“The White Lotus” is almost back for its third season, which will see a new cast and one familiar face head to the Thailand location of the White Lotus resort.
After Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya returned for Season 2 to face a deadly fate, creator Mike White is bringing back Season 1 star Natasha Rothwell, who played Belinda at the Maui White Lotus, to the third installment of the HBO drama series.
Beyond Rothwell, “The White Lotus” will welcome a new, star-studded cast for Season 3, including Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Parker Posey, Leslie Bibb and Michelle Monaghan, among others. Here’s everything we know about the third season so far.
It Premieres on HBO in February
Season 3 will debut its first episode Sunday, Feb. 16 on HBO and Max. Like previous seasons, “The White Lotus” Season 3 will release weekly.
It Takes Place in Thailand
While Season 1 started off in Hawaii and Season 2 took audiences to Sicily, Season 3 will take us to Thailand, following a group of guests and staffers at the White Lotus hotel in Thailand. Season 3 began production in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok in February 2024, according to HBO.
Natasha Rothwell’s Belinda Comes Back
After going a whole season without seeing Rothwell, Season 3 will bring back Rothwell as Belinda after introducing her as the spa manager in the White Lotus resort on Maui in Season 1. The teaser explains that Belinda is on an “exchange program” to the Thailand location of the resort, where she will work and learn alongside the Thailand spa.
There’s a New All-Star Cast
Like its previous two seasons, the third installment will follow several groups of White Lotus vacationers. Those include a family played by Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook and Sam Nivola; a group of longtime friends reconnecting on a girls trip played by Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan and Leslie Bibb; and a couple played by Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood.
As can be expected of any “White Lotus” season, there will be plenty of tension from each group, which was hinted to in the teaser after Wood’s Chelsea tells Goggins’ Rick he needs “stress management meditation,” and Coon’s Laurie gossips to Bibb’s Kate that Monaghan’s Jaclyn “lives off male attention.”
The hotel staff will be played by Morgana O’Reilly, Arnas Fedaravičius, Christian Friedel, Dom Hetrakul, Tayme Thapthimthong and Lalisa Manobal, also known as Lisa from famed K-pop girl group, BLACKPINK. Additional cast includes Lek Patravadi, Nicholas Duvernay, Arnas Fedaravičius, Christian Friedel, Scott Glenn, Dom Hetrakul, Julian Kostov, Charlotte Le Bon, Morgana O’Reilly and Shalini Peiris.
The Big Theme Will Be Death and Spirituality
In a behind-the-scenes breakdown of the Season 2 finale, creator and showrunner Mike White teased that Season 3 would be all about death.
“The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex, and I think the third season would be maybe a kind of 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 at White Lotus,” he said.
It Might Tie Up Loose Ends From the Season 2 Finale
White said in the same video that the conspiracy around Greg’s murder plot against Tanya could return in Season 3.
“I think as far as what happens to Greg and the conspiracy of Tanya’s death, it’s possible that I think Portia is scared enough to just leave it alone but the fact that all of those guys die on the boat feels like there’s gotta be somebody who’s gonna track it back down to Greg,” he said, adding “you’ll have to wait to find out what happens.”
With Belinda (Rothwell) — who Tanya took a particular liking to in Season 1 before Tanya starting dating Greg (Jon Gries) — could we see Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) and/or Greg return in Season 3?
Mike White Will Be Back
The creator will return as showrunner, write and director for Season 3. The “Enlightened” creator has thus far written and directed every single episode of “The White Lotus” himself, so it’s safe to say the show would not be the same without him.
“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 when the show was renewed for a third season. “I feel so lucky to get this opportunity again and am excited to reunite with my amazingly talented collaborators on ‘The White Lotus.’”
Season 4 Is Already in the Works
Max boss Casey Bloys told reporters in November 2024 that White has already shared ideas for a fourth season. “Mike, obviously — if he wants to move forward and do the four seasons — he will do the fourth season,” Bloys said.
