‘It’s going to be longer, bigger, crazier’: All we know about The White Lotus season three

Ever since The White Lotus season two finale, which saw Jenniffer Coolidge’s character Tanya plummet off the edge of the boat when there was a perfectly good ladder available, we have been in mourning. Sunday nights aren’t the same. Twitter memes are depressingly boring. No other TV shows quite fill the rich, hot, morally twisted, void.

But thanks to the HBO Gods, The White Lotus has been renewed for a third season. And creator Mike White couldn’t be happier: “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,” he said after the news broke in 2022. “I feel so lucky to get this opportunity again and am excited to reunite with my amazingly talented collaborators on The White Lotus.”

After the SAG-AFTRA strikes, HBO bosses have said we can expect The White Lotus season three in 2025, with filming ready to start in 2024. That’s a while to wait. But thanks to the loose lips of Mike White and his other showbiz friends, we actually already know quite a lot about The White Lotus season three. Including the possible location, concept, and cast.

Credit: HBO

Okay, so what’s the location for The White Lotus season three?

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In the Unpacking S2 E7 clip at the end of The White Lotus season two finale, Mike White hinted that season three of the show might happen in Asia: “The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” he said. “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.”

After confirming there’ll be more deaths in The White Lotus season three, Mike then doubled down on the Asia idea when he spoke to Deadline, saying: “I think it’d be fun to maybe go to a whole different continent. You know, we did Europe, and maybe Asia, something crazy like that, that would be fun.”

For a while, the running theory has been that Mike was taking the show to Thailand. And multiple sources close to production have now confirmed to Variety that this is the case. And if previous seasons are anything to go by, it’s possible that season three will take place at one of the Four Season resorts, located in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and the Golden Triangle, the publication suggests. HBO declined to comment.

Credit: HBO

And who’s going to be in The White Lotus season three?

In The White Lotus universe, there’s usually one cast member anchoring the whole season together— which, up until recently was Jennifer Coolidge. Sob. So, now fans have been speculating that either Aubrey Plaza or Meghann Fahy could be the show’s repeat lead. Especially as Theo James’ character suggested the two couples go on another holiday (“Next stop, Maldives?!”) at the end of season two.

And, obviously, fans have already been all over TikTok curating their collection of perfect cast members for The White Lotus, Japan. Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, Rila Fukushima, Mahershala Ali and Kiko Mizuhara are all on the list.

According to Mike White, the third season is going to be madder and lengthier than any series that’s gone before. “It’s going to be a supersized White Lotus,” he told EW. “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.”