‘The White Lotus’ season 3: everything we know so far

Warning: contains season two spoilers for The White Lotus

Two seasons into The White Lotus and it’s safe to say that the HBO comedy-drama has officially infiltrated the zeitgeist in ways few TV and streaming shows manage. Only Succession, Squid Game, Stranger Things and one or two others have the meme-worthy, Emmy-laden cultural clout of creator Mike White’s peppery satire of sex, class and affluence.

Will there be a season 3 of The White Lotus?

Unsurprisingly, the show is not ending with the murderous climax of the Sicily-set second season. Episode seven delivered in all sorts of giddily malicious and unexpected ways, but while season 3 won’t pick up too many – or any – of those plot threads, it is definitely happening.

In fact, HBO confirmed that the series ‘will return for a third instalment following a new group of guests at another White Lotus property’ only three episodes into this season. 

There’s no word yet on where that new White Lotus property will be, although White has already hinted at a move east after using Hawaii and Italy as locations. ‘You know, we did Europe,’ he told Deadline, ‘maybe Asia, something crazy like that… that would be fun.’

‘The first season we highlighted money and then the second season is sex and I think the third season, it would be maybe a kind of satirical and funny look at death in Eastern religion and spirituality,’ White explained on an HBO behind-the-scenes show. ‘It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus.’

Who will star in the season 3 cast?

In keeping with the show’s tried-and-tested narrative device, a new cast of characters (and actors) will form the core of season three’s line-up. Only Jennifer Coolidge, as Tanya, and her on-screen husband Greg (Jon Gries) made the transition to season two. 

One familiar face we may see it again, though, is Connie Britton as Nicole Mossbacher, a CFO at a Google-like corporation. She was a mainstay of season one and Britton hints that the character may still be in the showrunner’s thoughts.

‘He wanted me to be in the second season, and there was an idea that I loved for the character,’ Britton told Deadline. ‘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 spin-off on every character in that show.’

When can we expect season 3 to be released?

White recently revealed on Katie Couric’s Next Question interview that he only finished editing season two in late November and needs a break before getting stuck into the next storyline. ‘I need to reboot a little bit,’ he said. ‘I don’t have a lot of gas in the tank. So I need to figure out how to unplug and refresh or something.’ 

Not imminently, in other words. Then again, White works at a famously brisk pace – and season two only started filming in February – so maybe another helping of his intoxicating show is in the offing for late 2023?

Inside The White Lotus’s season two filming location in Italy.

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