Talk about a killer vacation.
HBO’s Emmy-winning hit “The White Lotus” is back for Season 3, this time in Thailand (airing Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO and Max).
Executive producer David Bernad told The Post that when it comes to finding the perfect location for each season, “There’s a macro approach, which is ‘what’s a country that has a film community or local crew that also has a tax rebate that’s film friendly?’ We start in a broader sense, and each season has a larger theme.”
Each season of the Mike White-created dark dramedy / mystery series follows a group of different wealthy miserable people on vacation at the fictional “White Lotus” luxury resort – and each season starts with a death, before slowly revealing the events leading up to the incident.
Season 3’s stars include Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb and Patrick Schwarzenegger.
“This season, we were trying to explore eastern philosophy, eastern religion versus western culture. So we were focused on Asia, and you narrow it down,” Bernad explained. “There’s a few countries that fit the criteria of what we were looking for. It’s all organic, we go in [to the location scouting process] with an open mind.”
Choosing hotels to film each season in is, “kind of like speed dating,” he quipped. “You kind of know it when you feel it.”
For this season in Thailand, he said it’s like a “Marvel movie, where you [create] the ultimate hotel,” since they filmed in sections of several different hotels, and compiled the footage together to look like one hotel.
Although Season 3 was mostly filmed in the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, he explained they “augmented” it for their own purposes. For instance, the scenes of characters eating dinner were filmed at Rosewood Hotel Phuket. And, while the Four Seasons offered “stunning” views and rooms, “it didn’t have a reception area that was good for filming, so that the reception area was filmed in The Anantara Bophut Koh Samui.”
As for the monkeys that the characters spot in the trees in the first episode, that footage was taken away from the hotels — at a nature preserve in Phuket Thailand.
“We didn’t handle any monkeys…its blended into the footage.”
Bernad said they mostly shut down the hotel and took it over during filming. However, at times, they did have to work around tourists who were also staying there. And, since “The White Lotus” is a hit show, this did throw in some complications.
“That was a struggle…. tourists were filming us filming,” he recalled.
“There was a moment where we were filming a pretty sensitive scene, and there was somebody filming from a hotel room.”
The solution was simple — he invited the person over to the set, and “watched as they deleted it from their phone.”
Bernad confirmed that the rumors are true: during filming, “everyone stayed in the hotels, we all lived together at the hotels we were filming in, and we all moved together.”
The production does get a deal, but declined to specify the cost. According to their websites, without any special deal, one regular night in a villa at the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui costs just over $2,000, while a room at the Rosewood Hotel Phuket costs around $1,000 a night. The Anantara Bophut Koh Samui, where the reception area was filmed, is an average of $308 a night.
Despite the luxe surroundings, the shoot didn’t feel like a vacation.
“Obviously it’s amazing being there and living in Thailand. But at the end of the day, everyone is there to work. Everyone is incredibly focused and hardworking and professional,” he said.
Still, that doesn’t mean there weren’t some fun on set.
“Part of the beauty of Thailand is there’s a lot of [nature] and animals and habitat. So, [during] filming while you need silence on set, often you hear elephants roaring or the cicadas chirping. They had snake wranglers – they found a snake, which was scary,” he said.
“You’re just dealing with the natural habitat, it adds to the authenticity. It’s natural and everyday to our local crew and cast.”
He added that the snake was harmless and not poisonous.
“There was a moment on set where they hung up a plastic snake over a doorframe and they jiggled it [to seem alive]. There were practical jokes like that.”
Since “The White Lotus” is a hit Emmy-winning show, it’s become like the Olympics, with countries vying to host the next season.
“There’s an element of that – of people soliciting us – which is incredibly flattering and unexpected.”
But, Bernad said, when choosing a location for each season, “ultimately, we’re dictated by the creative” over any other factor.
“We’re really excited for people to experience Thailand hopefully in a new way,” he said. “We had an amazing time filming there, and have such a deep love for the people and culture.”
