Dear Gossips,   

When the Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial was blowing up a few days ago, remember all the jokes people were making about how the livestream was basically a Mike White show? 

 

Well… it’s really not that far off. Variety reported yesterday that The White Lotus season three will be set in Thailand. As Mike said himself after season two:

“The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex. I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus.”

 

But money and class was part of season two too. It wasn’t just a meditation on sexual desire, it was sex in relation to power, sex as currency, sex in transaction – there’s a reason why the story is always set at a luxury resort, with wealthy assholes at the forefront, surrounded by people who attend to them. This is also why Lucia and Mia emerged as the winners in Sicily. 

Looking to season three, then, if it’s true that we’re heading to Thailand for Mike White’s sharp take on “death and Eastern religion and spirituality”, this time he’s satirising the wellness industry, and particularly the exoticisation and appropriation of Eastern culture, from yoga to bone broth to vagina eggs (which goop claimed was an “ancient remedy” with Chinese origins) – this could be the Gwyneth Paltrow season of The White Lotus. 

According to Variety, Mike White has been scouting locations but there was also a rumour that he was seen having dinner with Danny DeVito. Is Danny the new muse? Because Jennifer Coolidge is gone now. Will she be replaced by another blonde? Jesus, will it actually be Gwyneth herself? 

Yours in gossip,

Lainey