The pandemic, 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, and the wildfires in Los Angeles taught the entertainment industry that there’s little hope for the establishment of a multi-year plan that doesn’t provide immediate success. A market that rapidly fluctuates has made it a challenge to develop projects that may only be considered beneficial after multiple years of growth. This has had a significant effect in the film industry’s unwillingness to invest in original storytelling, but it has also curbed the amount of epic television series. Most shows are capped after just a few seasons, with only a few notable successes like Ozark and Succession given a legitimate ending. But bow that The White Lotus is set to premiere its third season in February, it's evident that the undefinable HBO satire is the show of the moment.
The White Lotus is the brainchild of Mike White, a bold writer/director whose ascension within Hollywood has taken several decades. White began his career as the writer of offbeat dark comedies like Chuck & Buck and The Good Girl, with occasional crowd-pleasers like School of Rock. Although White has continued to churn out solid indie films, he’s been most successful with episodic television; Enlightened and Cracking Up may not have had Game of Thrones numbers, but their low production costs and niche appeal made it hard to deny White future opportunities.
Covid was a crisis that led to a lot of the wrong lessons, as audiences have indicated they have little nostalgia for the lockdown era. But a brief window in which the world shut down did lead creators like White to make astute observations about the intersections between class, privilege, and social mobility. In The White Lotus, a climactic point is reached not thanks to a world-shifting pandemic, but through a seemingly prestigious vacation.
The title The White Lotus refers to a chain of resort locations across the world that attract a wealthy clientele, and are marketed based on the diligence of their staff. These attractions combine the splendor of an island vacation with the personal touch of a Disney theme park; however, the exclusivity of their guests means that these opportunities are only afforded to the entitled. The White Lotus leans into the friction that emerges when those from different social circles are trapped together. In the first season, viewers were introduced to Jennifer Coolidge as an eccentric widow, Connie Britton and Steve Zahn as struggling parents, Sydney Sweeny and Fred Hechinger as daffy children of privilege, and Murray Bartlett as a dedicated chain manager who reaches his breaking point.
The White Lotus begins with the hook that a body’s been taken away from the island, but it doesn’t take a noir framing device to indicate that the paradise is on the verge of collapse. Although some have considered White’s treatment of his characters as cruel, the depth in which he’s depicted their anxieties is respectful. Most people have managed to hide their greed and animosity, and White tests each of his characters to see when they will give into those desires.
Although it was conceived as a limited series, the hook of The White Lotus was too good for a premature conclusion. The continuation of The White Lotus was difficult to categorize; unlike other anthology shows like Fargo or True Detective, there’s a shared continuity within The White Lotus due to Coolidge’s recurring role. Although the second season begins with another allusion to an impending tragedy, the show is so ambulatory in its pacing that it can’t be lumped in with traditional crime shows like Mare of Eastown or Tokyo Vice. The White Lotus is funny, but the satire is the result of White’s honesty, rather than an exaggeration of the manner in which people interact.
Those that view all shows like a puzzle in the vein of Lost may look to the chilling title sequence and vague references to poetry in order to predict which characters may meet their end. However, there’s enough meta-commentary on the cast’s celebrity to leave media publications with something to chew on; it's no coincidence that the second season featured Michael Imperioli as a somewhat mature version of Christopher Moltisanti, or Aubrey Plaza in a role reminiscent of a more self-conscious April Ludgate. Whether these references will allow The White Lotus to age well is unknown, but it’s hard to find another show that’s so fluid in its reconfiguration.
