep,” she says. “They know what to expect in my work, my oeuvre. It’s very on brand.”

Walger has appreciated a new kind of interaction with fans, one that has nothing to do with her onscreen roles. “Lion” is not a story for anyone who is looking for a tell-all from Penny from “Lost” and Walger says fans are meeting her there. 

“Vulnerability begets vulnerability in others,” Walger says. “The response from people has felt open hearted and elicits the sort of the desire to share their stories, as I have shared mine and that’s really, really lovely. It feels like the book is doing a tiny act of service in the world it’s making other people open up.”

Upcoming book-to-screen adaptations: ‘Mickey 17’, ‘Running Man’ and more ‘Wicked’

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at [email protected].