The White Lotus Season 2 — aka The White Lotus: Sicily — is finally here. If you caught the first episode, which premiered Monday, October 31, you’ll know that this season, the Emmy Award-winning show features an all-new cast with only original cast member Jennifer Coolidge returning as Tanya, now married, with Jon Grieg playing her husband Greg.
Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza was added to the line-up, playing lawyer Harper. F. Murray Abraham plays Bert, Adam DiMarco is Albie and Haley Lu Richardson is Portia.
As for the plot line, creator Mike White told Vulture he was leaving behind the themes of colonialism that were rooted in the power dynamics of Season 1. Instead, Season 2 examines gender roles and jealousy to create what he calls “a bedroom farce with teeth.”
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This season, the show has swapped Hawaii for Italy, though guests are still staying at fictional hotel chain The White Lotus. Like the first season, which was filmed at an actual Four Seasons resort in Maui (Four Seasons Resorts Maui at Wailea), the second instalment takes place in another property by the luxury brand, San Domenico Palace, Taormina.
Located on the north-east of Sicily in a resort town, the five-star hotel sits atop rocks, overlooking the Ionian Sea, Mount Etna volcano and ancient amphitheatre Teatro Antico di Taormina, built in the early seventh century BC.
“We saw a lot of properties in France and Italy,” the show’s Emmy-winning creator Mike White told Architectural Digest. “Many of them were small and wouldn’t photograph very well. But when we went to the San Domenico…there was just something about it.”
According to AD, the hotel was once a 14th-century convent that was first transformed into a hotel in 1896. Monks’ cells were converted into guest rooms in the Ancient Convent Wing and a Grand Hotel Wing was added.
“Over the years, a who’s who of Hollywood A-listers — from Ingrid Bergman, Ava Gardner, and Audrey Hepburn to Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sophia Loren, and Walter Matthau — have also vacationed at the exclusive getaway,” writes AD.
The hotel only became a Four Seasons in 2020, and underwent a multimillion-dollar makeover, with modern elements like smoked mirrors, bronze details and neutral tones with splashes of colours added to the build. Museum-quality artwork like medieval paintings, frescos and statues were also part of the new hotel.
Today, the hotel and spa holds 111 rooms and suites looking out over the Mediterranean Sea or Etna volcano, some with their own plunge pools and private terraces. It also has three bars and three restaurants. But if you’re planning a stay here, be prepared to shell out a small fortune, because rooms start at around AUD $1,430 a night.
“Savour award-winning dining, unwind in the spa and swim in our clifftop infinity pool. Escape into a Four Seasons world of timeless beauty — with the charming town of Taormina at our doorstep and the best of Sicily waiting to be explored,” reads its description online.
The season also filmed scenes at Lumina Studios near Rome and in locations around Sicily, including the island’s capital city Palmero, and Noto, a southeastern town known for its Baroque architecture.
The White Lotus: Sicily is airing now on Foxtel and BINGE, with new episodes dropping every Monday at 12pm AEDT.
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