Tamal Kundu
Created by Mike White, HBO’s ‘The White Lotus’ is a satirical anthology series revolving around the staff and guests of the fictional titular hotel. The first season is set in Hawaii, with wealth disparity serving as the main theme. In season 2, the setting moves to Sicily, and sexual politics is at the epicenter of the narrative. Each season encompasses the week-long stay of the guests and the shenanigans they get involved in. With season 2 coming to an end and the official announcement of season 3, many of you might be wondering about what lies ahead for the show. Here is what we think on the matter.
Probable Locations Where The White Lotus Season 3 Can Take Place
In November 2022, ‘The White Lotus’ was renewed for season 3. When the news broke, White said in a statement, “I feel so lucky to get this opportunity again and am excited to reunite with my amazingly talented collaborators on The White Lotus.”
Earlier, at the season 2 premiere of the show, White indicated that season 3 might be set in Asia in an interview with Deadline. “We just turned in our last episode to the network yesterday, so it’s hard to think about the next race,” White said. “But if we did, 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.”
White all but confirmed this in his post-finale commentary. He noted how the first season is about money and the second season is about sex before adding that the third season might be about “a kind of satirical and funny look at death and eastern religion and spirituality.”
The series creator continued, “And it feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another White Lotus.” In the season finale, Daphne (Meghann Fahy) mentions that their next vacation should be in The Maldives, so that’s a possible setting for the show, though the relative absence of the traditional eastern religion might end up making the island not a viable candidate as the setting. White speaks about Japan in passing in the Deadline interview mentioned above, so that is also a real possibility. Ultimately, we believe the real contenders are India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Bali — countries with picturesque beaches and a strong connection to eastern beliefs and practices.
Cast of The White Lotus Season 3
White drops some hints on what characters might reappear in season 3. Daphne states that the next vacation might take them to the Maldives, so if season 3 ‘The White Lotus’ indeed takes place on the island nation, we can expect Daphne, Cameron (Theo James), Harper (Aubrey Plaza), and Ethan (Will Sharpe) reprising their roles.
“Jennifer [Coolidge, portrays Tanya in the series] is my friend and everybody loved her in the first season, and I was like, ‘I can’t go to Italy without Jennifer.’ 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,” White told Deadline.
With Tanya’s death in season 2, some other characters from the first season might reappear in season 3, including Shane (Jake Lacy), Rachel (Alexandra Daddario), Olivia (Sydney Sweeney), and Paula (Brittany O’Grady). Lacy revealed that White texted him and Daddario about an episode where their characters speak to each other for half an hour. In the season-two-finale commentary, White also hints that Greg (Jon Gries) can appear in the third season and get his comeuppance for what happened to Tanya.
Read More: Do Albie and Portia End Up Together in The White Lotus?
