Why You Won't Be Watching The White Lotus Season 3 Until 2025
Fans won't be able to check into another White Lotus hotel for some time.
The third season of the beloved HBO anthology series has, like many upcoming television projects, been officially delayed by the strikes in Hollywood—both the writers' strike, which concluded in September, and the ongoing actors' strike.
In addition to confirming Welcome to Derry—an IT spinoff—will be delayed, HBO chairman and CEO Casey Bloys said per Deadline, "White Lotus Season 3, that was going to be '24 and that's likely moving into 2025."
E! News has reached out to HBO for any additional comment but has not yet heard back.
So, what do we know about the next season?
"The first season highlighted money and the second season is sex," show creator Mike White said in December. "I think the third season, it would be maybe a satirical, funny look at death, Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round."
And while season 2 of The White Lotus did include a lot of sex, it also saw the return—and ultimate demise—of fan-favorite character Tanya, played by Jennifer Coolidge. And though the heiress' untimely death means she likely won't make a third appearance on the show, it doesn't mean Mike has totally discounted the possibility of seeing her return in a prequel.
"I absolutely think that's possible, we were just talking about that," he said at a press conference alongside Jennifer in Sydney, Australia, per Deadline. "It's a funny idea. And making Jennifer, you know, 20 years younger, that would be fun too. I think Jennifer's like, ‘Sure, let's do it!'"
In fact, the filmmaker has also given a few hints as to what fans can expect in the show's next installment, including which tropical locale will be the season's filming destination as well as whether any characters from a prior will make a repeat appearance.
For all that and more, keep reading for everything we currently know about The White Lotus season 3.
On March 27, Variety reported that season three will take place in Thailand.
After wrapping production on The White Lotus' second season in Sicily, creator Mike White hinted that he already had a destination for season three in mind.
"The first season highlighted money and the second season is sex," he said. "I think the third season, it would be maybe a satirical, funny look at death, Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round."
The end of The White Lotus' second season still left some untied threads, particularly when it comes to the nefarious dealings of Tanya's (Jennifer Coolidge) husband Greg (Jon Gries).
However, Mike White suggested those questions might get answered sooner rather than later.
"I think as far as like, what happens to Greg and the conspiracy of Tanya's death, it's possible that I think Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) is scared enough to just leave it alone," White said to HBO after the season two finale, "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 back down to Greg. But maybe you'll have to wait to find out what happens."
The second season introduced viewers to sex-addicted producer Dominic Di Grasso, played by Michael Imperioli, traveling with his son Albie (Adam DiMarco) and father Bert (F. Murray Abraham).
While it's unclear if Michael has actually had conversations about reprising his role in season three—he'd certainly jump at the chance.
"Who knows, maybe there'll be another White Lotus season where Dominic comes with his wife and they patch it all up!" Michael suggested to Esquire in December. "I don't want to think about it too much. Because the idea of that makes me so happy. I don't want to be disappointed. I would want nothing more than that."
Hey, if that means we'd get to meet Laura Dern, who voiced Dominic's wife in season two, we're all for it!
In July 2022, Connie Britton—who played businesswoman Nicole Mossbacher in season one—revealed that she and Mike White had already discussed her potential return.
"He wanted me to be in the second season, and there was an idea that I loved for the character," Connie told Deadline in July 2022. "Our intention is to do it in the third season. A piece of casting didn't work in the second season and we're hoping to that in the third season."
When asked about the idea by E! News in January, Connie simply said, "Listen, my lips are sealed."
After Tanya—spoiler alert!—killed a bunch of people and then fell to her death in the season two finale, it stands to reason that Jennifer Coolidge probably won't be returning to The White Lotus for the third season in a row—even in ghost form.
"He sort of sticks to his guns," Jennifer said of Mike White in an interview with E! News Jan. 17. "He's an amazing friend, but I think he made his decision. He wanted a big, dramatic, Italian, you know, operatic ending for White Lotus 2, and he wanted to sacrifice Tanya."
May she rest in peace.
Simply put: It's still going to be a while.
Season three hasn't even started production yet, so if you're craving some devious resort behavior, you'll have to settle for a re-watch of the first two seasons of The White Lotus, which are available to stream on HBO Max.
