Some sparse clips give us a few glimpses at the Thailand branch of the eponymous luxury resort, where the new series is set. They also welcome some new guests, as well as reintroducing a familiar face from series one.

Natasha Rothwell is back as Belinda, who greets us with a beaming smile as she steps into the lobby of the new resort. Be it as a guest or spa worker, we are yet to find out. But given her seemingly improved mood, and the fact that she is reappearing in light of Tanya’s (Jennifer Coolidge) untimely demise, some are speculating that she might be funding her travels with some inheritance from her former demanding client.

A later clip sees Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise), Parker Posey (The Staircase), Patrick Schwarzeneggrer (Gen V), Sam Nivola (White Noise) and Sarah Catherine Hook (First Kill) arrive at the resort together, before we cut to Posey’s character catching some rays on a sun lounger alongside Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale) and Michelle Monaghan (True Detective). “What happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand,” she says.

Unseen in the trailer are other stars, including Aimee Lou Wood from Sex Education, Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age) and Lisa from the K-pop girl group Blackpink.

The character names and storylines are yet to be revealed, but Mike White did hint at “a supersized White Lotus,” to Entertainment Weekly.

“It’s going to be longer, bigger, crazier,” he continued. “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…"

Meanwhile, the Eastern setting will apparently play a part in the series’ themes. "Eastern versus Western religion, or Western people in an Eastern culture,” White told Vanity Fair. “Maybe after sex it would be nice to have something that’s a little more celestial or something that’s a little more out of the carnal, I guess. But I don’t know."

Also highly anticipated is composer Cristobal Tapia De Veer’s title theme for the new series, after his club-ready anthem for series two became a viral sensation and go-to floor-filler.

For his next theme, he recently hinted to Variety that he’s drawing inspiration from TikTok and its “eight-second bits of music.”

“I think that the best song I heard in the last few years is people harmonizing to a cat on TikTok," he recalled. "There’s a cat, and somebody put some piano and then some girls started harmonizing, and then there’s all these versions harmonizing this cat. It’s super moving and so spontaneous and fresh that this is grabbing a lot more my attention than super-produced pop music.”

After the writers and actors’ strikes of 2023 delayed production, the show’s official Instagram account confirmed that it began in February 2024. “Unforgettable experiences are in the making at The White Lotus,” teased the caption. “We are eager to welcome new guests to our resort in Thailand.”

Given the delay, HBO has pushed the premiere back to 2025.