The White Lotus fans threaten to boycott season 3 after glaring problem-Asyia Iftikhar-Entertainment – Metro

The third season of hit series The White Lotus has come under fire after falling victim to a harmful Hollywood trope.

The popular show is hooked around a murder mystery each season as the audience follows an eclectic group of hotel guests staying at the titular luxury resort chain.

The first season, starring Alexandra Daddario, Sydney Sweeney and Murray Bartlett was set in Maui while the second season – featuring Aubrey Plaza, Leo Woodall and Theo James – took place in Sicily. Comedic icon Jennifer Coolidge has starred in both seasons as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt.

Now, as viewers eagerly anticipate the new episodes set in Thailand, many have been left bitterly disappointed at the first look.

The simple six second clip shows the return of season one star Natasha Rothwell, as the fresh crop of elite hotel patrons land in another dreamy looking location where disaster will surely ensue. The voiceover, goes: ‘What happens in the Thailand, stays in Thailand.’

However, fans have been quick to point out that the entire clip is colour-graded with a yellow-sepia hue that is quintessential of older Hollywood films set in non-Western areas from Mexico to the Middle East.

The new season will be set in Thailand (Picture: HBO)

But fans are already unimpressed, with some being put off from watching the show (Picture: HBO)

The dusty filter has long been slammed as derogatory, harmful and ‘racist’ representation of the global South.

‘Can we please stop putting a yellow filter on every movie/TV show that takes place outside of the contiguous 48 states??? I promise you can depict heat or mood without making everything yellow,’ @emmylaneporter wrote on X.

‘I genuinely won’t watch if that’s the final colour grade they chose,’ @Engadine113107, added.

Some are sharing what the area looks like without the filter (Picture: Adam Bruzzone)

The Thailand season is set to come out in 2025 (Picture: Anantara Mai Khao Villas Phuket)

‘The filter… you can’t be serious?,’ @jihanebousfiha_ added.

‘Yeah imma need yall to take this filter off SWIFTLY,’ @jilroberts shared.

‘As a huge white lotus fan, this might be the worst use of a filter on footage I’ve ever seen and I really hope it’s not in the show holy f**k,’ @bogposting commented.

And while previous seasons, particularly season one, have had a sepia filter on, as @realbcristiano said: ‘The show has always used a sepia tone in the trailers but this is way too much.’

Alongside the outrage many fans shared images of the areas of Thailand the network filmed in (without the filter) to show its natural beauty.

According to the New York Times, the Thailand government is also hoping The White Lotus will increase tourist foot traffic in real life.

Although specific finances for production have not been revealed, in 2024 the government increased the rebate for international productions to 150 million Thai baht (£3.3million) which has no doubt benefitted the series.

The new season is set to premiere in 2025 and will also star Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey and Aimee Lou Wood.

Previous seasons have not had such severe filtering (Picture: HBO)

Mike White has teased that the new season will be ‘longer, bigger, crazier’ (Picture: AP)

Hotels that they filmed at included Four Seasons Resort in Koh Samui and Anantara Mai Khao Villas.

“It’s going to be a supersized White Lotus,’ creator Mike White told Entertainment Weekly last year.

‘It’s going to be longer, bigger, crazier. I don’t know what people will think, but I am super excited, so at least for my own barometer, that’s a good thing … I’m super excited about the content of the season.’

In a separate teaser about the themes that might be explored, Mike added: ‘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.’

There is currently no release date for The White Lotus season three.

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