Two and a half years after season 2 aired, The White Lotus is almost back for its third run, with the new season taking the black comedy drama to Thailand.
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As with previous seasons of the show, the new run is expected to tell an entirely independent story, filled with a new bunch of characters - and creator Mike White has now explained how he not only chose the season 3 location, but also developed parts of the storyline.
It turns out elements of season 3 came out of a literal fever dream White experienced while scouting locations in Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai.
White had initially wanted to set season 3 in Japan, but HBO convinced him to look at Thailand due to issues with red tape in the former country.
Mike White. Rich Polk/NBC via Getty Images
White told Time that during this scouting period he was hospitalised with severe bronchitis, and that "they put me on a nebuliser".
"I didn’t sleep for, like, two nights, and by the next morning I was like, 'I think I have the plot,'" he explained. "The season is pretty much what happened that night."
White added that the end of each season "is always the hardest part", but that after his fever dream "I felt like I had the ending".
"And so I was like, 'I guess we’re shooting in Thailand,'" he explained.
The new season of The White Lotus stars Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jason Isaacs, Lalisa Manobal, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Nivola, Lek Patravadi, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Tayme Thapthimthong and Aimee Lou Wood, while Natasha Rothwell reprises her role from the show's first season.
The White Lotus season 3 begins on HBO and Max on 16th February in the US, and on Sky Atlantic and NOW on 17th February in the UK. Find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
