Is the ‘White Lotus’ Heading to Asia? Mike White Teases Season 3 About ‘Death and Eastern Religion’

Wilson Chapman
·2 min read
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[Editor’s Note: This post contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of “The White Lotus.”]

Audiences just checked out of “The White Lotus'” Sicilian season, but fans are already ravenous for details about where the HBO anthology series is heading for its third outing. And while that information isn’t likely to come out any time soon, creator and writer-director Mike White already seems to have an idea of what he wants the next installment of his hit show to look like.

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In an interview for HBO’s “Unpacking White Lotus,” White seemingly hinted at the show heading to Asia while talking about what Season 3 will focus on. In the same way that Season 1 focused on class and money and the second season concerned itself with sex and gender dynamics, White said he was interested in using the show’s third season to focus on death and satirizing Eastern spirituality.

“The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” White said in the featurette. “I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus.”

During the season finale, a more specific Asian locale was mentioned by Daphne (Meghann Fahy), in a toast with her husband Cameron (Theo James) and frenemies Ethan (Will Sharpe) and Harper (Aubrey Plaza). After Cameron thanked the group for their tension-filled vacation, Daphne interjected with, “Next year, the Maldives!” While the show largely changes casts from season to season, Tanya’s (Jennifer Coolidge) return from Season 1 to 2 shows it’s possible that Season 3 will follow the two couples on a chaotic trip to South Asia.

Like Season 1, the second outing of “White Lotus” ended with the shocking death of a main character — in this case, Tanya, who falls off vacation friend Quentin’s (Tom Hollander) yacht after shooting him. In the season, it’s seemingly revealed that Quentin and his entourage were working for Tanya’s husband, Greg (Jon Gries), to kill her and obtain her fortune. Although Quentin and his crew all die, Greg doesn’t appear in the final episode and gets away with the plot, and White hinted that Season 3 could follow up on him and Tanya’s beleaguered assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson).

“It’s possible that Portia is scared enough to just leave it alone,” White said. “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 down to Greg. But maybe you’ll have to wait to find out what happens.”

The Season 2 finale of “The White Lotus” is now streaming on HBO Max.

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