Let’s be honest: Mike White’s “The White Lotus: Season 3” isn’t as much fun as the previous two. The satirical anthology that began as a pandemic project on Maui in Hawaii has grown into a huge, Emmy Award-winning, globe-trotting franchise with a glamorous, exotic location and different cast of characters for each season.

Set in Phuket, Thailand, at a luxurious beachside hotel/spa outside of Bangkok, the plot begins with returning Season 1 massage therapist/spa manager Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell) celebrating with her son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) when gunshots resound. 

Incoming via motorboat are three lifelong friends – TV star Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), corporate lawyer Laurie (Carrie Coon) and uptight Kate (Leslie Bibb) – along with the Ratcliff family from North Carolina, headed by tormented financier Timothy (Jason Isaacs), his neurotic wife Vickie (Parker Posey), elder son Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), younger son Lochlan (Sam Nivola), and spirituality-seeking daughter Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), considering a year-long retreat in a nearby Buddhist monastery.

Angry, sinister Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins) is toting a lifelong grudge, much to the dismay of his ever-supportive, much younger girl-friend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood, who resembles the late Shelley Duvall) – and amiable Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) coupled with super-rich yacht-owner Gary (Jon Gries), whom Belinda recognizes as ‘Greg,’ who killed her benefactor Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge) in season two.

Continuing the contrived upstairs/downstairs theme, there’s Sritala (Lek Patravadi), owner of the posh all-villa resort with her husband (Scott Glenn), in addition to Russian wellness instructor Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius), therapist Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul), and ambitious security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), who adores Mook (Thai pop star Lalisa Monobal).

Epitomized by the menacing plethora of lizards and monkeys amid repetitive water imagery, Mike White’s dramatic narrative is darker and slower-paced, the multiple storylines and faked fantasies less compelling, the characters less empathetic, and the acerbic dialogue about wealth and privilege less biting.

As a result, on the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The White Lotus: Season 3” is a frustratingly fatalistic 5 – with all eight episodes now streaming on Max – and renewed for a fourth season. If you want to take a look back, here are Susan Granger’s reviews of White Lotus: Season 1 and White Lotus: Season 2.

Catch up with Susan Granger’s latest reviews here:

• April 4: “Theatre People”
• March 27: “The Residence” and “The Room Next Door”
• March 20: “Paradise” and “With Love, Meghan”
• March 13: “Running Point” and “Presence”

Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in Journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has appeared on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie critic for many years. Read all her reviews at susangranger.com.