★★★★

starring: natasha rothwell, jason isaacs, walton goggins, michelle monaghan

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REVIEWER: lyall carter

The exploits of various guests and employees of a luxury resort over the span of a week.

In the age of the streaming wars, we are blessed with a mountain of television content. But with that your show needs to be pretty special to be appointment viewing in the throng of television vying for the audience's attention. The White Lotus, for the last four years, has been that kind of show. Hitting the same rhythms as the previous two seasons, which is no bad thing at all, The White Lotus continues to flourish with a thrilling story line and a depth of character development that is rare. 

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Welcome to The White Lotus: Thailand with a host of new guests which include lifelong, childhood friends Kate, Laurie, and famous LA TV actor Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan).

Then we have a family, led by money-hungry financier Timothy and drugged-up, naive mum Victoria, uncouth eldest son Saxon and youngest Lachlan, who’ve come to The White Lotus Thailand so their middle child Piper can interview a monk at a local monastery for her college.

Finally is the age-gap couple: free-spirited Chelsea and Rick, her much older boyfriend who is constantly annoyed at her very presence. They are supported by a grand staff team of locals with a Russian and Aussie through into the mix for good measure.

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There’s a lot to unpack even after the first episode which follows the first two seasons in its setup and long burn execution. No real spoiler here but the opening sequence ends in an act of violence, mostly off screen, where it is clear that a murder or perhaps it is murders have taken place. The victim/s and perpetrator/s will be unmasked in the slow, dramatic burn to the finish line. 

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Although the third season has a familiar feel to it, what keeps it fresh are the new characters and the slow unfurling of them as the show progresses. This is where creator Mike White is at his strongest, developing characters, warts and all, that are so compelling and contradictory to witness. This is going to be a cracker season.

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Hitting the same rhythms as the previous two seasons, which is no bad thing at all, The White Lotus continues to flourish with a thrilling story line and a depth of character development that is rare.