‘The White Lotus’ Takes Bangkok for Regional Premiere

BANGKOK — After an preliminary premiere at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, the solid of “The White Lotus” reunited right here, the place the third season of the award-winning HBO Max miniseries relies.

The Friday occasion was the primary time the high-profile present had hosted a full-blown occasion abroad, which included a public-facing inexperienced carpet second and several other after-parties at 4 Seasons, the luxurious resort chain that supplied a number of filming places for the collection.

The high-octane occasion started on the dockside of Iconsiam, the luxurious shopping center within the coronary heart of Bangkok. Stars from the present — together with Lisa of Blackpink; Natasha Rothwell; Jason Isaacs; Parker Posey; Sarah Catherine Hook; Sam Nivola; Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Tayme That him factor — have been greeted by shrieking followers on the launch occasion.

Making a dramatic entrance on a cruise ship, Lisa arrived in a Louis Vuitton-custom made lotus-pink robe and posed side-by-side along with her mom. The Okay-pop icon made her cinematic debut within the collection because the character “Mook,” who works on the fictional White Lotus Lodge.

The third collection additionally reprised the function of Belinda Lindsey, the spa supervisor on the first season’s resort performed by Rothwell, and welcomed a rising solid that features Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wooden, Dom Hetrakul, Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Posey, Thapthimthong, Hook, Livola, Walton Goggins, and extra.

Season three of the eight-episode drama collection will return Sunday and can be accessible to stream on HBO Max.

The Bangkok premiere comes on the heels of HBO Max’s latest launch in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, which is banking on providing established franchises to spice up top-line development.

In response to native media studies, HBO Max expects the Asian markets, together with Australia and New Zealand, to usher in greater than $600 million in income by 2029.

Jay Roewe, senior vice chairman of manufacturing at HBO Max, stated the large manufacturing, which spanned a 129-day-shoot, employed over 1,000 folks, with a further 5,700 mandate of extras, was certain to recreate “The White Lotus impact” in Thailand because it did in Maui, Hawaii, and Sicily, Italy, within the first two seasons.

“With a rise in tourism inquiries about the place we filmed, we’re trying ahead to the viewers’s new or renewed fascination in visiting this unimaginable nation,” stated Roewe on the premiere.

The present’s Siam outing, which was first teased final February, started manufacturing final spring at Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok. Although plot particulars are nonetheless beneath wraps, the holiday horror-cum-satire collection has been characterised by critics as a lot darker than the earlier two seasons. For Mike White, the author, director, and producer of the collection, the third season can be exploring “dying in Jap faith and spirituality.”

As for the manufacturing course of, it was additionally the toughest season for White and the crew. “Bracing the weather was the toughest, the times have been very lengthy, but it surely was additionally thrilling,” White advised WWD after the premiere.

The present’s Thailand takeover will seemingly carry spikes in cultural tourism. The present, supported by the native authorities and its tourism authority, is budgeted right into a year-long initiative that goals to draw 39 million worldwide guests and generate three trillion baht, or $90 million, in tourism income in 2025.

Thailand has additionally relaxed visa insurance policies to draw guests. Residents of 93 nations, together with the U.S. and China, can now enter the nation visa-free for as much as 60 days. In 2024, the federal government additionally launched a five-year visa for digital nomads.

One other large winner is 4 Seasons Resort, which has been the capturing floor for the collection since season one. This time across the present was primarily shot in 4 Seasons Resort Koh Samui, which has turbocharged bookings since 2024.

After changing into an official associate of the present, 4 Seasons has unveiled unique choices impressed by it. At 4 Seasons Lodge Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, a “White Lotus”-themed afternoon tea and bar expertise can be accessible from Monday to April 20.

With the present’s resort-casual attract and “previous cash” aesthetics, “White Lotus” has joined forces with 14 attire and way of life labels, similar to Banana Republic, Bloomingdale’s, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Away Baggage, on cross-category collaborations that span jet-set apparel, baggage, to perfumed candles.

The present’s Emmy-nominated costume designer Alex Bovaird, who labored with H&M on a 25-piece resort assortment, channeled “White Lotus” main character vitality through “noisy, eclectic and emotional” prints and silhouettes, which have been the antithesis of the quiet luxurious development.