‘White Lotus’ Season 3 Promises ‘Sex, Drugs And Tofu’ – Forbes
Source: Forbes
Leslie Bibb, Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Patrick … [+] Schwarzenegger, and a returning Natasha Rothwell are among the faces as ‘The White Lotus’ heads to Thailand.
“We literally just locked picture on the finale two days ago, so you’re looking at somebody who has just crossed the finish line of the hardest race he’s ever run,” explains The White Lotus’ creator and writer Mike White. “It was harder because the show is longer, so there’s more of the show and more characters. Thailand was a beautiful place to shoot, but it also had a lot of challenges. The writers’ strike was going on in the middle of it, plus there was a lot going on in my life, too, and it takes over two years of your life. I feel proud to be just sitting here honestly because there were days I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll just die today,’ so I’m proud that I got through it.”
His candid relief came as he addressed a room of invited journalists and other content creators at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles ahead of the show’s red carpet premiere. The third season of the Emmy-winning The White Lotus will premiere on HBO on Sunday, February 16, 2025, at 9 pm EST/PST and will be available to stream on Max, with new episodes dropping weekly. The White Lotus has already been renewed for a fourth season.
Set in Thailand and taking place at a luxury resort over the space of a week, this season’s ensemble cast includes Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan, Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Blackpink’s Lalisa Manobal and season one’s Natasha Rothwell returning as Belinda. When asked to describe the season in three words, after initially saying, “Best one yet,” Isaacs changes his mind and opts for “Sex, drugs, and tofu.”
“Mike was in town for the Emmys for season one, and he wanted to go out to dinner,” Rothwell recalls when asked about her return. “I didn’t think anything of it, and during dinner, he’s like, ‘You know, I’m still in season two, but I’m already thinking about season three, and I think I might want to bring Belinda back,’ and I was just like, ‘Say less. I’ll be there.’ He followed up, and sure enough, after everything, and he’s like, ‘She’s really back.’ I was just like, ‘Let me get my passport together.'”
“I spent a year in Tokyo in my 20s, but I’d never been to Thailand, and one of the things I learned when I was there, which was really powerful, was that Thailand had never been colonized. To be shooting and working in a country that isn’t constantly trying to heal from historical trauma, you feel that lightness, that acceptance, and you feel that peace. It was really wonderful to be there, to experience a place like that.”
One moment during filming that has really stuck with Rothwell, also known for Insecure and How to Die Alone, is when her character encounters other Black guests at the resort.
“I pitched that moment,” she reveals. “I remember telling Mike a story about when I went to Ireland. I was on some hill with fog and a castle, and there was not a black person to be seen, and this Black family sort of emerged from the mist, and we hugged without speaking, and then we pulled away. I was like, ‘Do you even speak English?’ They were like, ‘Yes,’ and I learned that she and her husband were taking their kids abroad and letting them learn from the world. I’ve had that happen so many times.”
“It even happened while we were shooting The White Lotus. Thailand is a very homogeneous country, with not a lot of Black people, so there was a Black guest who was staying at the same hotel that we were shooting at, and again, I walked up and hugged them. I think it emphasized the importance of Black travel and seeing Black people in spaces. That moment for Belinda, it’s an opportunity for her to see what’s possible. It’s her thinking about that. That’s why representation and visibility are so important: they allow you to imagine yourself in situations you may not ordinarily find yourself in. The first time I saw a Black family in First Class, I remember walking by like, ‘Okay, I see you. We’re going to do this.’ It’s cool to have that moment for Belinda and internalize it.”
Natasha Rothwell returns as Belinda in ‘The White Lotus.’
Filming The White Lotus’ third season was a revelation for several of the cast in different ways. For Manobal, it sees her making her acting debut.
“I remember my first scene, which was with Aimee (Lou Wood) and Walton,” she recalls. “I was so nervous. I didn’t know what to do. I have to act in English, and it’s not my first language at all. I really had fun doing this, and in the future, I want to do more.”
“I’m just so happy that I can be a part of this season. I’m Thai, so I am really grateful that I can do this. What did I learn about Thailand? I feel more reconnected because I left when I was 14 to (move to) South Korea. So, after I was 14, I didn’t have a chance to spend this amount of time in Thailand, so spending six or s
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