The White Lotus season 3 is finally on its way, and it is, without a doubt, one of my most-anticipated 2025 TV shows. And we finally have an official release date! The new 8-episode season is coming even sooner than I could have hoped for, and there are plenty of sexy surprises in store.
In addition to the highly-anticipated return of Natasha Rothwell's Belinda, we're also going to meet characters played by Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Aimee Lou Wood. Talk about a stacked cast! I can't wait to watch the new episodesthis February, but this trailer is definitely holding me over for now!
The White Lotus season 3 has eight episodes total:
The White Lotus episodes air on HBO and Max Sundays at 9 PM EST.
The White Lotus season 3 premiered February 16, 2025. This season takes place in Thailand (after season 1 took us to Hawaii and season 2 took us to Italy), but amidst the stress-management meditation and incredible food, our cast is dealing with plenty of secrets, testing their limits throughout their week-long vacation.
"What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand," is the perfect way to open the trailer for this debaucherous new season. There's a lot to unpack throughout this almost 3-minute video. Here's what we noticed:
The teaser trailer gave us a glimpse at this exciting season back in December 2024.
"Everyone runs from pain towards pleasure," the teaser trailer voiceover said. "But they get there only to find more pain." The montage of late-night parties and unsettling shots like Parker Posey staring down the camera (and someone grilling a live crab until it catches on fire??) had me convinced from the beginning that The White Lotus season 3 was going to serve us an insane helping of both pain and pleasure.
We also got shots of Patrick Schwarzenegger lounging by the pool, Jason Isaacs taking a paranoid stroll through the jungle, and a coupled-up Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins celebrating the fact their vacation didn't kill them.
We know that The White Lotus season 3 is going to be the biggest season yet, thanks to interviews with the creator and crew. “It’s going to be a supersized White Lotus,” creator Mike White said in an interview with EW. “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.”
And he's not the only one. Natasha Rothwell told PEOPLE that "White Lotus is going to give you a run for your money.”
"It's an excellent season and people are going to be very pleased," she continues. There's always something special about a third season thanks to the combination of familiarity and brand-new adventures, and the seductive intrigue The White Lotus season 3 is already proving my point.
Fabio Lovino/HBO
The White Lotus season 3 cast has a crazy star-studded cast! The list includes:
Season 3 is always my favorite season of a show — especially considering Gilmore Girls Season 3 Is Simply The Best, And No TV Show Has Matched It Since. Check out our weekend email send for more TV news and the latest news on The White Lotus season 4!
This post has been updated.
While there are plenty of vacation reads to pick over the summer, Elin Hilderbrand books are some of the best IMO. They highlight the highs and lows of two opposing seasons — summer and winter — and she never skimps on substance, relying on the island of Nantucket to serve as a mysterious location for her characters to get lost in.
With over 25 published stories, Hilderbrand's books are full of betrayal, retrospection, and romance — perfect for the frequent page-turner in you. So here are all of Elin Hilderbrand's books, fully in order, for you to work your way through from top to bottom!
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The Beach Club may be set during the summer time, but there's nothing idyllic about the events that take place throughout it. Mack Petersen may have a cushy position as the manager of The Beach Club, but his position — and life — are constantly threatened by outside factors.
But he's not the only person dealing with various situations. It seems like The Beach Club is home to those who harbor secret feelings and desires that materialize in the form of a dangerous hurricane.
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A group of friends involving Kayla, Antoinette, and Val have remained close over the years. Additionally, they've always come together to solidify their bond in their own special way. However, one of them mysteriously doesn't make it make from their nightly swim and it forces the remaining friends to deal with the effects of what happened.
They begin to slowly understand that their bond is much deeper than they realized and it's not for the reasons they always thought it was.
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The Newtons have a tradition of spending time with each other during the summer and have always enjoyed what occurs during the time they're together. But tragedy strikes when Arch Newton is killed and his wife Beth is left to plan the festivities of the summer.
The family will learn firsthand how hard it is to keep secrets and betrayals a secret in this shocking novel.
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Adrienne Dealey is no stranger to the hospitality industry, but decides it's time to start traveling from place-to-place after a while. Despite her dire financial situation, she lands a job at Thatcher Smith's popular restaurant the Blue Bistro. Her lack of experience doesn't seem to scare him and they eventually find themselves becoming closer the more time they spend together.
At the same time, Thatcher seems to have his eyes on Fiona — the Blue Bistro's chef. Adrienne has to decide what's worth pursuing in The Blue Bistro, but the decision will be tougher than she thinks.
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Nantucket seems to be home for secrets and changed lives in The Love Season. When Marguerite Beale — an amazingly talented former chef — reconnects with her goddaughter Renata Knox, she's not sure what to make of it. After all, they haven't seen each other in a while and it's revealed this is mostly due to a demand of Renata's father.
Their connection triggers something unexpected and shocking that they'll forever be changed by.
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The lives of three mothers are caught in the crossfire of the arrival of young Josh Flynn in Nantucket. He manages to touch each of them in some kind of way and it changes the plans they had to escape their individual troubles. It's a stark reminder that sometimes the grass isn't greener on the other side.
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Claire is your typical people pleaser in A Summer Affair and nothing changes that until she meets Lock Dixon. He's the attractive billionaire whose path she would've never crossed had she not chosen to plan one of the biggest galas in Nantucket. As they continue to flirt with danger, Claire feels like she can't control what's going on anymore. Perhaps she doesn't mind for the first time in her life.
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Greg and Tess MacAvoy's last effort to save their marriage ends with their tragic deaths, and this leaves behind grieving loved ones. Seeking to find out what happened to them, their close friends begin finding clues that indicate something wasn't quite right while Grey and Tess were alive.
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Birdie Cousins is so focused on making sure her daughter Chess's wedding is as extravagant as possible that she feels thrown off course when Chess decides the wedding is off. Deciding everyone could use a break, Birdie rounds up her daughters and sister India to head to Tuckernuck Island for a summer vacation.
What unfolds over the course of the book are betrayals, tales of love, and more.
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Meredith and her former best friend Constance Flute are having a hard time in life so they head to Nantucket for a last-minute getaway. However, they realize that trouble can follow you anywhere and they're both left to figure out how to move on with their lives.
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Summerland is one of Elin Hilderbrand's most heartbreaking novels because it involves a group of high school friends who are forever affected by the death of someone in their circle. As everyone tries to understand what happened before the fatal car crash, things are revealed that will shake up a community's world.
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The Carmichaels and Grahams are getting ready to celebrate the upcoming merging of their respective families. Everything should feel great, but they're going completely wrong. It's not that the bride and groom are having issues, but it's the people close to them who are struggling with different things.
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Dabney Kimball is Nantuckey's resident matchmaker who always seems to get it right, but not everyone is a fan of her ways. Still, she's been able to match couples together and they're happily married. The problem is that she doesn't feel that she's matched with her forever person because she feels he's long gone.
However, fate brings him back to Nantucket and Dabney finds that her feelings for him are still alive. Before things take a turn for the worse, Dabney decides to come clean about certain things and continues using her matchmaking skills for good.
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Kelley Quinn owns the Winter Street Inn with four kids who are scattered around the world and are dealing with issues that are weighing them down. From feelings of guilt to a lack of commitment, it's clear his kids need a reprieve. When they finally get together close to Christmas, Kelley finds that Mitzi isn't exactly being faithful. This sets off a sordid chain of events that involves the help of his ex-wife Margaret.
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Rumors are a part of Nantucket's close-knit community and they threaten the image of best friends Madeline King and Grace Pancik. Known for being the picture of perfection, their lives are threatened by one's alleged bad decision and speculations of an affair involving the other. The thing is, some rumors are harder to dispel because the truth can have much more damning effects.
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Free from his second marriage, Kelley Quinn is looking forward to another Christmas in Winter Stroll. He and Margaret are finally on speaking terms and a new grandchild has recently joined the family. Things feel like they're finally going to be fine until Kelley's second ex-wife pops back up and stirs up a lot of emotions.
Now the Quinns feel like they're back at square one and hope they can get through another Christmas unscathed.
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The lovers of Deacon Thorpe — Laurel Thorpe, Belinda Rowe, and Scarlett Oliver — are forced to be in close proximity with each other after he tragically dies. His last request was for all of the women to set aside their differences so they can gather on Nantucket one last time.
The more time they spend in his cottage — one each of them lived in at different points — the more tension, secrets, and heartbreak are revealed.
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Kelley Quinn's second ex-wife is back at the Winter Street Inn and good news about the Quinn children are thawing out any remaining ill feelings. Yet, Kelley's health was briefly in limo and his oldest son is still paying for a crime he committed. Not only that, but a damning blizzard is thwarting the family's plan to spend Christmas together.
Winter Storms seeks to show that the Quinns have a tenacity and bond that can weather the toughest of emotional and physical storms.
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Despite the popular belief that twins are extremely close, Harper and Tabitha Frost seem to be the exception to that rule. They haven't communicated with each other for years, but decide to switch places in an attempt to repair their family. In the midst of working to understand what happened to their bond, there's a chance that some rivalries are hard to shake.
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The Quinn family is finally back together in Winter Solstice and have good news to celebrate. With all of the Quinn kids under the same roof again, Kelly just knows things are going go well this time. But, old habits die hard and their family reunion wouldn't be the same without a few hiccups.
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Irene Steele has settled into a serene and loving life with her husband Russ, but everything halts when he's killed in a terrible accident in St. John. Although she's grieving, she can't but wonder why her husband was there in the first place. Trying to find answers leads Irene to discover that her husband wasn't the faithful man she knew.
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The Perfect Couple places Chief of Police Ed Kapenash at the center of the discovery of a murder right before a highly anticipated wedding is set to take place. Realizing that the killer could be anyone either involved in the wedding or attending it, Kapenash goes down a rabbit hole of figuring out what happened. What he finds is not only shocking, but makes him realize perfect weddings don't necessarily indicate relationships are free from serious flaws.
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Things aren't the same for the Levins as each family member finds themselves dealing with different pressing matters. From an older sister trying to navigate motherhood to the youngest sibling who feels trapped, it doesn't feel like summer is worth celebrating.
However, Summer of '69 introduces readers to a family who learns to navigate the changes in their lives and the world around them.
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28 Summers follows an initially confused Link as he tries to understand his mom's last requests. When he dials the unknown number she gives him, the husband of political giant Ursula DeGournsey picks up the phone. Over the course of the book, readers will learn about the past that tied Link's mom to Ursula's husband and how her impending death changed things.
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Irene Steele thought she knew everything about her husband Russ in Winter in Paradise, but his death revealed his intimate affair with another woman. This scarred her, but Irene decides to uproot her and her sons' lives so they can learn more about what actually happened.
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Troubles in Paradise picks up where What Happens in Paradise ended and it's as shocking as the first book in the series. Even though she tried to escape memories of him, Irene Steele's husband's past follows her and makes her believe something isn't adding up about his accidental death. With the help of the people she holds near and dear to her heart, Irene discovers the truth about her husband and how this affects life moving forward.
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Vivian Howe's life is cut short when she's involved in a horrible car accident, but she's given a chance to sprinkle a little more positivity on earth for a brief period of time. As she looks at the lives her children are leading, she wonders how she'll be able to guide them in the right direction when she's still learning how to deal with her own secrets from her past. Over time, Vivian learns that sometimes the best thing to do is trust that things will work out without her intervention.
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Lizbet Keaton is tending to a broken heart after her long-term relationship horribly dissolves, but life decides it's time to move on when she's given the chance to restore Hotel Nantucket. It's not long before her knowledge and wit are turning things around for the better, but things BTS are far from perfect. It seems like the walls of the hotel are filled with the spirit of a guest who passed away tragically among other secrets and this leaves Lizebet between a rock and a hard place.
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Just because something looks perfect doesn't always mean it is. For Hollis Shaw, her perfectly outlined life becomes a series of doubt when her husband unexpectedly dies in The Five-Star Weekend. Determined to find a new sense of normalcy, Hollis draws inspiration from something called the "Five-Star Weekend" to bring joy to the people around her.
However, two people find it hard to get along while Hollis is confronted by old feelings she didn't think existed anymore. Just when things couldn't get more complicated, a mysterious yet charming woman by the name of Grace enters the picture. What was supposed to be an amazing weekend turns into something Hollis could've never predicted.
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Chief of Police Ed Kapenash is ready to retire, but when the Richardsons move into town (and snap up a $22 million mansion), the town gets swept off their feet into parties and all things gaudy. Until the house burns down and their personal assistant goes MIA.
Which of Elin Hilderbrand's books have you read? For more book recs, be sure to check out our storefront!
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This post has been updated.
How many times can we talk about our love for Yellowstone and 1923 before you think we've move beyond obsession? If you ask us, we're sure you'll be convinced once you scroll through the western books we've added to our must-read piles. Like historical fiction, reading about cowboys, outlaws, and frontier life feels endearing. Now that we think about it, we think it's because these tales are embedded in America's fabric.
Try as we might, we can't resist tales that remind us of the Clint Eastwood movies our grandparents loved watching or summarizing. But now we're in charge of the conversation and know which westerns are worth reading.
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Esther's on the run for two reasons: she wants revenge for the brutal murder of her best friend and she wants nothing to do with marrying the man her best friend was formerly promised to. In her mind, there's no better way to right wrongs than by hiding out in the back of a Librarian's book wagon so she help dismantle those who seek to accept one written form of truth.
If we didn't know any better, we'd say that Upright Women Wanted sounds oddly similar to the fight against banned books.
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If there's anything HBO's The White Lotus season 3 has proven, it's that we need to pay attention! This season is so detailed and complicated, and it really shows off what a genius Mike White is. So it's definitely a possibility that The White Lotus season 3 theories on the internet could ring true — especially this theory that'll have you rethinking everything.
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It's not uncommon for contemporary media to pull from fairytales and legends, and TikTok user @shonagons_list highlights a connection between The White Lotus season 3's Ratliff family (Timothy, Victoria, Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan) and the Pied Piper of Hamelin, Saxony.
In addition to the fact that Piper and Saxon's names both connect to the story, @shonagons_list points out that the Pied Piper "led the rats ('Ratliff') and children away from their home and to their deaths by drowning. Lochlan' means lake-place, while the name 'Victoria' suggests victory, despite her overt linguistic allusions to death (i.e. having "slept like a corpse")."
The video has 1.1 million views and over 92 thousand likes at the time of reporting, and other White Lotus fans flooded the comments to discuss the theory, especially since (as one user jokes in the comments), "this is one of those TikTok theories I take to brunch and pretend I came up with it."
"This is a crazy good theory," another user adds, complete with crying emojis.
This family is literally surrounded by water with the location of the resort, but Forsaken-Pattern-885 on Reddit points out how they're dressing in blues and greens, as well as nautical preppy styles. Another TikTok user says that "in the intro for S3, the name of the actor who plays Lochlan is next to an image of a boy drowning in the lake," while a third points out "In some versions of the story the only three children who survive the Pied Piper are one who is injured, one who is deaf, and one who is blind! Another reference to the hear no, see no, speak no evil!"
Imagery surrounding hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil has come up multiple times with the Ratliff siblings. Since the family's already had at least one brush with death (remember Victoria interrupted Timothy's plans to end his life?) I'm wondering if these details have been a sign the whole time that the kids will make it out alive — especially since the original Pied Piper doesn't kill the children, he just leads them out of the village.
"My theory is that after spending the night in the monastery, Piper realizes she can't give up her privileged life," dutchology says on Reddit. "Lochlan is freaked out by the boat incident and decides to stay for the year long intensive, maybe to cleanse himself? Piper leads her favorite brother away!"
What do you think about this White Lotus season 3 theory? Do you have any ideas about what's coming at the resort? Let us know on TikTok.
