What we know about The White Lotus season 3

Eager viewers of HBO’s comedy-drama The White Lotus are looking ahead to the show’s hotly anticipated third season, which is due to hit screens in 2025.

Devised and written by School of Rock scribe Mike White, this show about excess introduces viewers to a handful of rich faces who are each visiting a fictional White Lotus holiday resort.

So far, each outing has stayed at a different picturesque location while featuring an all-new ensemble cast, with Jennifer Coolidge’s eccentric and wealthy fan-favourite Tanya emerging as the only cast member to return for both series.

2021’s debut season brought us to sunkissed Hawaii while 2022’s second batch of episodes transported the drama to romantic Italy — but what about The White Lotus series three?

It’s early days but here’s everything we know so far…

When will The White Lotus season 3 air on TV?

The White Lotus was expected to arrive in 2024 but has been pushed to 2025 following the Hollywood strikes of late 2023. Filming began across Thailand — in Bangkok, Koh Samui and Phuket — in February 2024.

Is there a trailer for The White Lotus season 3?

Our first look at The White Lotus season 3 was nestled in a showreel used to highlight HBO’s upcoming slate of projects.

In addition to seeing the return of season one character Belinda, we also saw a few orange-hued clips of White's new ensemble in sun-kissed Thailand.

Watch the teaser below.

Who is starring in The White Lotus season 3?

The star-studded cast of The White Lotus season 3 was unveiled by HBO in January 2024, and includes Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire actor Carrie Coon, Harry Potter star Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey.

Other familiar faces checking into the hotel include Justified’s Walton Goggins, Gen Z’s Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood and Sarah Catherine Hook, whose previous credits include Impeachment: American Crime Story.

True Detective star Michelle Monaghan and Marvel actor Leslie Bibb are also part of White’s new cast, along with Thai actors Dom Hetrakul and Tayme Thapthimthong.

Blackpink singer Lisa has also joined the cast in an as-yet-undisclosed role. This marks the second time a member of the popular South Korean girl group has appeared on an HBO show after her bandmate Jennie appeared on The Idol last year. Lisa will be credited under her full name Lalisa Manobal.

Natasha Rothwell will reprise her role as fan-favourite character Belinda in the third outing. Fans may remember Belinda as the spa host who treated Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya to a life-changing massage back in the show’s first, Hawaii-set series.

In fact, the massage was so good that Tanya decided to go into business with Belinda to fund a new spa enterprise and potentially transform her life before ultimately backing out on the promise at the last minute due to her fickle and unpredictable nature and the arrival of Jon Gries’s Greg.

Considering the tragic events of The White Lotus series two, it's unlikely that Coolidge will return to the show — but perhaps Tanya made good on her promise in her will? Only time will tell regarding this theory.

In December 2023, Jack Black — who has previously collaborated with White on movies Orange County and School of Rock — denied rumours that suggested the two would be holidaying together in the show's third series.

Looking further ahead, White commented on the idea of one day doing an “all stars” series, featuring key returning cast members. “If the show goes on for a couple of seasons, it would be fun to have an all-star season,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

What is the plot for The White Lotus season 3?

The official synopsis for The White Lotus season three hasn’t been unveiled. However, it has been confirmed that series creator White will be taking his story to Thailand.

White originally considered choosing Japan as the backdrop for the season. However, Thailand was picked due to filming incentives amounting to millions of dollars which were only available in the country.

Following the dark climax of season two, White has suggested that season three could continue in this vein of storytelling, citing “death and Eastern religion and spirituality” as a possible theme.

“The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” White explained during a promotional clip for season two. “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.”

This was also echoed by HBO's Head of Drama, Francesca Orsi, who said that season 3 will be "an exploration about spirituality versus the ego. And it’s set against the Eastern religion.”

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, White teased that season 3 will be a bumper-sized outing.

“It’s going to be a supersized White Lotus,” he sa White. “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.”

It remains to be seen whether White means that The White Lotus season 3 will have more episodes (season one had 6 and season two had seven) or longer episodes.

*The White Lotus season two spoilers ahead*

Regarding series two dramatic finale — which culminated in series favourite Tanya tragically dying following a shoot-out with a group of Italian criminals while aboard a boat at sea — White has planted seeds that suggest this dark thread could be picked up further down the line.

“It’s possible that Portia [Haley Lu Richardson] is scared enough to just leave it alone,” said White, discussing Tanya’s young assistant who survived the harrowing experience, “but the fact that all of those guys die on the boat, it feels like there’s gotta be somebody who’s gonna track it down to Greg [Jon Gries].

“But maybe you’ll have to wait to find out what happens.”

It was Gries’ character Greg who played Tanya’s love interest and the person who was seemingly responsible for setting up the tragic events that led to his new wife’s death. However, it’s currently unlikely — but not out of the question — that Coolidge will return for The White Lotus’s third series.

Meanwhile, during a recent appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, season one star Murray Bartlett, who played highly-strung White Lotus concierge Armond, also hinted at a possible return — albeit, in prequel form.

“I would definitely do it,” The Last of Us star told Colbert, before adding that he’s had conversations with White regarding a potential spin-off series. “We could always go back in time,” he teased, recalling the discussion.

White further discussed the season’s Thailand-set third season with The Hollywood Reporter, suggesting that the show doesn't always need to start with its ‘body in a box’ conceit.

“I don’t think it needs to always be a body,” he teased. “There are so many ways that we want to reinvent the show each year. Like, what is this show — other than people? A fresh mystery, people maybe expect that. But I don’t feel constrained by expectation. It’s fun.”

The White Lotus season 3 is expected to air in 2025.