HBO Released the Official ‘White Lotus’ Season 3 Trailer
Spoilers ahead for The White Lotus season 3.
The White Lotus must have the best PR team in the hospitality business: In spite of an ongoing string of murders at the resort collection’s luxury hotels, guests are still booking additional stays. Before The White Lotus season 2 even reached its conclusion, HBO green-lit a third season—and there’s at least some chance that Jennifer Coolidge’s character could make an appearance from beyond the grave. This time, the series is taking guests to Thailand, and as the season 3 tagline tells us, “You will leave an entirely different person.” Let’s break down the breadcrumbs we have to follow so far.
When will The White Lotus season 3 premiere?
The series will return to HBO on Feb. 16, 2025, the network officially announced.
Production for season 3 was initially delayed due to the 2023 writers and actors’ strikes. The season “probably would have been [released in] 2024,” chairman and CEO Casey Bloys said during an HBO and Max presentation on November 2, but it’s now “pushing into 2025” given the pause. Indeed, the network confirmed in a sizzle reel a month later that The White Lotus season 3 would premiere in 2025.
Not long after the actors’ strike lifted on Nov. 9, 2023, the team released a list of new characters and began casting for the new season. Max announced on social media on Feb. 13, 2024 that filming had officially begun.
Unforgettable experiences are in the making at #TheWhiteLotus. We are eager to welcome new guests to our resort in Thailand. pic.twitter.com/BAFM1GLQln
— Max (@StreamOnMax) February 13, 2024
For reference, season 1 debuted in July 2021, and season 2 arrived in October 2022.
Where will the season take place?
HBO confirmed in early January 2024 that The White Lotus season 3 would be filmed in Thailand. According to Bloomberg, “One executive who was personally involved in the deal says the cast of season 3—including Parker Posey, Carrie Coon and Jason Isaacs—will spend about three months shooting at the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui starting in February [2024]. One plotline features some cast members visiting temples in Phuket, where they’ll stay at another hotel, the same person says. According to other sources, that hotel will be the Anantara Mai Khao Villas Phuket.”
It had seemed, initially, that the show might be eyeing Tokyo as its next spot. (Johnny Knoxville almost revealed the season 3 filming location back in February. He told Vulture in an interview published in February 2023: “Mike White is a very close friend of mine. He and I had been in Tokyo together. I think that’s where the next…oh, I’m not giving anything away.”) With White planning to explore “eastern religion and spirituality” in the next season, filming in Tokyo seemed possible, but since then Thailand has been dubbed the official locale.
What will season 3 of The White Lotus be about?
The third season will follow a new group of guests, just as the season 1 cast passed the baton for season 2. In a post-finale interview on HBO, White teased that the third season will focus on, well, death.
“The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex, and I think the third season, it would be a 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 of White Lotus,” he said.
Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming and head of HBO drama series and films, didn’t give any specific details about the storyline as she announced the season 3 green light, but she did seem excited about White’s vision.
“He’s only continued to reach new heights in season 2, which is the ultimate testament to Mike’s raw, unparalleled vision,” Orsi said earlier. “His courage to explore the uncharted waters of the human psyche, paired with his signature irreverent humor and buoyant directing style, have us all dreaming of more vacation days at the resort we’ve come to adore.”
White told Entertainment Weekly in early November 2023 that season 3 is going to be “a supersized White Lotus” and that he’s “seriously finishing scripts.” He added, “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.”
On Jan. 31, 2024, ET asked new cast member Parker Posey if she had any updates about White Lotus season 3.
“I can’t tell you anything. I signed an NDA. I can’t say anything,” she answered. “It’ll be six months in Thailand. It’s the third [season], so that’s when they get all the juices going, I guess. I got to read it. I love it. I’m really excited.”
Fans finally got a clearer vision of the storylines when HBO released the official White Lotus season 3 trailer on Jan. 27, 2025. More on that below.
Who will be in the cast?
Season 2’s cast was entirely different than season 1’s, with one notable exception: the incomparable Coolidge. Given White’s attachment to Tanya—and his personal adoration for the actress playing her—it seemed possible the showrunner would bring her back for yet another round. But that no longer appears to be the case given how the season 2 finale ended. “Jennifer is my friend and everybody loved her in the first season, and I was like, ‘I can’t go to Italy without Jennifer,’” White previously told Deadline. “And maybe that’s still the case. Like, maybe you can’t go to Japan without Jennifer, either. There are so many fun actors we’ve worked with so far, so it’s just kind of like, who’s available?”
Of course, it’s always possible White dropped this tease as a red herring, in order to throw audiences off the scent of Tanya’s death in the finale. Still, it’s just as likely he’s being genuine, and Tanya could appear next season—perhaps in flashbacks.
Another possible familiar face? Season 1’s Connie Britton. In July, she told Deadline, “[White] wanted me to be in the second season, and there was an idea that I loved for the character. Our intention is to do it in the third season. A piece of casting didn’t work in the second season and we’re hoping to [do] that in the third season. I would love to see a spinoff on every character in that show.”
Other early reports hinted that actress Natasha Rothwell was set to return as Belinda, the spa manager Tanya befriended (and bamboozled) in season 1. Variety broke the news, citing multiple sources with knowledge of the production, and it has since been confirmed. Belinda will indeed travel to The White Lotus in Thailand, where she’ll look to soak up knowledge to take back to the hotel chain’s Maui location.
Apart from Belinda, the team has cast several new characters for season 3, per Deadline. They include Parker Posey, Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Tayme Thapthimthong, Miloš Biković, Christian Friedel, Morgana O'Reilly, Lek Patravadi, and Shalini Peiris. Variety later revealed five additional new cast members: Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wood, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola.
Finally, it was revealed that Blackpink’s Lisa would be joining the cast for season 3. In her September 2024 cover story with ELLE, Lisa shared that she got “to be back home, to have Thai food every day,” and have her mother on set while filming. And as for getting the part, she said, “Oh my God, Mike White? I think he’s a genius.” She continued, “I think I cried. I was with my friends, my mom’s friends, and my mom as well, but I didn’t tell them that I auditioned for it. I’m super excited and nervous, because it’s my first acting project. So I was happy for a second, and then I was like, ‘Oh, wait, wait, how am I going to deliver this?’”
She couldn’t share details on her part, but she said of season 3, “I feel like people are going to fall in love with Thailand even more.”
In a January 2025 interview with V Magazine, Lisa revealed that her character, Mook, was a completely new challenge for her. “This was my first acting gig, so when I started, I had to prepare so many things. It’s a whole new world to me,” she said. “I was all over the place. But on the first day of the shoot, everybody was so supportive. Mike White…oh my God, I love him. He was super chill and told me I was doing a good job. I couldn’t believe it.”
Lisa also spoke about her excitement about the show’s location in her home country, Thailand, and how it could shine a light on its unique charm. “Thai people are proud,” she told V Magazine. “I love Thai culture. Some people already know how incredible it is, but I feel like [this show] is a chance to let the world know more about Thailand and its beauty… and it was really fun to shoot.”
Where can I watch the trailer?
HBO released the full official season 3 trailer on Jan. 27, 2025.
The network previously released a trailer on Dec. 16, 2024, showing glimpses of Lisa welcoming guests to The White Lotus; Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, and Carrie Coon on some sort of girls trip; and Aimee Lou Wood having dinner with Walton Goggins.
What else has Mike White revealed about future seasons?
For now, the busy showrunner has remained focused on preparing for season 3, but he teased that audiences can expect one thing from The White Lotus, no matter the season: murder. In an interview with NPR, he said that the mystery of who dies has driven a lot of interest to the show week after week, so he plans on using the same formula for future chapters.
“It clearly is something that drives interest in the show. People will decide at the conclusion whether it’s satisfying or it feels just device-y, but at this point, I’m excited about the finale,” White says. “As somebody who’s been working in the margins, it is kind of nice to have viewers.”
This story will be updated.
You Might Also Like