Mike White‘s “The White Lotus” was initially supposed to be a one-off for HBO. But after it won over audiences in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the network changed its pans. And after Season 2 of the series received 12 Emmy nominations, it’s safe to say the upcoming third season of “The White Lotus” likely won’t be the last.  
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Now with the SAG-AFTRA strike over, “The White Lotus” Season 3 inches closer to shooting, and EW reports that White hopes production will begin on the drama series “at the beginning of the year.” “I’m seriously finishing scripts,” White told the outlet earlier this week while speaking about the upcoming animated film “Migration,” for which he writes the script. “Still waiting to be able to cast. If the SAG strike isn’t resolved soon, then yeah, we’d have to push again because the show has a new cast every season, so there’s lots of parts to cast … I’m more than eager to get going.”
Almost everything about the next season of “The White Lotus” is under wraps right now, except for its location: Thailand. Oh, and Season 1 star Natasha Rothwell returns for Season 3, but no word if anyone else returns to reprise their roles yet. White promises the latest installment in the series will be the craziest one so far, though. “It’s going to be a supersized “White Lotus,”” White continued. “It’s going to be longer, bigger, crazier. I don’t know what people will think, but I am super excited, so at least for my own barometer, that’s a good thing … I’m super excited about the content of the season.”
Rothwell almost certainly won’t be the only cast member returning for “The White Lotus” Season 3. White previously told EW that he’s open to bringing back other characters like Connie Britton‘s tech CFO Nicole Mossbacher or Jon Gries‘ Greg, the deceitful husband of Jennifer Coolidge‘s Tanya. “It would be easy to just be full-on anthology, but I think it’s more fun to have little threads through the show,” added White. “If the show goes on for a couple of seasons, it would be fun to have an all-star season.”
HBO confirmed last week that “The White Lotus” Season 3 won’t premiere until 2025. But if it’s anything like the past two seasons, it will be more than worth the wait. Stay tuned for more casting news on White’s series soon.