The White Lotus spoilers follow.
With an utterly hypnotic theme tune, a stunning setting, and a great ensemble cast, HBO's The White Lotus is definitely one of the most enthralling shows to hit our tellies in recent months. And having unashamedly binge-watched every episode of season one already, we're now looking forward to a second run of the series – which has been officially confirmed by HBO.
Created by Mike White (School of Rock, Pitch Perfect 3), the first season centres on the sickeningly rich guests and demoralised staff at the luxurious White Lotus hotel, a fictional holiday resort in Hawaii. The satirical series also tackles the troubling subject of neocolonialism by way of tourism, as well as race and class inequality.
The brilliant cast includes Alexandra Daddario (True Detective, Baywatch), Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie), Connie Britton (Nashville), Steve Zahn (War for the Planet of the Apes), Brittany O’Grady (Black Christmas), Jake Lacy (The Office), Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria), Molly Shannon (Promising Young Woman, Will & Grace) and Murray Bartlett (Iron Fist, Tales of the City).
Season one ended on a rather dark note as a body was loaded onto the departing flight, with the "interchangeable" hotel staff welcoming the next wave of insufferable guests. When we return for a second season, however, it seems we'll be in a totally different location with an all-new cast.
But what else can we expect when the show returns? Here's everything you need to know about The White Lotus season two.
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The White Lotus season 2 release date: When will it return?
Production on the second season hasn't yet begun, so we're still a while away from getting an official release date. However, considering the first season premiered in the middle of August 2021, we can probably expect it to return around the same time in 2022.
What we do know is that we'll be introduced to a whole new batch of characters as the series moves away from Hawaii and focuses on a different White Lotus resort.
One of the reasons for a location change is logistics, as Mike White explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
"We would go somewhere different because there's no way we could be able to afford the Four Seasons in Maui [that doubled for the White Lotus], not in a pandemic," White said. "So yeah, it would have to be The White Lotus: Kyoto or something. Which would be fun too, because we could get into culture clash ideas and stuff like that."
It was certainly tricky transforming the Four Seasons into the fictional White Lotus in season one. In an interview with Gold Derby, production designer Laura Fox talked about filming in the hotel, which was closed due to the pandemic.
During a 10-day quarantine in her hotel room when she arrived in Maui (which she described as "The Shining by the sea"), Fox planned the sets for the series. "I would be taping everything up in my room, fabrics for which set, and I would send them to my art director, who was also quarantining," she said. "He would do a little Photoshopping. Then my decorator, who was in LA, would send me photos of furniture. It was just the weirdest."
In a statement confirming the second season and new location, HBO said: "The next chapter of The White Lotus leaves Hawaii behind and follows a different group of vacationers as they jet to another White Lotus property and settle in temporarily amongst its inhabitants."
"I'm so excited for Mike and everyone who is a part of the show because I think they deserve this," Sydney Sweeney told ET. "Mike's writing is so much fun and so incredible and whatever he brings to season two will just elevate it even more and be a blast to watch." And while the second season will feature a new location and cast, she also added that she would be open to returning to the show, either as her character Olivia or in a new role. She answered the question 'are conversations being had about it?' with a teasing "Yes."
"Olivia's a blast," she added. "She's so far from myself so it's so fun to just dive into this and I'm so terrified of Olivia, so it's really fun playing a character that you're scared of."
The White Lotus season 2 cast: Who will be in it?
Considering the change of location, it'd be pretty weird if we saw many of the original characters return for the second season. Unless they're the sort of holidaymakers who like to visit every branch of a particular hotel chain. Although, given how bad an experience most of them had (oh yeah, and the fact someone was killed), we highly doubt they'll be back.
Creator Mike White has pretty much confirmed this, although he isn't ruling out the possibility of a shared universe where some of the pre-existing characters could pop up again.
"I don't think you can credibly have [all of the season one characters] on the same vacation again," he told IndieWire. "But maybe it could be a Marvel universe type thing, where some of them would come back. We only made one-year deals with the actors, so we'd have to find out who is even available."
Alexandra Daddario, who plays regretful newlywed Rachel in the first season, made the same suggestion: "I don't know much about [season two], but the way TV is now with anthology shows… I do think there's always a way.”
Recently, Variety reported that fan favourite Jennifer Coolidge would return for the second season, although it hasn't been confirmed whether she would reprise her role as drunken businesswoman Tanya McQuoid or play a new character.
In an interview with TVLine, Mike White talked about working on White Lotus with Coolidge, who is a long-time friend of his. "She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. She’s also a really nice person. And we had some false starts with other [projects] we tried to work on together, so this is very gratifying. It’s probably one of the most satisfying aspects of the whole experience for me.”
One character we almost certainly won't see again, unless we're treated to some form of flashback, is Murray Bartlett's brilliantly tragic resort manager, Armond. He was the one to snuff it after he broke into an obnoxious guest's room to take a mammoth crap in his suitcase, only to end up with a knife in his chest.
The White Lotus season 2 plot: What will happen in the second season?
While we know the second season will be set in a different location, it seems they haven't yet decided where that will be. The setting of the first season played a crucial role in the show's satirical commentary, so we can probably expect something similar next time around, potentially exploring the cultural impact of tourism in another country.
In the interview with Entertainment Weekly, White said: "It would have to be a different hotel, like, say, 'The White Lotus: St Tropez' or something."
The White Lotus season 2 trailer: When can we see it.
Until filming has started, we won't see any new footage from The White Lotus season two. And don't expect see any snippets of that until 2022 at the very earliest.
The White Lotus airs on HBO Max and HBO Go in the US, which means viewers in the UK can catch it on Sky Atlantic or any Sky-affiliated streaming app, including Sky Go and Now TV.
We'll keep you updated with any new developments on the second season. In the meantime, we're going to fill ourselves with dread and anxiety by listening to the theme tune on an endless loop.
The White Lotus airs on HBO Max or HBO Go in the US. Viewers in the UK can watch it on Sky Atlantic, Sky Go and Now TV.
Freelance film & TV writer, Digital Spy
Critic and writer Jo Berry has been writing about TV and movies since she began her career at Time Out aged 18. A regular on BBC Radio, Jo has written for titles including Empire, Maxim, Radio Times, OK!, The Guardian and Grazia, is the author of books including Chick Flicks and The Parents’ Guide to Kids’ Movies.
She is also the editor of website Movies4Kids. In her career, Jo has interviewed well-known names including Beyonce, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Kiefer Sutherland, Tom Cruise and all the Avengers, spent many an hour crushed in the press areas of award show red carpets. Jo is also a self-proclaimed expert on Outlander and Brassic, and completely agrees that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
