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 Mike White’s juicy satire will indeed be back for a third installment, with at least one other familiar face in tow.
On March 27, Variety reported that, following its two seasons centered on resorts in Maui and Taormina on the east coast of Sicily, the action will be moving to Thailand. Although HBO has declined to comment, multiple sources close to the production have confirmed the news to the publication, adding that White has been spending time in the country scoping out sites.
As the first two installments of the hit show were filmed at two Four Seasons hotels—The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, and San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel—it’s possible that the third season will 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. Given the beachy backdrops of The White Lotus’s previous seasons—not to mention the fact that both have been set on islands—the latter option seems the most likely, though White might, of course, choose to switch things up this time around.
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.”