Alas, Jennifer Coolidge’s wonderfully deranged Tanya McQuoid may not be reappearing after she—spoiler alert—fell to her death in the Ionian Sea, but fans of The White Lotus will be soothed by the fact that the season three cast includes another bona fide comic genius in the form of Parker Posey. Dubbed “queen of the indies” in the ’90s, Posey has put in scene-stealing appearances in countless movies and TV shows over the decades (if you’re unfamiliar, her cameo in sitcom Will & Grace as Dorleen, Jack’s boss at Barneys, is a good place to start).
On January 5, it was confirmed Posey will check into Mike White’s fictional luxury resort for the critically adored show’s third season, alongside Michelle Monaghan (of Mission Impossible and Made of Honor fame), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter), Leslie Bibb, Tayme Thapthimthong, and Dom Hetrakul. On January 9, it was announced that The Gilded Age’s Carrie Coon would also be joining them, as well as The Zone of Interest’s Christian Friedel, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Charlotte Le Bon, Nicholas Duvernay, Arnas Fedaravičius, and none other than Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood. Another familiar face you should expect to see? Blackpink’s Lisa, who will be making her acting debut in a yet-to-be-revealed role.
Serbian-Russian actor Miloš Biković had initially signed on too, but later departed the project after Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized HBO for the casting, citing interviews in which Biković appeared to support Russia’s occupation of Crimea. His role, believed to be “a flirtatious yogi and the hotel’s Life Enhancement Mentor,” per Deadline, was swiftly recast, with Shadow and Bone’s Julian Kostov stepping into his shoes. Filming is currently underway in Thailand.
As the first two installments were filmed at two Four Seasons hotels—the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, and San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel—there had long been speculation that the third season would also take place at one of the luxury group’s other properties. It has four in Thailand: a sleek, riverside retreat in Bangkok; a hotel set amongst the rice fields of Chiang Mai; palatial tented camps in the forests of northern Thailand; and a spectacular resort on the island of Koh Samui. HBO has now stated that production will start in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok, though it’s not yet known which hotels in those locations will be featured.
Even before the second season had premiered, the showrunner had hinted at the possibility of an Asia-set third installment, and later added that it could focus on themes that the series has yet to delve into. “The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” he said in a behind-the-scenes video released after the finale. “I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.”
Fans of the show already knew they could look forward to the return of Natasha Rothwell’s Belinda, the Maui hotel’s beleaguered spa manager from season one. After Tanya had a transformative experience during one of Belinda’s treatments, the heiress attempted to befriend her and offered to fund a potential wellness venture, before getting distracted by her then-burgeoning romance with Greg (Jon Gries). Will Tanya have left her a small fortune in her will? Or has Belinda found another way to establish her business? And will Greg also return, and somehow pay for the part he played in Tanya’s demise?
And what of the characters set to be played by Posey, Monaghan, and co? Previous reports suggest the next season’s affluent guests will include “a patriarch, a corporate executive, an actress, a couple of mothers, a misfit and a yogi.” More casting details are also likely to be revealed in the coming months. Back in November, White told Entertainment Weekly his next effort is “going to be a supersized White Lotus. It’s going to be longer, bigger, crazier. I don’t know what people will think, but I am super excited, so at least for my own barometer, that’s a good thing.” Bring it on.