The White Lotus is back! Patrick Schwarzenegger and other stars of the weird comedy

The long-awaited third season of 'The White Lotus' has arrived on HBO. The black comedy about quirky rich people in a luxurious resort returned to streaming on Sunday, February 16.

Image: HBO Max

HBO announced that the new season is set "at an exclusive Thai resort and follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week." As usual, the series depicts the awkward interactions between Western guests and the local working people. Previous seasons of the anthology were filmed in Hawaii and Italy.

Image: Kla Aphimuk / Unsplash

Creator Mike White says the third season is "a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus," according to Usmagazine.

The end of the second season left us with a bad taste in our mouths because we all loved Tanya, the gullible and generous rich American played by Jennifer Coolidge. But what about Greg, her husband? Mike says: "It feels like there's gotta be somebody who's gonna track it down to Greg. But maybe you'll have to wait to find out what happens.

Image: HBO Max

Either way, Jennifer Coolidge is not going to Thailand with 'The White Lotus.' She was one of the big stars in the first two seasons and won two Emmys and a Golden Globe.

Another surprise of this third season will surely thrill K-Pop fans as BLACKPINK's Lisa will be part of the cast. She is playing a resort worker.

One of the strengths of 'The White Lotus' is its casting of a great assembly of actors. However, on the way to the new season, the show hit a controversy.

As it turns out, one of the actors cast for the series, the Serbian Miloš Biković, is strongly pro-Russia regarding the war in Ukraine. According to Vanity Fair, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs even calls him a 'Gen 0c ide Supporter.'

In response to the controversy, an HBO spokesman said to AFP: "We have decided to part ways with Milos Biković and the role will be recast." In response, the actor said on Instagram that his "artistic freedom" was compromised.

Apart from Biković, some other interesting actors and actresses were hired to star in the new season of 'The White Lotus.'

Michelle Monaghan is one of the new cast members. She's known for films like 'Made of Honor' (2008) and 'The Family Plan' (2023), and series like 'Echoes' (2022) and 'True Detective'.

The son of Arnold Schwarzenegger began his acting career at a very young age. He's known for roles in 'Warning' (2021), 'The Staircase' (2022), 'The Terminal List' (2022), and 'Gen V' (2023).

His father has already commented on the actor's performance in 'The White Lotus', especially on a scene where the young man goes 'Full Monty'. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," a proud Arnold Schwarzenegger said.

This 'Party Girl' (1995) actress is known for several Hollywood productions, such as ' You've Got Mail' (1996) or 'Blade: Trinity' (2004), and the series 'Lost in Space' (2018-2021), and 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' (2024).

And here we have, indeed, Lucius Malfoy from the 'Harry Potter' saga. The English actor has also appeared in 'Star Trek: Discovery' (2017-18) and 'Se* Education' (2021), among other productions.

This actress started her career at age 16 when she was chosen as the winner of a modeling contest by Oprah Winfrey and Elle in 1990. She played several roles in films like 'Iron Man' (2008, 2010) and 'The Babysitter' (2017, 2020) while also appearing on television in 'ER' (2002-03) and ‘Jupiter's Legacy’ (2020), among others.

Uncle Baby Billy Freeman from the acclaimed series 'The Righteous Gemstones' (2019-23) has come to Thailand. If you don't know the Gemstones, you may recognize the actor from movies like 'Tomb Raider' (2018) or 'The Hateful Eight' (2015,) or series like the neo-Western 'Justified' (2010-15) on FX.

A known face of the small screen, Carrie Coon played Vera Walker in the crime mystery 'The Sinner' (2018). She also participated in 'The Leftovers' (2014-17) and 'The Gilded Age' (2022-).

'The White Lotus' always has local actors in its cast, and in Thailand, it is no different. One of them is Tayme Thapthimthong, who is still little known in Hollywood but has appeared in productions such as 'Mechanic: Resurrection' (2016), and the limited series 'Thai Cave Rescue' (2022).

Picture: Taymettt / Instagram

This English actress is known as the cute but increasingly assertive Aimee Gibbs in 'Se* Education' (2019-23), a lead role for which she won a BAFTA award. She also stole the show in the London theater with 'Cabaret' in 2023.

This German actor also sings! We may not know his music, but we could recognize him from the Netflix series 'Babylon Berlin' (2017) and the Oscar-nominated movie 'The Zone of Interest' (2023).

Morgana O'Reilly is a New Zealand actress known for 'Neighbours' (2014-22), 'Mean Mums' (2019-22), and 'Summer Love' (2022).

Image: Morgana O'Reilly / Facebook

"EVERYBODY STAY CALM CAUSE IM DEFINITELY NOT!!!!!" she posted on Instagram when the cast of the new 'White Lotus' was announced. Sarah Catherine Hook is a fan of the show and thrilled to be in it. She is known for 'The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It' (2021), 'American Crime Story' (2021), and 'First Kill' (2022).

The actress in the middle of this photo, born and raised in Sri Lanka, is little known across the world so far. You may have seen her in the series 'The Ark' (2023-) and 'The Danny & Mick Show' (2019-), though, or in the film 'Justice League' (2017).

Another Thai actor has joined 'The White Lotus.' Dom Hetrakul played in several Thai productions like 'Dtai Laah' (2022) and 'The Sky Without the Sun' (2023) while also participating in Nicolas Cage's 'Bangkok Dangerous' (2008).

Photo: dom_h_official/ Instagram

This young actor, originally from New York, played 'Purple Hearts' (2022) and 'Tyler Perry's Assisted Living' (2020-2023), among other productions.

Pictured, the show 'Bel Air' from Peacock

Another young actor in the 'White Lotus' cast is Sam Nivola. Among his first projects, he immediately managed to pick an Oscar-nominated movie: 'Maestro.' Nivola played Alexander, the son of Leonard Bernstein, in the film.

The Thai model and actress, also known as Luna Ploy, will probably have her international breakthrough with 'The White Lotus.' She's also played in 'The Buccaneers' (2023, photo, Apple TV) and 'Fistful of Vengeance' (2022).

One Eastern European actor had to leave the cast, but the Lithuanian Arnas Fedaravicius did remain in Thailand with 'The White Lotus'. He's known for 'The Last Kingdom' (2017-22 and 2023), 'The Wheel of Time' (2023), among other productions.

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