Alas, Jennifer Coolidge’s wonderfully deranged Tanya McQuoid may not be reappearing after she – spoiler alert – fell to her death in the Ionian Sea, but fans of The White Lotus will be soothed by the fact that the season three cast includes another bona fide comic genius in the form of Parker Posey. Dubbed “queen of the indies” in the ’90s, Posey has put in scene-stealing appearances in countless movies and TV shows over the decades (if you’re unfamiliar, her cameo in sitcom Will & Grace as Dorleen, Jack’s boss at Manhattan department store Barneys, is a good place to start).
On 5 January, it was confirmed Posey will check into Mike White’s fictional luxury resort for the critically adored show’s third season, alongside Michelle Monaghan (of Mission Impossible and Made of Honour fame), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter), Leslie Bibb, Tayme Thapthimthong and Dom Hetrakul. On 9 January, it was announced that The Gilded Age’s Carrie Coon would also be joining them, as well as The Zone of Interest’s Christian Friedel, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Charlotte Le Bon, Nicholas Duvernay, Arnas Fedaravičius, and none other than Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood. Another familiar face you should expect to see? Blackpink’s Lisa, who’ll be making her acting debut as an exuberant hotel employee, as revealed in a new teaser.
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Serbian-Russian actor Miloš Biković had initially signed on too, but later departed the project after Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised HBO for the casting, citing interviews in which Biković appeared to support Russia’s occupation of Crimea. His role, believed to be “a flirtatious yogi and the hotel’s Life Enhancement Mentor” per Deadline, was swiftly recast, with Shadow and Bone’s Julian Kostov stepping into his shoes. Filming wrapped in Thailand back in the summer.
As the first two instalments were filmed at two Four Seasons hotels – The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, and San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel – there had long been speculation that the third season would also take place at one of the luxury group’s other properties. It has four in Thailand: a sleek, riverside retreat in Bangkok; a hotel set amongst the rice fields of Chiang Mai; palatial tented camps in the forests of northern Thailand; and a spectacular resort on the island of Koh Samui. After months of chatter, it was reported that filming had indeed taken place at Four Seasons Koh Samui, as well as Anantara Mai Khao Phuket, and in Bangkok.
On 5 August, HBO also released a sizzle reel of shows heading to the network in 2025, which unveiled the first footage from the forthcoming season. The section on The White Lotus opens with a shot of a boat racing across the sea, after which we see Parker Posey and co arriving at the hotel and Leslie Bibb kicking back by the pool.
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Even before the second season had premiered, the showrunner had hinted at the possibility of an Asia-set third instalment, and later added that it could focus on themes that the series has yet to delve into. “The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” he said, in a behind-the-scenes video released after the finale. “I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.”
Fans of the show already knew they could look forward to the return of Natasha Rothwell’s Belinda, the Maui hotel’s beleaguered spa manager from season one. After Tanya had a transformative experience during one of Belinda’s treatments, the heiress attempted to befriend her and offered to fund a potential wellness venture, before getting distracted by her then-burgeoning romance with Greg (Jon Gries). Will Tanya have left her a small fortune in her will? Or, has Belinda found another way to establish her business? And will Greg also return, and somehow pay for the part he played in Tanya’s demise?
And what of the characters set to be played by Posey, Coon, Wood, Monaghan and co? Previous reports suggest the next season’s affluent guests will include “a patriarch, a corporate executive, an actress, a couple of mothers, a misfit and a yogi”. More casting details are also likely to be revealed in the coming months. Back in November 2023, White told Entertainment Weekly his next effort is “going to be a supersized White Lotus. 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.” Bring it on.
