White Lotus 3 makers wrote six fake endings to prevent finale leak: ‘We kind of distributed fake endings to people…’

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White Lotus 3 team went full secret agent mode 

According to the showrunners, when the White Lotus team started filming season 3, they had three major secrets to guard with their lives. The first was how the season ends, the second was the surprise return of Jon Gries (after his character possibly killed Tanya in season 2), and the third was Sam Rockwell’s guest arc across multiple episodes. And when Bernad says they went to “great lengths” to keep those secrets under wraps, he really meant it. Take Jon Gries, for example, he was all in on keeping his comeback a secret. According to Bernad, just so no one would spot him at the airport, Jon once ditched the 45-minute flight and chose to travel 12 hours by bus while the cast and crew were flying between shooting locations in Thailand. “I think he drove like, 12 hours from Phuket to Bangkok.”

While they were shooting a scene with Gries at the Four Seasons, Bernad said some guests were caught filming from their hotel room window. They had no idea what they were recording was a massive spoiler. “I was really scared they were going to post it,” Bernad shared. He recalled asking the hotel manager to bring those guests down to the set, played it cool, and even got them to delete the video. Later, casually suggested it first, then made them feel like part of the experience so they’d be more willing to cooperate. “They unknowingly didn’t realise they were filming something that was very sensitive.”

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What’s up with all this hush-hush? Because the White Lotus surprises are the soul of the show. That’s what keeps fans glued to the screen, especially in the final episodes. “Every season, people say the early episodes feel slow,” Bernad admitted. But he explained that it’s all part of the build-up. And of course, for Bernad, the finale is the moment that matters most. “People only remember the ending,” he said.