A glimpse into a number of the filming places of the third season of The White Lotus

Amidst the delicate chirping of birds and stridulation of bugs, mist lifts to disclose a tranquil pond with pink and white lotus flowers at a sleek villa in Phuket. Despite the image of calm it exudes, a way of foreboding hangs within the air, particularly for many who have watched the earlier two seasons of HBO’s well-liked collection The White Lotus. They know that the brand new set of friends arriving on the fictional resort within the third season of the satirical comedy-drama might be witnessing plot twists, drama, chaos and even homicide.

For a present that shares its moniker with the identify of a resort, the filming location is essential — extra so as a result of the lodge’s setting and the tradition of the nation seeps into the narrative, nearly as if they’re the central characters.

After exploring Hawaii and Sicily, the collection is now exploring Thailand for its newest season. Director Mike White has chosen three Anantara Thailand resorts to shoot the present’s third season because the landscaped gardens, swimming pools, villas and structure of those resorts current an genuine image of Thai hospitality. The peaceable sanctuary of the Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas and its spa, which is proven within the first episode of the newest season, lulls the viewers right into a false sense of safety, proper earlier than the drama unfolds.

Like us, in case you have been to the enduring Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort, situated on the pristine shores of Bophut Beach, and have been spellbound by its attraction, you’d realise why Mike will need to have set his sights on this property. The spectacular landscaping, which spotlights lotus ponds and a spa backyard was designed by famend panorama architect Bill Bensley.

The infinity pool overlooking the calm, blue waters and the resort’s proximity to the favored Fishermen’s Village are one other draw. So is the luxurious, tree-lined driveway that results in a fountain with monkey figures, the grand Thai-style foyer and a lotus pond that appears simply as Instagrammable within the daytime because it does throughout the evening.    

Take the monkey-fountain on the foyer entrance, as an example. Multiple scenes within the collection have been shot at this location, which varieties a shocking backdrop and can be a reminder of the presence of monkeys in Thailand in addition to within the present.

Scenes that includes the high-ceiling foyer with its grand chandelier, the luxurious driveway and a jewelry retailer, which really is a studying room subsequent to the foyer, are sprinkled all through the present. 

Although the third Anantara Thailand property solely seems as soon as within the third season, the dialog scene that includes Aimee Lou Wood and Canadian actress Charlotte Le Bon has given us a time period which we’re prone to see popping up usually in popular culture — LBH or Losers Back Home. The backdrop for this attention-grabbing sequence is the Singing Bird Lounge at Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort. To get to the lounge, guests should climb a few straightforward steps and discover themselves amidst the branches of a 120-year-old tree, with a panoramic view of the ocean and the luxurious inexperienced panorama beneath.   

While the view of the ocean and the greenery are lacking from the frames — owing to it being an evening scene — the round bar and lanterns hanging from the bushes illuminating the lounge are clearly seen as Aimee, who performs Chelsea within the present, sips a Martini sitting on the bar and is quickly joined by a fantastic stranger performed by Charlotte.

The buzz across the present has ensured that there’s already a wholesome curiosity round its filming places and if episode one (the one one to have dropped up to now — the following one might be screened on Sunday, February 23) is something to go by, the following few are positive to make you wish to pack your luggage and set off for Thailand. Sawatdee Kha!

The White Lotus is being streamed now on JioHotstar.