money Where Is ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 Set? The Next Location Is About ‘Death, Eastern Religion & Spirituality’
As a thriller-comedy-drama set in a luxurious (fictional) hotel chain with some of the world’s most beautiful locations as the backdrop, fans are desperate to know where The White Lotus season three will be set.
Season one, which debuted in July 2021, offered up a slice of paradise in Hawaii while season two, in December 2022, transported audiences to the Italian island of Sicily. Escapism, living vicariously through uber-rich hotel guests and a hefty dose of Schadenfreude has defined the first two seasons of The White Lotus. Season three will be no different except for the setting, which lends itself to an entirely new theme. In an interview with NPR, the show’s creator Mike White said he actually had a different idea for season two and how the Italian hotel—a renovated convent at the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace—had an impact on his planned narrative. “The original idea was more [about] heavy hitters in business, more about power. And then I got there and I was like, ‘This is not the right place for that kind of topic’,” he said. “It gave me the idea that to focus more on sexual jealousy and adultery and infidelity and a more operatic kind of bedroom farce.” Here’s everything we know about The White Lotus season three.
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Where is The White Lotus season 3 set?
Where is The White Lotus season three set? Multiple sources confirmed to Variety that Thailand will be the setting for season three, though the network HBO declined to comment. Given that the first two seasons of The White Lotus were shot at Four Seasons resorts in Hawaii and Italy, it’s possible that the third season will take place at one of the luxury hotel giant’s four properties in Thailand; which are located in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and the Golden Triangle. Production has yet to begin, but sources told Variety that White has been spending time in Thailand scoping out sites.
White’s friend, former Jackass star Johnny Knoxville, accidentally said a bit too much in an interview with Vulture published on February 16, 2023—though he got the region kind of right, maybe it was a red herring after all? “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. I might call him again as soon as this is over.”
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Image: Courtesy of HBO.In December 2022 after the finale of season two aired, White did hint at the possibility that season three would be set somewhere in Asia. He said in an interview with Variety: “The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex. 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.” He had already mentioned in an interview with StyleCaster’s sister site Deadline before season two premiered that he was already thinking about season three. “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.”
Aubrey Plaza, who starred as Harper in season two, explained to Newsweek in October 2022 that the setting is integral to what story is told; it even serves almost as a character unto itself. “I think the environment is very much a part of the show. It’s like a character, the location,” she shared. “So I think the show is very informed by the energy of kind of being on this volcanic Italian island and I think the show is more focused on sexual politics rather than cold, colonialism, and, in my opinion, the money and those kinds of issues that the first season dealt with. So I think that’s it, there’s a slight shift in kind of focus. There is a lot about relationships and cheating, jealousy, sex, like, things like that.”
As for season one, the cast and crew worked under strict COVID-19 guidelines at the Four Seasons Resort in Maui at Wailea. “Everyone was tested every day, they weren’t able to leave the resort—the bubble of it,” White told Hawaii Public Radio in July 2021. In an interview with The New Yorker in July 2021, White also explained that the show was inspired by his own childhood and his family’s vacations to tropical destinations. “When I was little, I would go to Hawaii with my family. My dad was a minister, so we didn’t have a lot of money. It was my first experience of being somewhere other than where I lived,” he said.
“The Hawaiian culture is very specific, and there’s something very magnetic and beautiful about it. After I made Enlightened, I actually was able to buy a place there. I was hoping to be Paul Theroux and have my Hawaiian writer’s retreat or something. And it is such a paradisiacal, idyllic place.” He continued, “But it’s also such a living microcosm of so many of the cultural reckonings that are happening right now. There are ethical aspects to just vacationing there, let alone buying a house there. The longer I spent time there, the more I realized just how complex it is. And it just felt like that might be interesting as a backdrop to this show.”
In November 2022, HBO announced The White Lotus had been renewed for a third season. “Reflecting on The White Lotus’ humble, run-and-gun origin as a contained pandemic production, it’s impossible not to be awestruck by how Mike orchestrated one of the buzziest and most critically acclaimed shows,” Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming and head of HBO drama series and films, said in a statement, per Variety.
“And yet, he’s only continued to reach new heights in season two, which is the ultimate testament to Mike’s raw, unparalleled vision. 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. We couldn’t be more thrilled to get the chance to collaborate on a third season together.” White expressed his excitement, too. “I feel so lucky to get this opportunity again and am excited to reunite with my amazingly talented collaborators,” he shared in a statement.
The White Lotus is available to stream on HBO Max. Here’s how to watch it for free.
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