‘The White Lotus’ EP David Bernad Teases Asian Season 3 Setting & Reveals Evan Peters Was Set To Star In Season 2 – Berlinale Series Market

Jesse Whittock
·3 min read
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The White Lotus is almost certainly checking into an Asian hotel for its third season — and it’s been revealed Netflix’s Dahmer star Evan Peters nearly starred in the second run.

Rumors the Mike White-created comedy-drama would be set in Asia have abounded for several weeks and the HBO series’ executive producer David Bernad all but confirmed the news here at the Berlinale Series Market in Germany this morning.

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“We’ve tried to work in Asia a lot and hopefully season three will be our chance to make something happen there,” he said during a keynote chat.

Notably, Emmy winner Bernad said himself and White almost filmed in Asia on another project for Amazon Prime Video back in 2016. He said the pair still harbour ambitions to work in the continent on future projects.

Season one of The White Lotus was filmed during Covid and set at a hotel in Maui, Hawaii, while season two was filmed on the island of Sicily in Italy. “We were looking for a country in Europe with a production rebate, and Knives Out had just gone to Greece so it was down to France to Italy,” Bernad joked.

During a talk hosted by Deadline, he also revealed Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story star Evan Peters was originally set to play the role of Ethan that ultimately went to Giri/Haji’s Will Sharpe.

In season two, Sharpe’s workaholic Ethan Spiller has an awkward vacation with his wife Harper (Audrey Plaza), brash former college buddy Cameron Sullivan (Theo James) and his wife Daphne (Meghan Fahy).

“That part was the last part we cast in the season, and originally it was supposed to be Evan Peters, but for whatever reason – scheduling or timing – it didn’t work out,” said Bernad.

“We were really trying to figure how to cast that part so it didn’t feel like familiar casting,” he added. “We were in Rome auditioning Italian actors, and I was jetlagged Googling at 4am and I came across Will Sharpe in Giri/Haji, which is a brilliant show in the UK. I’d never seen him before and he was just incredibly talented. I looked at his other work and realized he was kind of a chameleon.”

During a wide-ranging conversation, Bernad predicted many more U.S. writers and producers could look to Europe for work if the writers’ strike materializes, and said he separately knew of many Americans who were setting up international-facing businesses. He referenced Netflix India series Messy, which he co-produced in Mumbai in 2019 as opening his eyes to the opportunity international. He was speaking two days after Shades of Blue creator Adi Hasak described U.S. TV as a “disaster zone.”

“U.S audiences have been very closed off but hopefully the success of The White Lotus shooting in Italy and being half in Italian and others shows like Money Heist that have worked around the world will make them more outwards looking,” said Bernad.

“I have a lot of friends who have worked in traditional U.S. media companies who have left their jobs and are starting internationally-focused production companies, management companies and agencies, which is great. There are great stories all over the world. I don’t know what will happen with the writers’ strike but I’m sure it will further kick open the door for more diverse, interesting stories. As a producer, I’m really excited about building up my business internationally and going out and meeting talented filmmakers.”

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