Spoilers ahead for The White Lotus season 3.
The White Lotus must have the best PR team in the hospitality industry: despite an ongoing series of murders at the resort’s luxury hotels, guests are still booking additional stays. For The White Lotus season 2 even reached its conclusion, HBO greenlighted a third season – and at least there is one some chance that Jennifer Coolidge’s character could emerge from beyond the grave. The season 2 finale marked the end of Tanya McQuoid-Hunt, thanks to a twisted combination of failed assassination attempt, concussion, and drowning, but showrunner Mike White remains as attached as ever to Coolidge’s character.
The award-winning show received a slew of nominations this awards season, including Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (F. Murray Abraham, Michael Imperioli, Theo James and Will Sharpe), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Drama series (Jennifer Coolidge, Meghann Fahy, Sabrina Impacciatore, Audrey Plaza and Simona Tabasco), excellent directing for a drama series and excellent writing for a drama series. At the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the show received nine nominations and won Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series, Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling, Outstanding Music Composition and Outstanding Music Supervision.
There’s little we know about season 3, leaving plenty of room for speculation. Let’s break down the breadcrumbs we have so far.
When will The White Lotus season 3 premiere?
Production for season 3 was postponed due to the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes. The season “probably would have been [released in] 2024,” Chairman and CEO Casey Bloys said during an HBO and Max presentation on November 2, but given the pause “we are now pushing into 2025.” Indeed, the network confirmed that in a sizzle reel a month later The White Lotus season 3 will premiere in 2025.
Not long after the actors’ strike was lifted on November 9, 2023, the team released a list of new characters and began casting for the new season. Max announced on social media on February 13 that filming had officially started.
For reference, season 1 debuted in July 2021 and season 2 arrived in October 2022.
Where will the season take place?
HBO confirmed this in early January The White Lotus season 3 is filmed in Thailand. Guests stay in various luxury hotels throughout the country. HBO didn’t get too specific about where they’ll be filming, but they did mention unspecified locations in Bangkok, Phuket, and Koh Samui.
According to Bloomberg“An executive personally involved in the deal says the season 3 cast – including Parker Posey, Carrie Coon and Jason Isaacs – will spend approximately three months shooting at the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui starting in February. One storyline shows some cast members visiting temples in Phuket, where they will stay at a different hotel, the same person says. According to other sources, that hotel will be Anantara Mai Khao Villas Phuket.”
Before HBO confirmed the news, season 3 was rumored to be set in Thailand, according to several sources.
Initially, it seemed like the show would consider Tokyo as the next location. (Johnny Knoxville almost revealed the Season 3 filming location in February. He told the story Vulture in an interview published on February 16: “Mike White is a very good friend of mine. He and I had been to Tokyo together. I think that’s next… oh, I’m not giving anything away.”) With White planning to explore “Eastern religion and spirituality” in the next season, filming in Tokyo made sense, but now Thailand will be the location named.
What will season 3 be of The White Lotus are about?
The third season will follow a new group of guests, just as the cast of season 1 passed the baton for season 2. In an interview after the finale on HBO, White teased that the third season will focus on, well, death.
“The first season focused on money, and the second season is about sex, and I think the third season would be a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. And it feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round of White Lotus” he said.
Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming and head of HBO dramas and films, didn’t provide specific details about the potential storyline when announcing the greenlight for Season 3, but she did seem excited about White’s vision.
“It wasn’t until Season 2 that he continued to reach new heights, which is the ultimate testament to Mike’s raw, unparalleled vision,” Orsi previously said. “His courage to explore the uncharted waters of the human psyche, combined with his signature irreverent humor and upbeat directing style, have us all dreaming of more vacation days at the resort we have come to love.”
White said Entertainment weekly In early November 2023, season 3 will be “supersized White Lotus‘ and that he is ‘seriously finishing scripts’. He added: “It’s going to be longer, bigger and crazier. I don’t know what people will think, but I’m super excited, so at least for my own barometer that’s a good thing…I’m super excited about the content of the season.”
On January 31, 2024 AND asked new cast member Parker Posey if she had any updates on it White Lotus season 3.
‘I can’t tell you anything. I signed an NDA. “I can’t say anything,” she replied. ‘It will take six months in Thailand. It’s the third [season]so that gets all the juices flowing, I guess. I have to read it. I love it. I’m really excited.”
Who will be in the cast?
The cast of season 2 was completely different from that of season 1, with one notable exception: the incomparable Coolidge. Given White’s attachment to Tanya — and his personal adoration for the actress who played her — it seemed possible that the showrunner would bring her back for another round. But that no longer appears to be the case, given the way the season 2 finale ended. “Jennifer is my friend and everyone loved her in the first season, and I thought, ‘I can’t go to Italy without Jennifer,'” White previously said. Term. “And maybe that’s still the case. Maybe you can’t go to Japan without Jennifer either. There are so many great actors we’ve worked with so far, so it’s just a matter of who’s available?
Of course, it’s always possible that White dropped this tease as a diversion, to distract the audience from the scent of Tanya’s death in the finale. Still, it’s just as likely that he’s sincere, and that Tanya could appear next season — perhaps in flashbacks.
Another one possible familiar face? Connie Britton from season 1. In July she said Term“[White] wanted me to be in the second season, and there was an idea I liked for the character. Our intention is to do this in the third season. Some casting didn’t work in the second season and we hope so [do] that in the third season. I would love to see a spin-off of every character in that series.”
Other early reports hinted that actress Natasha Rothwell would return as Belinda, the spa manager Tanya befriended (and cheated on) in Season 1. Variety announced the news, citing multiple sources with knowledge of the production, and it has since been confirmed. Not much else is known about her storyline at this time.
In addition to Belinda, the team has cast several new characters for season 3, per Term. They include Parker Posey, Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Tayme Thapthimthong, Miloš Biković, Christian Friedel, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi and Shalini Peiris.
As of January 16 Variety revealed five new cast members: Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wood, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook and Sam Nivola have all joined for Season 3.
There aren’t many repeats from season to season, but Fahy’s Daphne Sullivan could possibly appear…eventually. When asked what her character is up to Term at the Sundance studio, Fahy said, “She keeps doing what she does.”
She also mentioned that creator White had an idea for a future episode in which the Sullivans, including her husband Cameron (Theo James), and the Pattons, the newlyweds from season one played by Alexandra Daddario and Jake Lacy, are all stuck on a boat. together.
Fahy said: “He (White) once said he would like to do an episode with Theo, me and the couple from the first season – Alex and Jake; the four of us on a boat. Only one episode of that.
On February 12, it was revealed that Blackpink’s Lisa would be joining the cast for season 3. Details about her role are being kept under wraps, but this is her first acting role..
In her September 2024 cover story with ELLE, Lisa shared that she had to “be back home, have Thai food every day” and have her mother on set during filming. And as for getting the part, she said, “Oh my God, Mike White? I think he’s a genius.” She continued, “I think I cried. I was with my friends, my mom’s friends and my mom too, but I didn’t tell them I was auditioning for it. I’m super excited and nervous because it’s my first acting project. So I was happy for a moment, and then I thought, ‘Oh, wait, wait, how am I going to convey this?’
She couldn’t share any details from her side, but she said of season 3, “I have a feeling people will fall in love with Thailand even more.”
Where can I watch the trailer?
HBO hasn’t released an official trailer yet, but did share the first few glimpses of the new season in a new sizzle reel on August 4. Guests appear (for now) arrived and relaxing at the luxurious Thai hotel.
Skip to about 0:50 below to see it in action.
Following the season finale of The Penguin, HBO shared a new slate of shows from 2025, including new footage from The White Lotus season 3. The preview features Lisa as an employee at The White Lotus Thailand, as well as glimpses of Parker Posey, Leslie Bibb, Walton Goggins and Natasha Rothwell.
Watch below at 0:18.
What else has Mike White revealed about future seasons?
For now, the busy showrunner has remained focused on preparing for Season 3, but he teased that there’s one thing audiences can expect from The White Lotusno matter the season: murder. In an interview with NPRhe said that the mystery of who dies has generated a lot of interest in the show week after week, so he plans to use the same formula for future chapters.
“It’s obviously something that’s driving interest in the show. People will decide at the end if it’s satisfying or if it just feels device-y, but right now I’m excited about the finale,” says White. “As someone who has worked on the margins, it’s kind of nice to have viewers.”
This story will be updated.
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