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The White Lotus Season 3: Mike White Reveals Thailand Wasn't His First Destination Choice For the Show; Find Out What It Was
Show creator Mike White revealed Thailand wasn’t his original destination to film season 3. But he recalled the experience in the country that gave the idea for the season’s main premise!
The White Lotus garnered the highest ratings in the series' history with Season 3! The new season of the hit HBO series took fans on a trip to Thailand, following the sophomore season, which was filmed in Italy. Mike White—the creator, writer, director, and executive producer of the show—recently revealed that Thailand wasn’t his first choice.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the multihyphenate recalled an incident that initially made him averse to the country. “I was in Thailand when my dad and I got eliminated from The Amazing Race,” he revealed. They had to wait at an elimination station with other bitter reality contestants, and the experience made him want to avoid returning to Thailand.
“I was just like, ‘I don’t ever want to come back here,’” he said. White also revealed that he had originally planned to film Season 3 in Japan, after filming previous seasons in Hawaii and Italy.
However, he explained that the studio insisted on filming in Thailand—and for good reasons. “Obviously, you take into account the country’s infrastructure, available crews, and tax breaks,” HBO chief Casey Bloys explained.
They visited the country as a courtesy to the studio, but little did White know that the journey would lead to a groundbreaking creative epiphany. He recalled catching bronchitis and being hospitalized, requiring a nebulizer.
White revealed that he hadn’t slept for two straight days and couldn’t stop thinking about the show. The next morning, he told producer David Bernard that he had hallucinated. “That’s basically what we shot,” Bernard revealed. That surreal experience inspired White to explore themes of Buddhism in the third season.
“Thailand worked for the themes that I was trying to get into,” White added. In the end, his return to the country turned out to be for the best.
The White Lotus Season 3 is now available to stream on Max and Amazon Prime Video.
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