HBO Boss Confirms ‘The White Lotus’ Season 4 Has Been Pitched, ‘Big Little Lies’ Season 3 in Development and More
A fourth season of “The White Lotus” could already be in the works. HBO and Max boss Casey Bloys told reporters Tuesday that he visited creator Mike White on the show’s Season 3 Thailand set earlier this year, and that White already has ideas percolating for Season 4.
“Mike, obviously — if he wants to move forward and do the four seasons — he will do the fourth season,” Bloys told reporters. He was mum on any details, of course. The next “White Lotus” is set to premiere in early 2025 with returning cast member Natasha Rothwell, as well as new stars Carrie Coon, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan and Parker Posey, among others. White created the series and serves as executive producer and director, and it won the limited series Emmy in 2022 (before moving to the drama category).
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The status of “The White Lotus” was one of several projects that Bloys addressed Tuesday. He also revealed that development on a new season of “Big Little Lies” is still ongoing — but depends on when the source material will be available, as they’re waiting to see author Liane Moriarty’s new novel extending the story.
Star Nicole Kidman told Variety in January that she and Reese Witherspoon were “texting every day” about a third season, and she then said in an interview with Elle magazine in March that her daughter, Sunday Rose, was partly responsible for getting “Big Little Lies” Season 3 off the ground. They shared even more details in a June video.
Meanwhile, with “Mare of Easttown” creator Brad Ingelsby’s new HBO series “Task” is also set in the “Mare” universe — a crime story that takes place outside of Philadelphia. Was there ever a consideration of making it a new “Mare” tale?
“I think that Mare’s journey in that show was so emotional, and it was hard to come up with an emotional story” to match it, said Ingelsby, who joined Bloys on stage. “I always like to tell stories that are really emotional. It was hard to come up with an emotional story that could compete with losing a son and having to confront that. I had this idea, and it felt like it lives in the same world. It’s in the same part of the world, but it’s a much different story. And at that time, I was more interested in doing something different and new. That can also speak to the same type of world that Mare lived in.”
So will there ever be more “Mare”? “If there’s a way to come back to Mare where she has something else to deal with that we feel is equally compelling emotionally, and would be able to bring the viewer back in, I’m always open to revisiting Mare,” he said. “I love that character. So I would welcome the chance, if we can craft a story as compelling as the first one.”
Meanwhile, Bloys said there are no new “Game of Thrones” spinoffs on the horizon at the moment beyond “House of the Dragon” and the upcoming “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” which will premiere later in 2025. “You don’t want to overdo any anything,” Bloys said. “There’s no blinking green lights on any other ones at the moment. We take our time with them in development.”
And in the case of the Jon Snow series in development that was shelved, Bloys reaffirmed that HBO will only greenlight additional “GOT” series when they make sense.
As for whether there is a future for more “The Penguin” seasons, Bloys said that’s based on what “The Batman” director Matt Reeves and showrunner Lauren LeFranc, as well as star Colin Farrell, want to continue the story. “It’s up to Matt and Colin and Lauren to see if there’s a story they’re interested in telling,” he said. “I’m hopeful. Obviously, it’s been a lot of fun and very successful, but I’ll let them figure out if there’s another story they want to tell.”
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