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The first look at the HBO drama has us counting down to 2025
The White Lotus is checking back in. The series has officially begun production on Season 3 in Thailand, with the cast set to include everyone from Walton Goggins to Natasha Rothwell to Blackpink's Lisa. It's time to start theorizing about who's getting murdered.
Read on to learn everything we currently know about The White Lotus Season 3.
Before the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon, HBO hit its viewers with one of those, "Get excited!" sizzle reels of what's coming soon to HBO. Among the shows included, was The Last of Us, Dune: Prophecy, and The White Lotus. The first footage shows off the cast, another gorgeous resort, and... kickboxing! Check it out in the videos section below.
In February 2024, Variety reported that Lisa, a member of the K-pop girl group Blackpink, has joined the cast of The White Lotus Season 3, making her acting debut. She will reportedly be credited as Lalisa Manobal, her given name.
Earlier in February, Scott Glenn joined the cast, per Variety, reuniting with his The Leftovers co-star Carrie Coon. Also in early February, Deadline reported that Julian Kostov had replaced Miloš Biković, following criticism from Ukraine over Biković's casting. Kostov will play "a recurring Russian character."
In January 2024, Walton Goggins, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, and Aimee Lou Wood joined the cast, per The Hollywood Reporter. Just a few days later, Variety reported that Francesca Corney, Nicholas Duvernay, and Arnas Fedaravičius were added to the ensemble.
These latest additions will star alongside the previously announced Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Michelle Monaghan, Jason Isaacs, Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, and Tayme Thapthimthong. Also appearing in Season 3 are Christian Friedel, Morgana O'Reilly, Shalini Peiris, and Lek Patravadi.
The first casting announcement was made in April 2023, with Variety reporting that Natasha Rothwell, who played Belinda, the spa manager who got strung along by Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) in Season 1, will return for Season 3.
The White Lotus went into production for Season 3 in February 2024. In January, HBO confirmed that the series would be filming "in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok."
HBO has confirmed that Season 3 won't air until 2025. "White Lotus Season 3 probably would have been in play for 2024, [but now] it's 2025," HBO CEO Casey Bloys said during a press event in early November 2023.
Also in November, Mike White teased the third season while speaking to Entertainment Weekly. "I'm seriously finishing scripts," he said. "It's 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."
The actors and writers strikes affected production on the series, with Deadline reporting after the WGA reached a deal with the AMPTP in September 2023 that The White Lotus is one of three tentpole series HBO is prioritizing, along with Euphoria and The Last of Us, both of which have also had their season premieres pushed to 2025.
A preview of what's coming to HBO that debuted before the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon gave us our first look at The White Lotus Season 3, and while it's not much, it certainly gives off the right vibes, including a glamorous look at the glamorous cast and glamorous resort. There's also a peek at returning cast member Natasha Rothwell at the beginning of the video.
Appearing on an April episode of Vanity Fair's Little Gold Men podcast, Carrie Coon, who is currently filming The White Lotus Season 3, shared a brief tease about the theme of the season. "[Creator Mike White] had a season about money; he had a season about sex. And this is his season about death," Coon said. "So here we are in this Buddhist country. It bumps up against some things in my own life right now that are really interesting to think about, and so I'm feeling incredibly gratified. And my family is incredibly stressed." Sounds about right!
The White Lotus Season 3 is headed across the Pacific Ocean to Thailand, which was first reported by Variety in March 2023, and confirmed by HBO in early 2024. On Oct. 25, Deadline reported that series creator Mike White chose Thailand over Japan after being offered millions of dollars in filming incentives from the Thai government. "The Thai government had just announced a renewal and improvement on their film incentive system. A 30 percent rebate. For their project, that meant $4.4 million alone," said Japanese producer Georgina Pope. "Everyone looked at me with sympathy. At the time in Japan, we had no incentive in place at all. I could not respond with a concrete answer. All I could hear was the sound of a $35 million project flying out the window."
White previously hinted that Season 3 might be set in Asia. Executive producer David Bernad echoed him during a talk at the Berlinale Series Market, saying, "We've tried to work in Asia a lot and hopefully Season 3 will be our chance to make something happen there."
In HBO's after-the-episode featurette accompanying the Season 2 finale, White previewed the potential location and theme of the next season. "The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex," White said, via Variety. "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."
Want more shows that feel like you're on vacation with or without the murder? Want more shows about wealthy people in trouble, maybe for murder? Want more shows like The White Lotus? We've got a list for that.
The White Lotus Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Max.