Warning: This article contains spoilers for the first two seasons of The White Lotus.
Our check-in date for the third season of The White Lotus is drawing nearer.
There’s no doubt that the award-winning US drama is one of the most gripping new shows to grace our screens in the past few years, thanks to its gorgeous locations, murder mystery-levels of suspense and the star-studded casts playing absolutely insufferable hotel patrons we can’t help but love to hate.
Now, a third chapter in Mike White’s Emmy-winning anthology season is coming to screens in mere weeks.
With a sunny new destination confirmed and its most impressive cast to date, we can finally start getting excited about the prospect of heading back to The White Lotus resort.
Here’s everything we know about the new batch of episodes so far...
Where will The White Lotus season 3 be set?
The latest instalments of The White Lotus will be set in Thailand.
Back in January, Warner Bros announced filming was scheduled to shoot in the popular holiday destinations of Bangkok, Phuket and Ko Samui.
HBO has also partnered up with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for support and promotion of the next season, meaning we’re likely to see some of the best beauty spots that Thailand has to offer.
Janet Graham Borba, EVP of Production, HBO & Max, explained: “We are pleased to partner with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to execute Mike’s creative vision and showcase all that the beautiful country of Thailand has to offer, as the next group of guests check in to the White Lotus.”
Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, added: “We are honoured to have amazing Thailand featured as the filming location for the highly anticipated upcoming season of ‘The White Lotus.’
“The kingdom’s exotic natural beauty, rich historical sites and diverse landscapes are the perfect settings to share our fascinating culture, fantastic cuisine, top-notch wellness and luxury offerings, and most importantly our people and Thai hospitality.”
Has the White Lotus season 3 cast been announced yet?
It has! And there are some massive names in the mix.
In this season of The White Lotus we can expect Dazed And Confused actor Parker Posey, Harry Potter star Jason Isaacs, Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood, The Staircase’s Patrick Schwarzenegger (yes, Arnie’s son), Fallout’s Walton Goggins, First Kill’s Sarah Catherine Hook and rising actor Sam Nivola, who is the son of actors Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola.
Other stars announced for the new series include Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Michelle Monaghan and Tayme Thapthimthong.
Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a pop star joining the cast in the form of Blackpink singer Lisa, who’s making her acting debut in her home country of Thailand, under her given name Lalisa Manobal.
Are there any returning characters?
While the grisly fate of Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya means that we probably won’t be seeing her in the new series (unless it’s in the form of a flashback), we can look forward to one returning character.
Natasha Rothwell is reprising her role as the sweet spa manager Belinda, who previously had her dreams of a business all of her own ripped out from underneath her by Tanya.
We can only hope she gets to live her best life at the Thailand White Lotus resort now.
Jennifer even said that she wanted to see her on-screen husband Jon Gries (who plays Greg Hunt) back for season three, but only to watch him get what he deserves.
“I hope there’s some comeuppance for evil Greg,” she told told The Bear star Jeremy Allen White during Variety’s Actors on Actors series. “He deserves some bad treatment, and possibly a death himself.”
What do we know about the plot of The White Lotus season 3?
We don’t know the plot of the next instalment just yet. But back in 2022, creator Mike White hinted at what he hoped to do next.
“The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex, and I think the third season, it 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 in a video feature unpacking season two episode seven.
In another interview with Entertainment Weekly, Mike said the new series was going to be a “supersized White Lotus”.
“It’s going to be longer, bigger, crazier. I don’t know what people will think, but I am super excited, so at least for my own barometer, that’s a good thing… I’m super excited about the content of the season.”
Do we know who will die?
We know from the previous seasons that much of The White Lotus suspense hinges on us trying to find out who it is that dies – something that is previewed at the beginning of both seasons before the rest of the episodes play out.
While we’re not certain that the new instalment will follow this same structure, it would be a pretty big surprise to viewers if it did depart from this format.
Is there a trailer?
In August, fans were treated to a six-second teaser snippet revealing some glimpses of the new resort and the fresh cohort of guests.
“New luxuries await you in Thailand,” US broadcaster Max teased on X. “Season 3 of the HBO Original Series The White Lotus is coming soon to Max.”
The selected shots feature a boat, sunbathing guests at a swimming pool and Muay Thai boxing.
A full trailer eventually followed in December 2024, which teased more of the characters’ relationships with one another – and what to expect from the new season.
Take a look at that below:
However, there has already been some controversy around the new season
Before we’d even been shown a full-length trailer, the new season of The White Lotus had already garnered some controversy online.
Some social media users expressed their frustration that the scenes previewed in that first teaser in August were all tinged with an orange sepia tone, an old-fashioned filmmaking device often used in to depict non-Western locations ranging from Mexico and Asia to the Middle East.
It’s now considered to be an outdated, offensive and even “racist” technique that upholds stereotypes, like portraying a location as impoverished or “othered”.
“Someone please tell [Mike White] to take that typical racist filter off season 3 of White Lotus,” one person wrote on X.
“Can we bully white lotus enough to get rid of the terrible yellow tinted filter before they release this season because how are you still doing that in 2024,” shared another.
HBO did not comment when contacted by HuffPost UK earlier in the year, but we’re relieved to note the divisive filter doesn’t seem to have been applied to the whole series, if that full-length trailer is anything to go by.
Does The White Lotus season 3 have a release date yet?
Yes, we now know the show will begin airing on Sky and Now on 17 February, a day after it premieres on HBO Max in the US.
If you can’t wait until then, the first two seasons of The White Lotus are available to stream on Now.