Sky Atlantic The White Lotus: What is the hit HBO drama The White Lotus about?

The White Lotus is back on our screens, with its third series whisking us away to a beautiful resort in the southeast Asian country of Thailand. The Emmy-award winning show includes a luxury resort, amazing backdrops, a lot of sunshine, wealthy people, scandals and murder.

The third series, which premiered this February, promises to offer a "satirical and funny look at death, eastern religion and spirituality", according to the show creator Mike White. The series has grown popular with more and more viewers tuning in to every instalment, but some people out there may be asking, what is The White Lotus about?

The show takes places in the fictitious luxury holiday resort of White Lotus. The first series took place in the Maui branch of the resort on the tropical US island of Hawaii, and the second was based at the southern Italian island of Sicily. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the brand new season has been filmed in and around the beautiful island of Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok, with the resort filmed at the Four Seasons Koh Samui, which is surrounded by tropical gardens and has a private beach.

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Every series, the viewers get to see a week in the life of the hotel, following the lives of the guest and the staff that work there. With every new season comes a new cast, albeit sometimes a recurring character will appear, and explores new storylines and new themes. While unpacking what happened in series two and what would happen in series three with HBO, show creator Mike White said: "The first season kind of highlighted money, and then, the second season is sex. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter.

"And I think the third season, it would be maybe a kind of satirical and funny look at death and eastern religion and spirituality. And it feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus." Behind the opulent image of the White Lotus resort, it seems that dark secrets and twisted truths begin to unravel as the week progresses.

All the characters in the series are flawed people - some are driven by wealth and greed, others are jealous or deceitful, others are lost and searching for answers. Each group or family that enter the resort have different storylines, which at times are woven together. Storylines include sexual politics, masculinity, money and social class.

Each character and storyline is played out superbly by a stellar cast. Despite there only being six to seven episodes for each series, you feel like you know these characters thanks to the subtlety and authenticity of the dialogue. In series one, which was set in Hawaii, starred Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Sydney Sweeney and the iconic Jennifer Coolidge.

The American Pie and Legally Blonde star plays the character Tanya McQuoid, a troubled woman whose mother recently died, and promises to invest in the hotel's spa manager, Belinda Lindsey's future business plan. Coolidge returned to the second series of the show, which took place in Sicily, and joined another stellar cast which included big names such as Michael Imperioli, Tom Hollander, Aubrey Plaza and Leo Woodall. Sadly, Coolidge has not returned to the third series, despite being a fan favourite - but you'll have to watch the other two series to find out why.

The third series will see the return of Belinda Lindsey, played by American actress Natasha Rothwell, alongside Carrie Coon, Jason Isaacs - the Harry Potter star who played Lucius Malfoy in the film franchise, as well as Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood. And if the cast isn't enough to encourage you to watch the series, then maybe the show creator will.

Mike White is the creator of this show, but he's also an actor in his own right. School of Rock film fans may remember Mike White as Dewey Finn's roommate and best friend, Ned Schneebly, the real substitute teacher in the hit film. The star also did the screenwriting for the 2003 film, and a handful of other noticeable movies, including Pitch Perfect 3 and The Emoji Movie.

The White Lotus series overall has received 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and critical acclaim. The series was included in the American Film Institute's list of the 10 best programmes of 2021 and 2021 and it has received several accolades, including 15 Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes.

In the UK, you can watch White Lotus on Now TV through its premium subscription. Every episode is aired on Monday, with the first premiered on Monday, February 17. You can catch up on season one and season two, which are also available on the streaming service now.

HBO's The White Lotus' third series' episodes are aired in the UK on Monday on NOW TV.