The White Lotus: Season 3

Streaming on: Sky**/**NOW
Episodes watched: 6 of 8

Mike White isn’t a sentimental showrunner. As the bullet-strewn finale of The White Lotus Season 2 confirmed, he has no problem killing off (albeit in spectacular fashion) lovingly crafted characters in the name of his sharp, ruthless brand of satire. So, when another body floats into frame within the first moments of Season 3, it all but comes with a label attached to its toe: “Nobody is safe.”

White has gone bigger with the third instalment of his opulent anthology, which loosely focuses on religion (Season 1 explored racial tension; Season 2 focused on sex). The core cast remains a similar size, with the guests checking in this time around featuring a moneyed, five-strong family hailing from North Carolina (with parents played by Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey); three childhood friends in their mid-forties (Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan and Leslie Bibb); and a mysterious rogue (Walton Goggins) and his younger girlfriend (Aimee Lou Wood).

Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey certainly seem to be having the most fun.

But the hotel itself feels even grander than its Sicilian and Hawaiian counterparts, with heavy-lidded lizards occupying the paths between the guests’ isolated rooms. And, made up of eight roughly hour-long episodes, this is also the show’s longest season yet, providing ample time to dive into the myriad dramas of both guests and staff.

Casting for The White Lotus always feels like an event, and among the core group, Isaacs and Posey certainly seem to be having the most fun as pill-popping Victoria and Timothy, the latter of whom is secretly being investigated for fraud back home. Wood is also a standout as Chelsea, the Mancunian partner of Goggins’ elusive Rick. In the wrong hands Chelsea could be ditzy, but Wood makes her grounded and backable against Goggins’ often surly and wounded performance. Natasha Rothwell’s masseuse Belinda from Season 1 returns, in Thailand on a hotel exchange programme. Having known both previous White Lotus victims, she plays a crucial role in taking the narrative in a new direction. But among the robust group of characters, it’s noticeable that the native staff aren’t given as much to work with, despite musician-turned-actor Lalisa Manobal and Tayme Thapthimthong showing real promise.

As with Season 2, the story takes a few episodes to gain momentum – but after all the players and their privileged predicaments are established, it’s as delicious and devastating as ever. Taboo subjects are pushed further, the acerbic tone hits hard, and underneath it all buzzes a tension that only gets stronger, bolstered by the fact that every character has a target on their back. It’s alarming how familiar White’s appetite for the uncomfortable has become, and yet we still can’t get enough.