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Another trip to a White Lotus is already booked. Ever since the jaw-dropping season 2 finale, The White Lotus season 3 has been on everyone’s minds. Don’t worry, White Lotus mastermind Mike White will be taking viewers to Thailand in the third season. At the start of 2024, HBO revealed several cast members who will be stirring up the drama in season 3.
The double Hollywood strikes put The White Lotus season 3 on hold, but the third season is getting underway in early 2024. The show was renewed back in November 2022 and has received so many awards for its second season. From when season 3 is expected to premiere to the new location to the new cast members, HollywoodLife has all the latest about The White Lotus season 3.
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 Release Date
The White Lotus season 3 does not have an exact release date yet, but filming will begin in February 2024. HBO network chief Casey Bloys revealed the latest news about season 3’s release date during a press event in New York. “White Lotus season 3 probably would have been in play for 2024, it’s 2025,” Casey said in November 2023, according to Variety. The third season was impacted by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Meghann Fahy told Glamour that Mike White “writes so quickly and he doesn’t do many revisions.” The first season premiered in July 2021. The second season followed a little over a year later in October 2022.
Francesca Orsi, the executive vice president of HBO Programming and head of HBO Drama Series and Films, added: “Reflecting on The White Lotus’ humble, run-and-gun origin as a contained pandemic production, it’s impossible not to be awestruck by how Mike orchestrated one of the buzziest and most critically acclaimed shows. And yet, he’s only continued to reach new heights in season 2, which is the ultimate testament to Mike’s raw, unparalleled vision. His courage to explore the uncharted waters of the human psyche, paired with his signature irreverent humor and buoyant directing style, have us all dreaming of more vacation days at the resort we’ve come to adore. We couldn’t be more thrilled to get the chance to collaborate on a third season together.”
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 Cast
Natasha Rothwell was the first confirmed cast member for The White Lotus season 3. Natasha starred in season 1 as Belinda Lindsey, the Hawaii-based resort’s spa manager who has a complicated relationship with Jennifer Coolidge‘s Tanya. Variety broke the news about Natasha’s return in April 2023. For her performance in season 1, Natasha received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series.
In January 2024, HBO revealed the first set of cast members who will be joining Natasha in season 3. Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, and Tayme Thapthimthong are among the new cast members.
Days after the first batch of season 3 cast members were unveiled, Carrie Coon’s casting was announced. Carrie currently starts as Bertha Russell in HBO’s The Gilded Age. She’ll be taking a break from the corsets and drama of the late 1800s and traveling to Thailand for The White Lotus. Don’t worry, Gilded Age fans. Carrie will be returning for The Gilded Age season 3.
Fans have suspected that Danny Devito may be among the new faces checking into the Thailand resort. In March 2023, A fan claimed on Reddit that Danny and Mike White got dinner together for dinner in West Hollywood, fueling speculation that they were discussing Danny joining the show.
A lot of famous actors have expressed interest in joining The White Lotus. Hayden Panettiere, who made her acting comeback in Scream 6, told E! News that she wants to be in the HBO show. “I want to do it so bad,” she said. “I want to do it, like Tom Cruise-jumping-on-Oprah’s-couch bad.” Hayden also said she’d love for her character to be connected to Jennifer Coolidge‘s Tanya. “She is my favorite, I love her. I will be her anything—bag holder, shoe shiner, I will be her guardian angel, I will be her long-lost child. I will be whatever she wants me to be,” Hayden said.
Jennifer Aniston did an interview with E! News and co-signed the idea that she play Jennifer Coolidge’s sister in the third season to “avenge” Tanya’s death. “Did you hear it, Mike White?” the Friends alum said, before admitting that she’s “obsessed” with The White Lotus and Jennifer Coolidge. “I want Jennifer Coolidge. I love her,” she said.
Of course, any characters from the previous seasons of The White Lotus could also return for season 3. Notably, Mike White brought up Portia in the Unpacking video following the finale. He talked about Portia’s connection to Tanya, Greg’s plot to kill his wife, and how that could resurface.
Mike also pointed out that Cameron (Theo James) is “one of those guys that’s not really gonna change. Some of the unspoken things between them, you wonder if that’s gonna ultimately catch up with them. It is somewhat of a happy ending, although there’s dark clouds in the horizon, too.” Daphne does mention going on vacation to the Maldives, which is located in South Asia.
“Oh my God, of course,” Meghann told ET about returning. “I mean, I would pass out water on the third season. It’s such an amazing set to be on. Like, just to witness everybody working. The cast is so amazing and watching Mike work is so cool. I mean, I would totally be there, of course.”
Connie Britton, who played Nicole Mossbacher in the first season, is hopeful that her character returns in season 3. “He [Mike White] wanted me to be in the second season, and there was an idea that I loved for the character. Our intention is to do it in the third season. A piece of casting didn’t work in the second season and we’re hoping to [do] that in the third season. I would love to see a spinoff on every character in that show,” Connie told Deadline.
Alexandra Daddario and Jake Lacy, who played newlyweds Rachel and Shane Patton in season one, revealed they would be down to return in the future. “Shane and I would be on a boat, talking about other people, annoying everyone around us,” Alexandra told Deadline. “Mike’s brain is always working. That’s the whole thing with his commentary on the world around him: He’s always observing.”
Jake added, “Mike texted Alex and I with this idea for an episode where the two of us are talking for a half hour; it’s just the banality of rich people on a boat.” He also floated this idea, “I had hoped that Molly Shannon and I would be in the back of a shot; the two of us on vacation in another location, chewing out a concierge. It’s like, ‘That guy is still out there. He’s not even on trial; the dude is still going on vacation!’”
One character that will likely not be returning is Tanya McQuoid, played by Jennifer Coolidge. After taking out the men who had been hired by her husband, Greg, to kill her, Tanya fell off the side of the yacht and drowned in the season 2 finale.
However, Mike did tell Deadline that “maybe you can’t go to Japan without Jennifer.” The Emmy winner could return as a totally different character. Jennifer told ET that she would absolutely return. “I mean, I don’t know what Mike has in mind. But yes, I would love [to come back],” she said.
Where Will ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 Take Place?
The White Lotus season 3 will be set in Thailand. Previous seasons of The White Lotus were filmed at Four Seasons resorts in Hawaii and Italy. If season 3 also films at a Four Seasons property, the hotel has four properties across Thailand in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, and the Golden Triangle. HBO confirmed that The White Lotus will film in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok.
Mike White previously hinted that traveling to Asia is likely in the cards. “We just turned in our last episode to the network yesterday, so it’s hard to think about the next race,” Mike told Deadline in October 2022. “But if we did, I think it’d be fun to maybe go to a whole different continent. You know, we did Europe, and maybe Asia, something crazy like that, that would be fun.”
Executive producer David Bernard similarly discussed season 3 taking place in Asia, when speaking about the show at the Berlinale Series Market in Germany on February 22. “We’ve tried to work in Asia a lot and hopefully season three will be our chance to make something happen there,” he said, per Deadline.
In an interview with Vulture, Mike also teased the idea of setting season 3 in Japan. The previous two seasons took place in Hawaii and Sicily. Mike’s friend Johnny Knoxville hinted that season 3 may take place in Tokyo. “Mike White is a very close friend of mine. He and I had been in Tokyo together. I think that’s where the next … oh, I’m not giving anything away. I might call him again as soon as this is over,” Johnny told Vulture.
HOLY SHIT pic.twitter.com/l02wIlxuUK
— Ξvan Ross Katz (@evanrosskatz) January 24, 2023
Mike also sent a video to Evan Ross Katz back in January 2023. Mike made sure to note that he was currently in Thailand.
What Will ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 Be About?
Mike White already has an idea of what The White Lotus season 3 would be about. “The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” Mike said in the Unpacking featurette after the season 2 finale. “I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus.”
He also hinted that Greg and Quentin’s conspiracy to kill Tanya may not be a secret forever. “It’s possible that Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) is scared enough to just leave it alone, but the fact that all of those guys die on the boat, it feels like there’s gotta be somebody who’s gonna track it down to Greg. But maybe you’ll have to wait to find out what happens,” he said.
