From its stunning Hawaiian hotel location to a stacked cast of amazing actors and actresses, The White Lotus became the television hit of summer and for good reason. Written by Mike White, the first season of the comedy-drama centred around an intriguing mystery of which character was in the body bag, not to mention the endless barrage of minute dramas taking place between the wealthy guests and the troubled staff of the luxury hotel. It was only a matter of time before we got The White Lotus season two.
The White Lotus Season Two Release Date
The brainchild of creator Mike White, The White Lotus centres around an idyllic holiday destination and the increasingly erratic personalities that occupy it. In the first season, the series took viewers to Hawaii, chronicling a week in the life of those lucky enough to afford a ticket to the ritzy resort with the all-inclusive extras package. However, like all good series, things were not quite as they seemed.
Over the course of the seven-episode series, the intertwined lives of the inhabitants of the world’s most boujee travel destination turned sinister at every turn. Told through a multitude of different perspectives, the awkward antics of the ensemble cast was scored with an eery undertone and peppered with a good smattering of humour. Confirmed after the breakout success of the first season, HBO was quick to move a second instalment of the destination drama/comedy. The show was renewed as an anthology series; with the second season premiering on October 30, 2022.
It marked a far quicker production schedule than its predecessor, which was filmed from September to November 2020 before being released in July 2021. While that may sound like a lengthy production timeframe, this was partly due to COVID delays.
In January 2022, creator Mike White confirmed to Variety that he will once again take over a Four Seasons Hotel, after last season’s Hawaii-based story was filmed at the Four Seasons Resort Maui. For The White Lotus Season 2, the setting will be a Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Sicily’s exclusive resort destination of Taormina, an announcement confirmed on the resort’s website, which reveals it is closed to guests until April 1.
Cast
Season one’s lovable and brilliant cast included Jennifer Coolidge from Legally Blonde, Sydney Sweeney from Euphoria and the likes of Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton and even Alexandra Daddario, and a few familiar faces returned for another getaway. This was despite creator Mike White explaining to IndieWire, “that there would unlikely be any repeat guests from season one … I don’t think you can credibly have all the Season 1 guests on the same vacation again … But maybe it could be a Marvel universe type thing, where some of them would come back.”
Jennifer Coolidge, who played VIP mourner and Tanya McQuoid massage enthusiast, returned for Season 2, revealing in an Entertainment Tonight interview that “They haven’t told me what the script is. But, I hope I have lots of romance and sex in this next one. I felt like I didn’t get enough of that in the first one.”
HBO crime drama The Sopranos star Michael Imperioli and NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation actress Aubrey Plaza were also confirmed to be series regulars for Season 2. Plaza played Harper Spiller, a woman on vacation with her husband and his friends, while Imperioli took the role of Dominic Di Grasso, a man travelling with his elderly father and recent college-graduate son.
“I was a fan of season one, but more importantly, I was a big Mike White fan,” Plaza told Variety in an interview earlier this week. “So I’m very excited to work with him. I’m very honoured to be on this television series, and I hope I don’t let everybody down. It seems like everyone watched this show.”
The full cast of The White Lotus season two can be found below:
- F Murray Abraham as Bert Di Grasso
- Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt
- Adam DiMarco as Albie Di Grasso
- Meghann Fahy as Daphne Sullivan
- Beatrice Grannò as Mia
- Jon Gries as Greg Hunt
- Tom Hollander as Quentin
- Sabrina Impacciatore as Valentina
- Michael Imperioli as Dominic Di Grasso
- Theo James as Cameron Sullivan
- Aubrey Plaza as Harper Spiller
- Haley Lu Richardson as Portia
- Will Sharpe as Ethan Spiller
- Simona Tabasco as Lucia Greco
- Leo Woodall as Jack
The Hotel Setting
Even in the development stages, we knew that The White Lotus season two would move in a different direction. HBO said in a press release that “The next chapter of The White Lotus leaves Hawaii behind and follows a different group of vacationers as they jet to another White Lotus property and settle in temporarily amongst its inhabitants.”
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Creator Mike White stated in August 2021 that “We would go somewhere different because there’s no way we could be able to afford the Four Seasons in Maui, not in a pandemic … It would have to be a different hotel, like, say, ‘The White Lotus: San Tropez’ or something, or even White Lotus: Kyoto, which would be fun too, because we could get into culture clash ideas and stuff like that.”’
It was later revealed that season two of The White Lotus was filmed and set in Sicily, Italy – specifically at the San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel. In the series, it is the fictional White Lotus Resort Sicily, led by Manager Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore).
The White Lotus Season 2 FAQs
Yes, for season two, The White Lotus swapped Hawaii for Sicily, introducing a swathe of new characters and cast members. This time around, a pair of Newlyweds with a personal assistant arrived, alongside couples holidaying together, and a family boys’ trip.
The White Lotus season 2 was released on 30 October 2022.
