Culture / TV

Be prepared to wait longer than expected for season three of ‘The White Lotus’

WORDS Jahlia Solomon    PHOTOGRAPHY Instagram    PUBLISHED Fri, 3 Nov 2023 - 11:20 am

the white lotus season 3

Ever since HBO dropped that The White Lotus would be returning for a third season (which comes as a shock to absolutely no one), we've been scouting for news about where we might be jetting off to next, and which guests might be joining us on our stay.

The show, released in July 2021, immediately hit home with viewers and critics, racking up 20 Emmy nominations with 10 wins under its belt. Unsurprisingly, creator, director and executive producer, Mike White, is happy with how things are going.

“There’s no place I’d rather work than HBO and there’s no people I’d rather partner with than Casey Bloys, Francesca Orsi, Nora Skinner and their incredible team,” White said. “I feel so lucky to get this opportunity again and am excited to reunite with my amazingly talented collaborators on ‘The White Lotus.’”

 

So, what can we expect from season 3 of The White Lotus?

In keeping with the last two seasons, we'll be jetting off to another of The White Lotus resorts. This time the destination is Thailand.

We're likely to return to another of the Four Seasons' luxury locales for the new series, after having spent the first two instalments at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, and San Domenico Palace, Taormina, respectively. There are four, in fact, to choose from in Thailand.

In terms of a storyline, White wants to focus on spirituality. "The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” White said in a behind-the-scenes video released after last season's finale, "I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.” Will we see a meditation on wellness culture, cultural appropriation? Will there be sticks of palo santo, tantric sex, yoga and conversions to Buddhism? Quick – somebody call Gwyneth Paltrow, she was built for this season.

 

Who will be joining the cast?

It looks like White will continue his tradition of keeping a familiar face between seasons. While we're sad to be saying goodbye to Jennifer Coolidge's Tanya, it's been confirmed that Natasha Rothwell will reprise her role as Belinda Lindsey.

Rothwell confirmed the news via Twitter.

 

When can we expect season 3 of The White Lotus?

Prior to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, The White Lotus creators were gearing up for a 2024 release date. However, production has understandably been delayed due to both strikes, and so it's unlikely that season three will land on our screens until 2025. This was confirmed by HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys, per Variety.

 

What's this about a prequel series?

While in Sydney for an In Conversation event at Vivid 2023, White and Coolidge joked about expanding The White Lotus universe to potentially include a prequel series, which would follow a young Tanya McQuoid.

White said of the idea, “I absolutely think that’s possible, we were just talking about that. It’s a funny idea – and making Jennifer, you know, 20 years younger, that would be fun too. I think Jennifer’s like, ‘Sure, let’s do it!’.”

 

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Image: @thewhitelotus

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