If you watched the Season Two finale of The White Lotus, you know what happened to Jennifer Coolidge’s frazzled, impossibly wealthy Tanya. As she accepted her second Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Monday, she gave audiences a reminder of her laugh-out-loud death scene: “He says I’m definitely dead, so I’m going along with it.”
After thanking creator Mike White, she gave a shout-out to “all the evil gays” before getting the boot by Anthony Anderson’s mother. (At the last Emmys, the beloved actress rambled about her lavender bath that swelled her skin before breaking into dance as the play-off music began.)
Although the clueless heiress is “definitely dead,” White’s series will begin production next month on Season Three and follows a new slate of resort guests at a sister White Lotus property.
Following the series premiere in July 2021, The White Lotus has taken home 10 Emmy wins, and after the Sicily-based second season, the series received an additional 23 Emmy nominations and five wins. The third edition of the series was subsequently delayed along with dozens of other HBO shows like The Last of Us and Euphoria due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes.
Here’s the rundown on who’s in the cast, where the series will take place, and when the new season will premiere.
Where did we leave off?
If you can remember (or are attempting to forget), in the Season Two finale, Coolidge’s Tanya attempts to escape a Taormina-bound yacht after famously crying, “These gays, they’re trying to murder me!” As she leaps for a nearby boat, Tanya slams her head on the boat’s ledge and plummets to her death.
When will the new season air?
The third installment is expected to be released in 2025. The series was originally slated for 2024, according to HBO CEO Casey Bloys, but was moved to the following year, Deadline reports. In addition, a Max sizzle reel released last month showcasing new and returning projects, revealed that The White Lotus would return in 2025.
Where will it take place?
Production for the series begins in February in and around the Four Seasons Koh Samui, as well as Phuket and Bangkok, Thailand. HBO partnered with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to help film and promote the new season, and reportedly received $4.4 million in tax incentives to film there, leading White and HBO to choose it over the other contender: Honshu, Japan.
Who is joining the cast?
Walton Goggins (Justified), Sarah Catherine Hook (First Kill), Sam Nivola (Maestro), Patrick Schwarzenegger (Gen V), and Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education) were just added to the cast of the dramedy series. On Jan. 5, Leslie Bibb (Iron Man), Dom Hetrakul (Bangkok Dangerous), Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), Michelle Monaghan (True Detective), Parker Posey (Beau Is Afraid), and Tayme Thapthimthong (Mechanic: Resurrection) were also announced. Furthermore, Miloš Biković, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris, The Zone of Interest’s Christian Friedel, as well as The Gilded Age’s Carrie Coon will play parts in the series.
Any White Lotus veterans returning?
Natasha Rothwell, who starred as a fatigued spa manager with big dreams in Season One, will return for the third season. In the Hawaii-based White Lotus, spa manager Belinda catered to a slew of self-absorbed guests, particularly Tanya, who came to the island to scatter her mother’s ashes. In Tanya’s eyes, Belinda is a miracle worker, and Tanya initially offered to bankroll a spa for her before reneging on the deal. When asked about Season Three, Rothwell said, “I’ve read all the scripts and I can’t say anything but I will say it’s going to blow people’s minds. I gasped out loud no less than five times and that was just reading them, so people are in for a treat.”
What else can we expect for the new season?
Most of the show’s plot lines have been kept top-secret. It’s uncertain if all of the White Lotus resort guests will live to hear their check-out call.
