# The White Lotus season 3

The third season of The White Lotus, an American satirical comedy-drama anthology television series created, written, and directed by Mike White, premiered on HBO on February 16, 2025. The season was greenlit on November 18, 2022, and was filmed in Bangkok, Phuket, and Ko Samui from February to August 2024. The season consists of eight episodes and follows the lives of the staff and wealthy guests at a wellness resort in Thailand.
The season features an ensemble cast of Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Jon Gries, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jason Isaacs, Lalisa Manobal, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Nivola, Lek Patravadi, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Tayme Thapthimthong, and Aimee Lou Wood.

## Cast and characters
### Main

* Leslie Bibb as Kate Bohr, a country club wife from Austin, Texas, one of three longtime friends reuniting on a girls' trip
* Carrie Coon as Laurie Duffy, a corporate lawyer and recent divorcée from New York, one of three longtime friends reuniting on a girls' trip
* Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett, a rugged and mysterious man with a chip on his shoulder, traveling with his young girlfriend Chelsea
* Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper Ratliff, a college senior studying religion and middle child of Timothy and Victoria
* Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff, a financier in jeopardy from Durham, North Carolina, vacationing with his wife, Victoria, and kids Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan
* Lalisa Manobal as Thidapon "Mook" Sornsin, a health mentor for guests of the White Lotus
* Michelle Monaghan as Jaclyn Lemon, a successful television actress based in Hollywood, one of three longtime friends reuniting on a girls' trip
* Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff, a shy high school senior and Timothy and Victoria's youngest child
* Lek Patravadi as Sritala Hollinger, one of the owners of the White Lotus, who pioneered its health program
* Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff, Timothy's wife and mother to Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan
* Natasha Rothwell as Belinda Lindsey, a spa manager from the White Lotus in Hawaii, attending a work exchange. Rothwell reprises her role from the first season.
* Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxon Ratliff, Timothy and Victoria's oldest child, who works for his father's company
* Tayme Thapthimthong as Gaitok, a security guard at the White Lotus
* Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea, a bubbly free spirit from Manchester traveling with Rick, her much older boyfriend
* Jon Gries as "Gary" / Greg Hunt, a man involved with Chloe and the widower of Tanya McQuoid. Gries reprises his role from the first and second seasons.

### Recurring

* Nicholas Duvernay as Zion Lindsey, Belinda's son who is visiting her after finishing his coursework
* Arnas Fedaravicius as Valentin, a Russian health mentor for Jaclyn, Laurie, and Kate
* Christian Friedel as Fabian, the general manager of Thailand's The White Lotus
* Dom Hetrakul as Pornchai, the wellness expert at the White Lotus who is assigned to train Belinda
* Charlotte Le Bon as Chloe, an ex-model French-Canadian expat who is Greg's current partner
* Morgana O'Reilly as Pam, a health mentor for the Ratliffs
* Shalini Peiris as Amrita, a meditation teacher and spiritual counselor at the White Lotus
* Scott Glenn as Jim Hollinger, Sritala's American husband who has recently suffered a stroke
* Julian Kostov as Aleksei, Valentin's friend
* Yuri Kolokolnikov as Vlad, Valentin's friend
* Suthichai Yoon as Luang Por Teera
* Yothin Udomsanti as Lek, head of security at the White Lotus, Gaitok's supervisor

### Guest

* Carl Boudreaux and Natalie Cole as two hotel guests
* Ke Huy Quan as the voice of Kenneth "Kenny" Nguyen, Timothy's former business partner
* Scott Galloway as the voice of Chuck, Timothy's lawyer
* Rob Carlton as Rupert, Greg's friend, a middle-aged Australian man with a young Thai girlfriend
* Liddy Clark as Australian woman #1
* Wendy Strehlow as Australian woman #2
* Sam Rockwell as Frank, Rick's friend and former associate

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 14 | 1 | "Same Spirits, New Forms" | Mike White | Mike White | February 16, 2025 (2025-02-16) | 0.420 |
| Zion, the young son of White Lotus Maui spa manager Belinda, is joining his mother on a visit to the White Lotus in Ko Samui, Thailand. He begins a session with the hotel's meditation counselor before being interrupted by repeated gunfire nearby. While scrambling through a pond to look for his mother, Zion discovers a dead body. One week earlier, a group of new guests arrive at the White Lotus. Middle-aged Rick Hatchett arrives with his much younger British girlfriend Chelsea. Rick is upset to learn that Jim Hollinger, the hotel owner's husband, is not present. Wealthy businessman Timothy Ratliff arrives with his wife Victoria and their grown children Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan. Timothy receives several calls from a journalist working on a story about possible illegal activity by his former business partner, Kenny Nguyen. Jaclyn, a popular TV actress, arrives with her childhood friends Kate and Laurie. Security guard Gaitok flirts with health mentor Mook after giving her a ride to work. Left by Rick to drink at the bar alone, Chelsea befriends ex-model Chloe, whose boyfriend is revealed to be Greg, Tanya McQuoid's widower. |||||||
| 15 | 2 | "Special Treatments" | Mike White | Mike White | February 23, 2025 (2025-02-23) | 0.687 |
| Kate and Jaclyn discuss Laurie's messy divorce and her troubled daughter while Laurie is out of the room. Later, when Jaclyn is absent, Kate gossips with Laurie about Jaclyn's suspected narcissism and questions her marriage to her much younger husband. At breakfast, Kate approaches Victoria, revealing they had met at a baby shower a decade earlier, but Victoria awkwardly rebuffs her. At Chelsea's insistence, Rick attends a meditation session with the hotel's counselor, and he opens up slightly about his traumatic childhood. Gaitok reveals his true feelings to Mook, but she gently dismisses his advances. Later, Valentin distracts Gaitok at the security gate, and a robbery occurs at the hotel boutique where Chelsea and Chloe are shopping. Belinda and Pornchai exchange massages. Piper is upset by her brothers' comments and questions about her sex life. Chelsea and Rick dine with Chloe and Greg, who is using the name "Gary". Greg is evasive about the details of his life. Timothy continues receiving calls from high-profile publications about his potential involvement in a major money laundering operation and finally connects with Kenny, who believes he is certain to be arrested and threatens suicide. After overhearing hotel owner Sritala's plans to visit her husband in a Bangkok hospital, Rick tells Chelsea he must leave briefly to go to Bangkok. |||||||
| 16 | 3 | "The Meaning of Dreams" | Mike White | Mike White | March 2, 2025 (2025-03-02) | 0.507 |
| Victoria wakes from a dream about walking toward a tumultuous ocean, unsettled as Timothy takes a call about an urgent matter. At breakfast, she shares her dream, and Piper interprets it as a warning. Rick approaches Sritala at the restaurant, posing as a producer and offering her a project, which Chelsea finds suspicious. Lochlan attends a posture correction session, where the therapist questions if he struggles with assertiveness due to his dominant family members. Gaitok endures humiliation from Jim's guards, who imply he is incompetent and reveal that resort manager Fabian wants him fired, though Sritala has been protecting him. Rick, under the influence, impulsively frees snakes from a terrarium at a nearby snake show, causing chaos when Chelsea is bitten and rushed to the hospital while he follows. Piper visits a Buddhist temple, considering their summer program. Victoria, noticing Timothy's stress, gives him lorazepam, causing him to nap throughout the day. Timothy later steals more lorazepam to sleep at night. Belinda suspects Greg and later questions his identity at a dinner with Chloe, Chelsea and Rick, mentioning his relationship with Tanya which he denies. After indirectly implying that her husband voted for Donald Trump and admitting that she herself is an independent, Kate later watches Jaclyn and Laurie laughing and gossiping about her marriage and political views. |||||||
| 17 | 4 | "Hide or Seek" | Mike White | Mike White | March 9, 2025 (2025-03-09) | 0.677 |
| Gaitok meets with Fabian who, due to the heightening crime in the resort, ramps up security by providing him with a gun. The Ratliffs meet with Chloe and Greg on their yacht for the day, alongside Rick and Chelsea. Chelsea confronts Rick about his upcoming trip to Bangkok and his emotional disconnection from her. He later tells her that Sritala's husband Jim Hollinger allegedly murdered his father when he was a child and he is going there to confront him. Piper tells Lochlan she lied about her thesis, and is planning to tell their parents that she wants to stay in Thailand for a year after graduation. Kate, Laurie and Jaclyn go to a nearby resort on Valentin's suggestion but find it filled with retirees and leave. They find Valentin and order him to take them out. Their day in town is interrupted by a Songkran water festival, but they later meet up with Valentin and his friends at a beach club. Timothy calls his lawyer who tells him that Kenny has cooperated with the federal investigation, and that he is looking at a sentence in federal prison, leading him to steal the gun from Gaitok's unattended security booth. Belinda discovers Tanya's death in Italy and learns how Greg fled from questioning. Meanwhile Greg, who has left Chloe and the other yacht-goers while they attend the Full Moon party, investigates Belinda's Instagram account at his home. |||||||
| 18 | 5 | "Full-Moon Party" | Mike White | Mike White | March 16, 2025 (2025-03-16) | 0.828 |
| Piper informs her parents that she's staying in Thailand after graduation which shocks Victoria and Timothy, who, with the stolen gun from Gaitok, contemplates suicide and avoids questions from Gaitok about his theft. Chloe, Chelsea, Saxon and Lochlan arrive for the Full Moon party and Chloe convinces the boys to use ecstasy which they do alongside Chelsea after she struggles to get in contact with Rick. Fabian tells Belinda that Greg has been asking questions about her and when Belinda informs Fabian that Greg is hiding from authorities after Tanya's death in Italy and that he may be a threat, Fabian refuses to call the police. Belinda confides in Pornchai and the two share a kiss. Rick meets with his friend Frank in Bangkok and is handed a duffel bag with a gun inside to confront Jim Hollinger. The two have a talk about Frank's conversion to Buddhism and his prior sexual history in Thailand. Jaclyn, Laurie and Kate meet up with Valentin and his friends, and the group go out to a club where Jaclyn outshines her friends and later at the villa, she has sex with Valentin despite pushing for Laurie to sleep with him. After the party, back on Greg's yacht and high on ecstasy, Chloe initiates a kissing game, leading to an incestuous passionate kiss between Saxon and Lochlan. Timothy prepares to commit suicide with the gun but is interrupted by Victoria, who advises him to go back to bed. |||||||
| 19 | 6 | "Denials" | Mike White | Mike White | March 23, 2025 (2025-03-23) | TBD |
| 20 | 7 | "Killer Instincts" | Mike White | Mike White | March 30, 2025 (2025-03-30) | TBD |
| 21 | 8 | "Amor Fati" | Mike White | Mike White | April 6, 2025 (2025-04-06) | TBD |

## Production
### Development

On November 18, 2022, preceding the premiere of the second season, HBO renewed The White Lotus for a third season. Following the second-season finale, series creator Mike White hinted that it would be set in Asia and invoke a "satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality", similar to how the first season focused on money and the second season on sex. The third season's production was disrupted by the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, resulting in the release being pushed to 2025.

### Casting

Upon the third-season renewal announcement, producers confirmed that there will be a new cast of characters in another White Lotus resort. In April 2023, Natasha Rothwell was reported to be reprising her role as Belinda for the series' third season. In January 2024, it was announced that Leslie Bibb, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Dom Hetrakul, Tayme Thapthimthong, Carrie Coon, Miloš Biković, Christian Friedel, Morgana O'Reilly, Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wood, Francesca Corney, Nicholas Duvernay, and Arnas Fedaravičius joined the cast for the season. Biković's casting was criticized by Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs over his alleged support for Russia's invasion of the country; Biković was subsequently dropped from the cast on February 2, and replaced with Julian Kostov, who will appear in a recurring capacity. In February 2024, Scott Glenn and Lalisa Manobal were cast in the season. In March 2024, Charlotte Le Bon joined the cast to replace Corney in a re-casting.

### Filming

In March 2023, Variety reported that filming for the third season was likely to take place in one of the Four Seasons hotels in Thailand. Honshu, Japan was scouted as a filming location by Mike White but ultimately Thailand was chosen as the filming location for the third season due to the series receiving a $4.4 million tax incentive for filming in Thailand, while Japan does not have a film-incentive system. Principal photography began in February 2024 with locations including Bangkok, Phuket and Ko Samui, and wrapped in August 2024.

## Release

The third season premiered on February 16, 2025, on HBO, with the eighth and final episode set to release on April 6, 2025.

## Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 123 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's consensus reads, "Darker and more patient with its storytelling than previous seasons while brandishing a superb new ensemble full of acidic performances, The White Lotus' third season offers a spiritual respite that shivs the soul." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 77 out of 100, based on 44 critic reviews.
In RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico said season three "will likely be the most visually striking drama you watch this year. White takes full advantage of his setting in a manner that brings it to life in ways that even the last two gorgeous settings didn't produce. The way he constructs his episodes, not just narratively but visually, is arguably without peer on TV right now. He somehow finds a way to capture the opulence and beauty of Thailand while never losing the realism of the stories he's telling there. It's a balancing act between the beauty and the humanity. Of course, the show really comes to life where they intersect". In IndieWire, Ben Travers gave the season a grade of "A-", saying it "smashes each character's flimsy values in ways both hilarious and harrowing. They cannot outrun their pain, but in White's transfixing, exacting new season, their pain can still become our pleasure". With its spiritual themes, some critics likened the season to White's previous series, Enlightened.
The cast received widespread acclaim. In The Washington Post, Lili Loofbourow said, "It’s fascinating to watch Goggins in particular — who's usually such a scamp — in this subdued mode". She added, "Coon is of course extraordinary, Monaghan is messy and bold and Bibb excels at projecting a rigid, pleasant diplomacy that gets increasingly brittle as the season unfolds. That old 'White Lotus' magic comes back full force in every scene these three share…Each conversation nudges the obvious tensions forward just a tad. It's propulsive. It's believable. It's very, very funny."
Some critics noted the season gets off to a slower start. However, Alison Herman of Variety said "when the story coalesces and kicks into gear somewhere around its halfway point, it's as wild and unpredictable as any of the powder kegs White has combusted". In Entertainment Weekly, Kristen Baldwin gave the season a grade of "B" and said "The White Lotus still works. Even when the storytelling lags, it's still impossible to check out early."
Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair wrote that White "makes effective use of ominous dreams and portents, letting the spiritual murmur in the air of this lavish jungle compound eerily inform the story. The season is about a sickness of the soul—or, perhaps, the sickness of not having a soul at all." He added this "round of episodes is gloomier than seasons one and two, though still sharp and intriguing where it counts". Of the new characters, Lawson said he found the trio of girlfriends to be the "dishiest and most fun", with "shiveringly credible dialogue delivered with natural flair by the actors".
More critical reviews opined that the show was returning to familiar territory and themes of previous seasons instead of covering new narrative ground. Lawson noted, "It's all interesting, but the sense of tight control and inventiveness that made the previous two seasons such wonders is not quite there," and commented that the season relies "on perhaps a few too many clichés as [White] struggles to come up with new things for curdled rich people to do". Kathryn VanArendonk of Vulture said, "It's fun when The White Lotus reconsiders itself in structural ways, but at other points there's something anxious about how the series wants to wrestle with its previous obsessions, or continue to ignore its repeated blindspots, like pressing on a bruise to make sure it's still there." In The New Yorker, Inkoo Kang said, "The season as a whole feels trapped between tones: not quite dark enough to confront what happens in a country where foreigners can buy nearly anything they want for the right price, nor frothy enough to simply showcase the baroque weirdness of the wealthy."
Multiple critics expressed that the native characters of color are not given as much depth as the white lead characters. VanArendonk wrote, "As various season-three characters seek enlightenment or escape, they recreate the season-one dynamic where white characters are full of fascinating, absorbing peculiarities, while the non-white hotel staff are one-note ciphers, destined to keep the plot moving but not have interiority or complex emotional lives."