The White Lotus season 3 gets frustrating release update as fans brace for longer wait

The White Lotus season 2 was one of the biggest shows of 2022, and it deserved all the recognition it got. The second installment improved on the first and brought big mystery, a lot of laughs, cringe-worthy moments, and commentary on social status and wealth. The anthology dramedy on HBO features new actors and a new setting each time around, which is what we’re expecting for the upcoming third season as well.

But for fans hoping we’d see The White Lotus season 3 on the release schedule for HBO in 2024, we come bearing bad news. It’s been confirmed that the show won’t be returning until 2025. I know, it stings! The network hosted a press conference in New York today, Nov. 2, where CEO Casey Bloys delivered a whole lot of news. As reported by TV Line, Bloys did not reveal a release window beyond 2025, but at least we officially know we can rule out next year.

The White Lotus and other HBO shows pushed back to 2025

Along with the news that The White Lotus season 3 won’t be coming out until 2025, we also learned that Euphoria season 3 isn’t slated until 2025, either, as is the Pennywise prequel series Welcome to Derry.

So what is coming next year? It’s been confirmed that House of the Dragon season 2 will be arriving in the summer of 2024, and other exciting releases like The Sex Lives of College Girls season 3, Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12, Hacks season 3, and Industry season 3 are scheduled for 2024 as well.

The reason for the long breaks between seasons, of course, is because of the strikes. Although the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike ended in September, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike has been going strong since July and there’s no end in sight, unfortunately. The studios just won’t budge on the requests the actors are making, which is very disappointing. Scripted shows cannot film without actors, which is why so many of the shows we’re waiting for to return haven’t even begun production.

As for The White Lotus season 3, we also recently heard the news that the filming location was potentially going to be Japan, according to Town and Country Magazine, but it was changed to Thailand. This could be because of tax reasons, though it hasn’t been confirmed. As for the cast, we are still largely in the dark about that, though it has been confirmed that Natasha Rothwell from the first season will return! Jennifer Coolidge, who appeared in the first two seasons, is not expected to come back in season 3 considering her character dies.

Famous actors have expressed interest in appearing in a future season of The White Lotus, including Jennifer Aniston, and it’s probable we’ll see another batch of familiar faces in the third season. Unfortunately, we’ll be waiting a long time until we see what happens next for the hit show.