All we know about The White Lotus season 3 so far including the one character who could be back after that intense season 2 finale

The White Lotus season 3 is something many viewers of the hit HBO comedy-drama might well be looking ahead to especially after the show’s success at the Golden Globe Awards. 

Since the anthology series first landed in 2021 The White Lotus has certainly made its mark, amassing fans across the world and securing several awards. The latest season drew to a suitably dramatic end in December 2022 and although there’s still so much enjoyment to be gained if you watch The White Lotus from the beginning again, people’s minds might've turned to what’s next. After all, with new characters and a different magnificent setting each time, this is a truly transporting show that isn’t afraid to change things up. 

If you’re wondering if The White Lotus season 3 has been confirmed, we have you covered as we reveal our guess for the location and the character who might be back again… 

*Warning: Spoilers ahead!*

Will there be The White Lotus season 3?

Fans of award-winning HBO drama who were swept away by Jennifer Coolidge’s Golden Globes speech need not fear that season 2 was the end as it’s already been confirmed that there will be The White Lotus season 3. News of the renewal came in November 2022 just a few episodes into the most recent season. 

“There’s no place I’d rather work than HBO and there’s no people I’d rather partner with than Casey Bloys, Francesca Orsi, Nora Skinner and their incredible team. I feel so lucky to get this opportunity again and am excited to reunite with my amazingly talented collaborators on THE WHITE LOTUS," creator Mike White declared in a statement at the time.

Our guess for The White Lotus season 3 location 

The locations make The White Lotus as alongside the always-dramatic exploits of the characters, viewers are swept away by the glamorous settings that stand in for the hotel chain. Both the first location in Hawaii and The White Lotus season 2 location in Sicily were special and the show’s creator Mike White has previously told Deadline that he could move continents again in season 3.

He teased that although the decision hadn’t been made he would certainly be interested in considering setting The White Lotus season 3 somewhere in Asia.  

“We just turned in our last episode to the network yesterday, so it’s hard to think about the next race. But if we did, I think it’d be fun to maybe go to a whole different continent. You know, we did Europe, and maybe Asia, something crazy like that, that would be fun.”

He also reiterated this possible setting to Deadline later on when he said, “The first season we highlighted money and then the second season is sex and I think the third season, it would be maybe a kind of satirical and funny look at death in Eastern religion and spirituality — it feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus.”

As well as hinting that they could “do a whole different continent” with season 3, Mike White also name-dropped Japan as a possible country. Talking at a time when the world didn’t know that season 2 marked the end of Jennifer Coolidge’s character Tanya’s time on the show he joked that they might find it was impossible not to bring her back in the third season too.

“Jennifer is my friend and everybody loved her in the first season, and I was like, ‘I can’t go to Italy without Jennifer.’ And maybe that’s still the case. Like, maybe you can’t go to Japan without Jennifer, either. There are so many fun actors we’ve worked with so far, so it’s just kind of like who’s available,” he said.

Which character could return after The White Lotus season 2? 

Although it’s an anthology series - an award-winning anthology series, no less - that doesn’t mean that all the characters are always completely new each season. Fan-favorite Tanya McQuoid who very sadly met her demise in the most Tanya-esque way in The White Lotus ending was a returning character from season 1. She and her husband Greg Hunt met in the first season and the couple were the only main characters to be back in the follow-up series. Of course, because of her untimely death Tanya isn’t expected back, but Greg might return or at least be mentioned. 

That’s because he was the mastermind behind a plot to murder Tanya for her money so he could get out of his marriage to her and avoid being left with nothing due to their watertight prenup. He left Sicily pretty early on in The White Lotus season 2 saying he had to go back for work though Tanya suspected he was having an affair. 

She also got told as much by a tarot card reader she consulted and in the finale it turned out that suave Quentin had been in love with Greg for decades. He’d previously even shared the story of how he would still do “anything” for a man he fell in love with many years ago and Tanya found a picture of a young Greg and Quentin together in his house. 

It turned out Greg had persuaded Quentin to help him get rid of Tanya with the help of a hitman, only she sussed out the situation at the last minute and took out her would-be killers.

It was only because of a stroke of misfortune that Tanya actually died, but the bodies she left behind on Quentin’s boat would likely have left the police with some questions. Plus, Greg is set to inherit a staggering amount of money after his wife’s suspicious death. Mike White even previously said that fans would maybe “have to wait to find out what happens” with Greg.  

So even if he’s not appearing in a big way in The White Lotus season 3 fans will likely be hoping to at least learn something that suggests Greg got his comeuppance. Or, even better, actually see Greg return for a few scenes where he is arrested for what he arranged to happen to Tanya.

Meanwhile, Connie Britton in season 1 has also teased to Deadline that she might end up making a return in season 3 after Mike apparently hoped to have her back in season 2. Connie said that it is “our intention” to do a certain idea “in the third season”.

Is there a release date for The White Lotus season 3? 

Unfortunately there’s currently no release date for The White Lotus season 3 that has been announced. But this probably doesn’t come as a surprise to many people as The White Lotus season 2 only finished airing in December 2022. There was a gap of just over a year between the first season ending and the second season beginning so based on this and given production on season 3 hasn’t started yet fans might possibly have to wait until late 2023-early 2024.