The White Lotus Season 3: Everything We Know So Far About The Return Of Mike White's HBO Series

"The White Lotus" season 2 was another absolute banger, and fans are chomping at the bit for more. The third installment of the series is still a ways away, but with each season promising an entirely new cast, location, and theme, there is much to look forward to. Luckily for us, series creator Mike White has already dropped some hints about what the future of the show is going to look like.

The HBO series was officially renewed for a third season in November 2022. "[White]'s 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," Francesca Orsi, the executive vice president of HBO Programming, told Variety. "We couldn't be more thrilled to get the chance to collaborate on a third season together."

Fortunately, as more time passes, more information on the upcoming season has been made available. Here's everything you need to know about "The White Lotus" season 3. 

As for where this upcoming season will be set, Mike White already has some ideas. "The first season [of 'The White Lotus'] kind of highlighted money, and then, the second season is sex," the showrunner explained to Esquire. "And I think the third season it would be maybe a kind of satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. And it feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus."

Do we see a white-washed yogi retreat on the horizon? What better way to psychoanalyze the ultra-rich than to explore the cult of Eastern spirituality among privileged white people? This setting will surely provide a deep well of material to expand on the show's existing themes and introduce new ones. The mystical elements could also play very nicely with the existing horror, mystery, and suspense in the series so far. It's been confirmed that the island resort town of Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok, Thailand are among the filming locations of season 3, so there's certainly going to be some fetishistic white nonsense going on. 

Jennifer Coolidge's beloved character Tanya McQuaid first appeared in season 1 and, along with her husband Greg (Jon Gries), was the only character to return in season 2. Given Coolidge and Mike White's great working relationship and her positive response from fans, it was popularly assumed that Tanya would return again in the third season. However, given her unfortunate fate in the season 2 finale, that possibility has been ruled out. Coolidge recently won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and confirmed in her acceptance speech that the character is dead, and would not be returning. 

One looming question at the end of "The White Lotus" season 2 was the future of Dominic, played by Michael Imperioli, and his tumultuous marriage. Dominic's wife and daughter were a strong offscreen presence. Seeing three generations of men so psychologically dominated by women made me very curious about the women in their lives. Thankfully, White is considering introducing them to audiences in season 3. "Who knows, maybe there'll be another White Lotus season where Dominic comes with his wife and they patch it all up!" White suggested. Imperioli would definitely be onboard with that idea, but doesn't want to get his hopes up just yet. "I don't want to think about it too much," the actor insisted. "Because the idea of that makes me so happy. I don't want to be disappointed ... I would want nothing more than that. I just loved working with Mike so much." 

There's also the possibility that we will see some characters from season 1 again as it was confirmed that Natasha Rothwell would be returning. Apparently Mike White loves us and wants us to be happy.

At the start of January 2024, the internet lost its collective mind when the first wave of cast members was announced, including Leslie Bibb ("Iron Man," "Jupiter's Legacy"), Dom Hetrakul ("The Man with the Iron Fists 2," "King Naresuan" franchise), Jason Isaacs ("The Great," "Harry Potter"), Michelle Monaghan ("True Detective," "Messiah"), Tayme Thapthimthong ("Farang," "Paradox"), Carrie Coon ("The Leftovers," "Ghostbusters: Afterlife"), Christian Friedel ("The Zone of Interest," "13 Minutes"), Morgana O'Reilly ("Housebound," "Below"), Thai artist Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris ("The Ark," "Zack Snyder's Justice League"), and Parker Posey (SHE'S PARKER POSEY). We may have lost Coolidge, but gaining Posey more than fills the void of appeasing the show's most vocal fanbase ("evil gays"). It would be safe to assume there will be a lot of moments worthy of hooting and hollering. It was initially reported that Miloš Biković ("The Peasant," "Hotel Eleon") would also be a part of the cast, but he was removed from the cast following allegations of supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

As if that wasn't enough to be excited about, Variety reported on January 16 that Walton Goggins ("Justified," "The Shield"), Sarah Catherine Hook ("First Kill," "Impeachment: American Crime Story"), Sam Nivola ("Maestro," "White Noise"), Patrick Schwarzenegger ("Gen V," "The Staircase"), and Aimee Lou Wood ("Sex Education," "Living") would all be joining the cast as well. I'm sorry, but thinking about Walton Goggins and Parker Posey sharing the screen in something written by Mike White is better than Christmas, sex, and a week's worth of paid vacation all rolled into one. 

Okay, maybe not that last one, but you get it.