Aubrey Plaza says the new location for The White Lotus season 2 will affect the show’s story. The White Lotus first premiered in July 2021, and season 1 of the edgy dramedy was yet another Emmy winner for HBO. Set in Hawaii, season 1 established the line of in-world White Lotus resorts, staffed by alacritous but merciless hotel workers.
The White Lotus creator Mike White of School of Rock fame is back for season 2 of the anthology series. Onscreen, just Jennifer Coolidge and Jon Gries return as their characters Tanya and Greg, this time embarking on an all-new journey. They’ll be joined by Plaza, Theo James, Will Sharpe, Meghann Fahy, and more. Season 2 goes international, following the ensemble of travelers on a trip gone sideways at the titular hotel in Sicily, Italy.
Plaza says that the filming location affected the story. In an interview with EW, she explains how the origins of the Sicilian landscape played into the characters’ stability while their uptight American culture is debated against the more sexually liberal vibe of their vacation spot. Read Plaza’s comment below:
It’s more juicy, it feels like the stakes are higher and there’s more intense drama and plot twists than the first season. It’s more heightened in the way that it made sense for the stories that happened on this volcanic island. Of course the stories and the characters are more volcanic because that was the energy in Sicily. Italy has this kind of machismo culture that we’re thrust into and when you have a bunch of Americans going to Europe, there’s always that discourse with the puritanical American style versus the Italians who just seem to be much more open and sexual, to be blunt.
Expect Lots Of Twists In White Lotus Season 2
The White Lotus explored many high-minded concepts in season 1, including race, sexuality, and the dynamics of marriage. More touchy subjects are sure to be explored in The White Lotus season 2, but given the value placed on the setting by the cast, viewers shouldn’t expect a formulaic repeat. Circumstances even raunchier are likely to arise among a group of couples tested by the freewheeling ways of their destination. With an extra seventh episode to work with, season 2 could slow down the cataclysm compared to the bump-and-run action seen in season 1.
Based on Plaza’s comments, The White Lotus season 2 will toy with the American perception of foreign countries and the compulsion to impute values learned at home on folks abroad. The setting is a playground for deconstructing the absurdity of some norms that the vacationers bring with them. While season 1 saw one teenage character, Quinn (Fred Hechinger), become awakened by island life and ditching his technology addiction, season 2 appears to raise the stakes on cultural juxtaposition with all the characters out of place. Arriving on October 30, The White Lotus season 2 is a hotly-anticipated must-watch for viewers looking to see rich characters have their rigid ideas tested.
