Season 3 Of Emmy-Winning HBO Drama The White Lotus Is Coming To Thailand
The White Lotus is opening a branch in Thailand!
The fictional resort and eponymous character of the Emmy-winning HBO anthology series will be set and filmed in Thailand, Variety has reported.
The White Lotus follows the exploits of various employees and guests at the titular resort — in Hawaii in Season 1 and in Sicily in Season 2 — over the course of one week when things can get intensely dark for some folks.
Season 1, which premiered in July 2021, won 10 Emmys, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and Supporting Actress for Jennifer Coolidge, while Season 2, launched in Oct 2022, picked up two Screen Actors Guild awards, for Best TV Drama ensemble and for Coolidge’s performance.
The first two seasons of the Mike White-created show were shot on location at Four Seasons resorts in Maui and Taormina, respectively. Should HBO continue its Four Seasons tie-up, Season 3 might take place at one of the four properties owned by the luxury hotel giant in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and the Golden Triangle. (If White wants one with a sea view, like in Seasons 1 and 2, Koh Samui is an obvious choice.)
According to Variety, Season 3 hasn’t started production, but White has already begun scouting locations in Thailand. No actors have been cast yet. Since Season 2 saw the return of Season 1 alum Coolidge, will Season 3 invite familiar faces from Season 2 (hello, Aubrey Plaza!)? Or maybe it’ll be an entirely new ensemble?
Another big question: which actors from Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia will White rope in? Something tells me Tan Kheng Hua, Yeo Yann Yann, Maxime Bouttier, and Henry Golding will be involved — just speculating, folks, I’m no clairvoyant. Singaporean thesps, get your showreels ready when they make the casting call!)
Have you seen this guy? Show creator Mike White — whose other credits include School of Rock and Nacho Libre— is said to be busy scouting locations in Thailand. Perhaps you might have bumped into him and his entourage during your recent trips there.
It’s no secret that White wanted to set Season 3 in Asia. He previously said (per Deadline): “ 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 — it feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus.”
In recent years, Thailand has been Hollywood’s go-to shooting location in Southeast Asia for such productions as the Chris Hemsworth-led actioner Extraction, Disney+’s Ms Marvel, the Charlie Hunnam-starring Apple TV+ crime drama Shantaram, and Spike Lee’s Vietnam War thriller The Da 5 Blood.
Seasons 1 and 2 of The White Lotus are on HBO Go.
Photos: TPG News/Click Photos
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