If there's one thing we're really missing right now, it's the sense of community an HBO show brings on Sunday nights. Thankfully, we're not too far away from the next season of the Emmy-winning, fan-favorite anthology series The White Lotus. Who else is already counting down the minutes until we hear the theme song every week?!
The White Lotus season 3 premieres on Sunday, Feb. 16 on HBO and also streams on Max. The star-studded series brings a new crop of characters to the White Lotus resort in Thailand for another weeklong stay of drama, awkward situations, and mystery. This season's cast includes Parker Posey, Jason Isaacs, Carrie Coon, Natasha Rothwell, Leslie Bibb, and many more.
On Jan. 27, HBO released the official trailer for season 3, giving us a few weeks ahead of the premiere to theorize about who's who, what trouble they will be getting into, and who might be the character that doesn't make it out of the season alive. While many specifics weren't revealed in the trailer, we were still able to pick up on some very intriguing teases about the characters and their dynamics.
While the synopsis for season 3 doesn't give away anything about the plot of the season beyond the basic setup of "the exploits of various guests and employees," these four teases from the trailer gives us a sense of what we're in for with season 3. Let's dig into what we know about these characters!
A girls' trip goes wrong
Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan, and Leslie Bibb star as Laurie, Jaclyn, and Kate respectively. The trio of talented actresses play a group of friends who have been in each other's lives for a long time, since at least 10th grade as references in the trailer. They're celebrating their friendship and the fact that they're "not dead yet" with a trip to Thailand.
However, as revealed by the trailer, they don't appear to be having the best time on the trip despite its fun beginnings. They're seemingly self-conscious about their age, and a bit too much wine at dinner brings out "fake" and "vein and selfish" allegations. What history between these friends could be causing them conflict during a trip to paradise?
Belinda's back to learn new skills
Natasha Rothwell appeared in the first season of The White Lotus as the spa manager of the Hawaii resort, and this season, she's back as Belinda. Rothwell is the only returning star from the franchise to appear in season 3. (Last season, Jennifer Coolidge reprised her role as Tanya.)
She's visiting the Thailand resort to bring ideas back to her resort in Maui. The trailer doesn't have much drama to reveal for Belinda, though she's ready to call the police and quips someone will go home "in a goddamn bodybag." She's getting a lot more than she bargained for!
A Southern family becomes fractured
As we learned more about how the cast is divided into groups, we learned about the biggest group: the Ratliff family. Jason Isaacs plays the father, Timothy, a wealthy businessman who appeared to be hiding some some dark secrets from his family. Parker Posey plays his wife, Victoria, and Patrick Scwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola play their children Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan.
The trailer reveals the Ratliffs are Southern, with Posey putting a lot of humor into Victoria's larger-than-life personality. But did we expect anything less than Parker Posey providing laughs? They don't seem like the closest bunch, and when Timothy reveals his severe money problems, they likely won't be getting much closer. Honestly, they seem like the season's most interesting characters!
Oh, they aren't father and daughter...
Finally, The White Lotus season 3 features another mysterious pairing: Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood as Rick and Chelsea. No, they're not father and daughter as Chelsea freely shares in the trailer. But there's something off about the couple's age difference. There's about 20 years between Goggins and Wood, but how many years are their between Rick and Chelsea?
Compared to their other characters, Rick and Chelsea have the least amount of teases in the season 3 trailer, beyond Chelsea telling Rick she's going to help "get your joy back" and Chelsea present during a gun-wielded robbery at the resort's store. There's definitely more to the story between these two, and we can't wait to piece it together during the season's eight episodes!
The White Lotus season 3 premieres Sunday, Feb. 16 on HBO and Max.