The White Lotus was greenlit in October 2020 as a miniseries but was adapted to an anthology series by HBO in August 2021: its second season aired from October 30 to December 11, 2022, and its third season from February 16 to April 6, 2025, after being delayed by the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. It is available on HBO Max at the same time as the linear broadcast. The series has been renewed for a fourth season, reportedly set in France.
The series has been acclaimed by critics for its writing, acting, characters, humor, and production values and has received several accolades: it has won 15 Primetime Emmy Awards—including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series—and two Golden Globes, including Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film. Coolidge won several awards for her performance in the first two seasons, including two Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe. Murray Bartlett also won an Emmy for his performance in the first season, while White won three Emmys for his writing, directing, and producing.
Synopsis
Each season is set at a different White Lotus resort hotel, and is mostly self-contained, with some characters returning. Each season tells the story of the guests and staff during a week at the hotel. Their interactions are affected by various personal and social issues. As the days pass, a darker complexity emerges in the hotel's employees, their wealthy guests, and the idyllic locale.
Development of the show began after the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, when HBO head of programming Casey Bloys asked Mike White whether he had any ideas for a show that could be shot in a bubble environment under lockdown conditions.[36][37]
The show's concept was "partly inspired" by White's work on an earlier proposed series that was never picked up by a network: The Tears of St. Patsy, which would have featured Jennifer Coolidge "as a frustrated actor navigating a dangerous world".[38]
The initial problem White faced was where to set and shoot the show.[36] White did not like commuting to a San Fernando Valley studio to shoot Enlightened (2011–2013)—though he is proud of his work on that show—and wanted to take his next HBO project to exotic locations.[37]
The first idea was Australia, but eight-week-long work visas (the longest available in 2020) were not long enough to shoot a full season.[36] The second idea was Hawaii.[36] At the time, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts was the only hotel operator in Hawaii willing to allow HBO to take over a luxury hotel property for 13 weeks to shoot a new television series with an unknown plot.[36] No scripts had been finished, and all the production team had was a "nondescript first episode".[36] But the show promised to bring the hotel some money, which was preferable to staying closed.[36]
At the beginning, "there was no money to make the show", so the producers staffed it with an ensemble cast where "everyone is treated the same", paid the same, and gets "alphabetical billing".[37] All actors (regardless of prominence) have to audition for the show, and they audition separately; there are no chemistry tests.[37][39] The cast has to make it work when they finally meet at a Four Seasons resort.[37][39] All regular cast members work "at scale"—reportedly, roughly $40,000 per episode as of season 3—and that rule is "not negotiable".[37] The producers know some actors cannot accept such conditions and "can't hold it against people who need to make a living", but imposing this system up front and continuing it into subsequent seasons enabled them to focus on casting "people who want to do the project for the right reasons".[37]
The show has changed locations and casts each season, with very little continuity between them apart from the show's basic elements: "a social satire and a murder mystery" set at a White Lotus resort that begins with an unidentified corpse.[38] The consistent theme is a "semi-satirical" tone, but each season has been radically different from the others, requiring "fans to transfer their loyalty to an almost entirely new show".[38] Of the lack of continuity, White said: "This is, like, my dream gig. Because I can burn down the house at the end of every season and begin again".[38] Before production began on each season, White stayed at the resort to do research and write the scripts.[40]
On October 19, 2020, HBO gave The White Lotus a limited series order that consisted of six episodes.[41] The series was created, written and directed by White, who also serves as executive producer alongside David Bernad and Nick Hall.[42]
On August 10, 2021, HBO renewed the series for a second season,[43] which has seven episodes.[44]
On November 18, 2022, HBO renewed the series for a third season. It was announced that the season would take place in Thailand.[45] The third season's production was disrupted by the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, resulting in its release being delayed to 2025.[46][47] The story that season originally mentioned that one character had a nonbinary child, but this was cut due to a political "vibe shift" coinciding with the 2024 election of President Donald Trump.[37][48][49] White said "there's a lot of stuff that ended up being cut" from every episode.[37] As written and filmed, the episodes were coming in at about an hour and 40 minutes.[37] He needed to be "hard on the material", speed the narrative, and get episode lengths down to about 60 minutes, though they were still "bulging" with plot points.[37]
During filming in Thailand, White pitched a fourth season over dinner in Phuket to Bloys, now the chairman and chief executive officer of HBO, and Francesca Orsi, executive vice president for drama programming.[50]
On January 22, 2025, ahead of the third-season premiere, HBO renewed the series for a fourth season.[51] In February, Orsi said that they were about to start scouting locations for the fourth season and that a return to Europe was "likely".[50]
Casting
(L-R) Jennifer Coolidge, Natasha Rothwell, and Jon Gries are the only actors from The White Lotus to appear in multiple seasons.
The creation of the show during the pandemic resulted in two major differences from the traditional process for shooting U.S. television shows. First, U.S. filmmakers often control costs by filming establishing shots at expensive locations and then the majority of shots on sound stages in cheaper locations.[40] Second, when a lengthy shoot on location is necessary, the cast normally stays in long-term rented accommodations away from the set.[73] In the case of The White Lotus, the first season's success meant that White was able to insist on continuing to shoot on location at Four Seasons resorts, despite the cost.[40] Another change carried over from the first season is that the cast stays at the Four Seasons resort for the duration of filming, meaning they actually live together on set for several months in a luxury "theatre camp" atmosphere.[73] This became expensive for some of the regular cast members, since HBO pays for hotel rooms but not incidental expenses.[73]
Having filmed in a tightly secured bubble for the first season, the producers were not strict enough with script security during the second season; for example, too many people on set knew it would be the final season for Coolidge's character, Tanya.[37] For the third season, the script supervisor wrote "crazy fake endings" that were distributed on set, and only the actors involved in the scenes knew which endings were real.[37]
The third season was filmed in Thailand, in part because the series received a $4.4 million tax incentive for filming there.[74] Filming began in February 2024, mainly at the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, with other locations including Bangkok and Phuket,[75][76][77][78] and wrapped in August.[79] This was the first season for which Four Seasons openly promoted its connection to the show, since the company had seen increased web traffic, bookings, and occupancy rates at its Maui and Sicily resorts after they were featured on the show.[36] On September 4, 2025, it was reported that the fourth season is set in France.[80]
Music
White hired Chilean-Canadian composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer to score season 1.[81] For season 2, Tapia de Veer collaborated with his manager Kim Neundorf to finish original compositions due to his own scheduling conflicts.[82] Singer Stephanie Osorio provided the vocals.[83] Tapia de Veer returned for the third season, but announced he would not return for later seasons due to creative differences.[84]
Budget
According to Vulture, the second season's production costs remained under $3 million per episode, the same as season 1. Italy, where season 2 was shot, offers up to a 40% tax credit to foreign productions filmed there.[85]
According to The Hollywood Reporter, episodes in season 3 cost between $6 million and $7 million.[37] The third season's post-production work occurred on Kauai, in an improvised editing bay in a timeshare unit across the street from White's house,[38] which qualified for a $550,000 tax credit from the Hawaiian government.[86]
Release
The series premiered on July 11, 2021, on HBO and HBO Max.[87] In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, it premiered on Sky Atlantic on August 16, 2021.[88] Season 2 premiered on October 30, 2022.[89] Season 3 premiered on February 16, 2025, with episodes airing weekly.[90][91][45]
Home media
The first season was released on DVD on September 13, 2022.[92]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 90% for the first season of The White Lotus based on 97 critic reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Though its true intentions can get a bit murky, gorgeous vistas, twisty drama, and a pitch perfect cast make The White Lotus a compelling—if uncomfortable—viewing destination."[93] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 82 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[94]
Season 2
For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 94% approval rating with an average score of 8.2/10, based on 123 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Swapping its tropical trappings for Euro chic while focusing primarily on the corrosive influence of carnal desire, The White Lotus remains a cookie full of arsenic that goes down smooth."[95] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 81 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[96]
Season 3
For the third season, Rotten Tomatoes reported an 86% approval rating with an average score of 7.7/10, based on 187 reviews. The website's critics 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."[97] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 77 out of 100 based on 44 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[98]
↑ Nordyke, Kimberly (January 15, 2024). "Emmy Awards: Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
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