HBO’s The White Lotus has been a hit with viewers ever since it premiered in July 2021. Over the course of two seasons, the anthology series has taken its cast to exotic locations. While the first season was set in Maui in Hawaii, the second moved to Sicily in Italy. And now, Variety reports that The White Lotus season 3 will be set in Thailand.
Counted among one of the best ongoing television shows, The White Lotus is about a group of extremely wealthy but dysfunctional guests at a fictional resort named White Lotus.
What to know about The White Lotus season 3
Exploring ‘death and Eastern religion and spirituality’
Variety was the first to reveal that the show is heading to Thailand, which was later confirmed by Deadline.
Though HBO declined to comment, Variety cited creator Mike White’s statement at the “Unpacking S2 E7” clip at the end of Season 2 in which he hinted that the third season may take place in Asia and focus on “death and Eastern religion and spirituality.”
“The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex. 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,” White said in the clip.
Deadline reports that the show’s executive producer, David Bernad, told the publication in February 2023 that the show was indeed moving to Asia.
“We’ve tried to work in Asia a lot and hopefully season three will be our chance to make something happen there,” he said.
What is the filming location of The White Lotus season 3?
White was already in Thailand in January 2023 in what appeared to be one of the four properties of Four Seasons in the country.
Citing sources, Variety now reported that White is spending time in Thailand scouting for locations. The report also suggests that the show might be filmed at any of the Four Seasons properties — Four Seasons Bangkok, Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, and Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle.
“Thailand’s Four Seasons resorts are spread across the city, country, jungle and beach, giving White plenty of settings to play with, if he so chooses,” the report says.
Both the first and second season were filmed at Four Seasons resorts in Hawaii and Sicily.
The White Lotus season 3 cast
Being an anthology series, the main cast is different in both seasons. However, Jennifer Coolidge, who plays Tanya McQuoid, has been the mainstay across the two seasons of the show.
Jon Gries, who played her husband Greg Hunt, is the only other actor from the first season to have appeared in the second.
The cast who would appear in The White Lotus season 3 in Thailand hasn’t been revealed, but new faces are expected. It is not clear if the third season will also have some prominent Thai celebrities among the cast.
However, the plot twist at the end of the second season means that Coolidge is unlikely to return.
What awards has The White Lotus won?
Coolidge won an Emmy award for best supporting actress for her performance in the first season. She won a Golden Globe for best actress in a drama series and a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award for best supporting actress for The White Lotus season 2.
The first season of the show itself won 10 Emmy awards, including Coolidge’s win. It also won the Golden Globe for Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for the second season as well as the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at SAG.
Hero image: Courtesy FabioLovino/IMDb; Featured image: Courtesy IMDb
Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
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