Stunning amount each White Lotus cast member is paid per episode: 'Some won't do it'

The White Lotus is one of the biggest shows on earth right now, so you'd imagine the cast would be commanding a pretty generous salary, right? It turns out, this isn't the case at all!

The HBO series is averaging around 15 million viewers in just the US alone, with the season three premiere being viewed by around 18 million American HBO and Max viewers, Deadline reports. The show has, unsurprisingly, been renewed for another season before the season three finale airs on April 7.

How much does the White Lotus cast get paid?

Producer David Bernad told The Hollywood Reporter that "everyone is treated the same on The White Lotus", and this goes for their salaries.

"They get paid the same, and we do alphabetical billing," he said, referencing the order their names are listed in the credits. Other TV shows or films will often bill their actors in order of their character's importance or even by fame.

"So you’re getting people who want to do the project for the right reasons, not to quote The Bachelor," he joked. "It’s a system we developed in the first season because there was no money to make the show."

The publication claims that the first season of the show was made for less than A$6 million an episode, and this season is more like A$9.6m to A$11m per episode.

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"It makes it so much easier," casting director Meredith Tucker explained. "You tell people this is what it is. And some won’t do it and honestly, you can’t hold it against people who need to make a living. Our series regulars are pretty much doing this for scale."

THR reports that each actor this season is making around A$64,000 per episode, so around A$512,000 for the eight-episode run.

"And it’s not negotiable," David explained.

The outlet also claimed that Woody Harrelson was initially in talks to play Rick Hatchett, who is played by Walton Goggins on the show, but dropped out due to the salary.

When does The White Lotus season finale air?

The White Lotus season three finale will air on Binge and Max on April 7. Since Max's launch on March 31, all HBO and Warner Bros Discovery content has been moved off Binge to Max. However, given The White Lotus' third season started airing on Binge, it will finish its run there, but earlier seasons are no longer available to view.

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A spokesperson for Max confirmed to Yahoo Lifestyle, "Max will be the new home of HBO Originals, and The Last of Us will debut exclusively on Max on 14 April. As The White Lotus season three will be underway when Max launches, the remainder of the series will be available on both Binge and Foxtel Now, as well as becoming available in its entirety on Max."

Season three will be available for Binge users for 30 days after the finale airs, so you still have time to watch it there if you haven't yet!

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Natasha Rothwell on The White Lotus season three finale: 'Had to remind myself to breathe'

It comes after Natasha Rothwell, who plays Belinda on the show, told Yahoo Lifestyle that she was very surprised while reading the script for the season finale.

"I had to remind myself to breathe," she told us. "The tension that is built into the finale – it's so palpable. I was surprised, do you know what I mean? And it's hard to surprise me because I also write and I kind of know... it was amazing."

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