The White Lotus season 1 explained

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  1. C8CAA3
Showrunner:Mike White
Num Episodes:6
Network:HBO
Episode List:The White Lotus #Episodes
Next Season:Season 2

The first season of The White Lotus, an American satirical comedy-drama anthology television series created, written, and directed by Mike White, premiered on HBO on July 11, 2021. The season was greenlit in October 2020 as a limited series, filmed in Hawaii in late 2020, and features an ensemble cast of Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Fred Hechinger, Jake Lacy, Brittany O'Grady, Natasha Rothwell, Sydney Sweeney, Steve Zahn and Molly Shannon. The season consists of six episodes, and follows the lives of the staff and wealthy guests at a tropical resort in Hawaii.

The season received critical acclaim. It received 11 nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards and nine nominations at the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The season received ten wins across both ceremonies. Despite being developed as a limited series, HBO renewed the series on August 10, 2021, for a second season, making it an anthology series. The second season premiered on October 30, 2022.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guest

Episodes

Production

Development

On October 19, 2020, HBO gave The White Lotus a limited series order that consisted of six episodes.[4] The series was created, written and directed by Mike White. White also serves as executive producer alongside David Bernad and Nick Hall.[5] Mark Kamine serves as the co-executive producer.[6] In an interview with Ben Travers of IndieWire at the 2021 ATX Television Festival, White explained his creative inspiration for the first season. White wished to explore the question of "how money can pervert even our most intimate relationships," to examine the "ethics of vacationing in other people's realities," and to present the "flesh and blood" experience of being gripped by the power dynamics of "today's culture wars".[7]

Following the first season’s critical acclaim and viewership numbers, the show was renewed as an anthology series, which will tell the story of a different group of travelers during their stay at another White Lotus property.[8]

Filming

Principal photography for the first season began in October 2020 in Hawaii under COVID-19 guidelines.[9] By November 21, 2020, the series was halfway through filming at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea and was scheduled to film in December at locations around Maui. This included Lana'i Island where they shot some beach scenes.[10] [11] [12] Zahn told The Hollywood Reporter that the Four Seasons was closed during filming, which resulted in a bubble for the cast and crew. Both he and Hechinger got PADI certified for the scuba scenes.[13] Ben Kutchins served as the director of photography for the season.[14]

Casting

Upon the limited series order announcement, Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Fred Hechinger, Jake Lacy, Brittany O'Grady, Natasha Rothwell, Sydney Sweeney, and Steve Zahn were cast to star.[15] On October 30, 2020, Molly Shannon, Jon Gries, Jolene Purdy, Kekoa Kekumano, and Lukas Gage joined the cast in recurring roles.[16] Alec Merlino, who was a fellow contestant on with White, was cast as Hutch, a waiter.[17]

Music

Chilean composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer was hired by White to score the season. The theme tune for the season, "Aloha!", was composed to evoke sounds of the jungle. Tapia de Veer used unusual methods, including over-blowing into a flute and performing squawking vocal noises and "monkey sounds" himself. He also used a South American charango, a dozen or so drums from different cultures (mostly handmade drums fashioned from wood and animal skin), a variety of natural shakers, and some piano.[18]

Budget

According to Vulture, the costs of production for the season was under million per episode.[19]

Release

The season premiered on July 11, 2021, on HBO and HBO Max.[20] [21] In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the season premiered on Sky Atlantic on August 16, 2021.[22]

Home media

The season was released on DVD on September 13, 2022.[23]

Reception

Critical response

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 90% for the first season of The White Lotus based on 97 critic reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Though its true intentions can get a bit murky, gorgeous vistas, twisty drama, and a pitch perfect cast make The White Lotus a compelling—if uncomfortable—viewing destination."[24] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 82 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[25]

Matthew Jacobs of TV Guide rated it 4.5 out of 5 and wrote that it is "some of the year's best television thus far."[26] Rolling Stones Alan Sepinwall graded it 3.5 out of 5 stars and called it "frequently uncomfortable, sometimes poetic, occasionally hilarious, and deeply idiosyncratic throughout."[27] White's attention to character detail was praised, with Naomi Fry of The New Yorker lauding his "affection for his characters, who never feel like caricatures", and Judy Berman of Time commenting he is "uniquely attuned to characters' internal conflicts as well as their varying level of self-awareness."[28] The New York Timess James Poniewozik commended White's signature balance of "sardonic and sincere" tones and his "ear for how people can weaponize idealism", though he also noted the writing "sometimes strains to be topical, with its culture-war Mad Libs references to triggering and cucking, canceling and doxxing."[29] The performances of the ensemble cast were widely praised, with Roxana Hadadi of RogerEbert.com giving four stars out of four and writing it reveals a "combination of performances that are nearly universally enthralling."[30] Of the character of Armond, Poniewozik wrote Bartlett shows "the invisible gymnastics that go into this job" and plays him like "a coiled spring". Hadadi lauded Rothwell's "nuanced, elastic work" with a "haunting" final onscreen moment. Berman said Coolidge is poised to be the series' breakout but also praised Zahn, Bartlett, Rothwell, Lacy, Sweeney, and Daddario.

Criticisms of the first season lamented that the nonwhite, native Hawaiian characters who work at the resort, such as Lani and Kai, received little screen time and were the least developed characters. In this way, critics argued the show did not sufficiently engage in the topics of issues the show seemed poised to critique in its satirization of the affluent, white upper class.[31] [32] Poniewozik felt the show "could use more attention to the downstairs half of its upstairs-downstairs story; it flicks at, but doesn't really explore, the lives of the native Hawaiian staff busing tables and performing dinnertime rituals" for the guests. Mitchell Kuga of Vox wrote, "scraping at imperialism, The White Lotus mimes a moral center but never engages the topic beyond mere gesture...how successful can a piece of satire be if it replicates the very power structures it purports to satirize?" White has said the intention of giving native characters less screen time was to show how "interchangeable" the workers appear to the more privileged.[33]

Inkoo Kang of The Washington Post said the characters and performances "make for a twisty, queasy, sweatily claustrophobic drama", but opined that next to other popular TV shows that center on white, affluent people, such as Succession, Big Little Lies, The Undoing, and The Crown, The White Lotus does not have anything new "to observe about the trail of casual destruction the moneyed and connected can leave in their unhappy wake."[34] In The Observer, Kyle Turner wrote, "as someone who is very fond of White's usually tender, deft hand at balancing tone", he hoped the show had "more precision in its aimed poisoned arrows."[35] Turner added the show is "too broad to be a good satire, too pointedly critical to be a straight tragedy, too invested in its melodrama to be a broad comedy, until it becomes ouroborosian in its indecision on tone and ethos. It's not that these genres and tropes can't coexist. It's that here, they float adrift, devoid of alchemical balance."

Critics were divided about the season, with Kang saying the "swerve late in the series disappointingly sails the story toward calmer waters. Once the turbulence is over, only froth remains."[36] Other critics, such as Emily St. James of Vox, argued that what they considered the anticlimactic nature of the ending was precisely the point of the show and underscored White's commentary on the powerful and the privileged.[37] [38]

The season appeared in the top ten on numerous publications' "Best of 2021" lists, including first for The A.V. Club, The Globe and Mail, The Ringer, Slant Magazine, and The Sunday Times; second for The Boston Globe, Decider, Exclaim!, The Guardian, The Independent, New York Daily News, San Antonio Express-News, Sioux City Journal, Time, and Vulture; and third for Good Morning America, NME, and Uproxx, among others.[39]

Viewership

The first season of The White Lotus ranked number one among all series on HBO Max and achieved consistent week-over-week growth for both the premiere and digital audience.

More specifically, the second episode showed a 9.29% increase in premiere ratings from the first episode, while the third episode only saw a 4.14% increase, the fourth episode saw a 7.74% increase, the fifth episode saw a 5.05% increase, the sixth and final episode saw a 57.12% increase making it the largest ratings increase in the season. The first season also reached an average of 0.544 million viewers in ratings.[40]

Accolades

See main article: List of awards and nominations received by ''The White Lotus''. The season received 11 nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in the limited or anthology series categories.[41] It was also nominated for nine Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards across eight categories, winning five.[42] The season won the most Emmys that year across both ceremonies, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Murray Bartlett for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor, Jennifer Coolidge for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and Mike White for both Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Writing. Connie Britton, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Lacy, Natasha Rothwell, Sydney Sweeney, and Steve Zahn also received acting nominations.[43]

Notes and References

  1. New HBO Limited Series THE WHITE LOTUS From Mike White Debuts July 11. WarnerMedia. May 10, 2021. May 10, 2021. May 10, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210510204857/https://pressroom.warnermedia.com/us/media-release/new-hbo-limited-series-white-lotus-mike-white-debuts-july-11. live.
  2. Web site: Phillips . Patrick . July 6, 2021 . Why Hutch From The White Lotus Looks So Familiar . August 2, 2021 . Looper.
  3. Web site: The White Lotus Cast & Crew . HBO . July 21, 2021 . July 21, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210721175458/https://www.hbo.com/the-white-lotus/cast-and-crew . live .
  4. Web site: White . Peter . October 19, 2020 . 'Enlightened's Mike White Sets Limited Social Satire 'The White Lotus' At HBO With Connie Britton, Natasha Rothwell & Sydney Sweeney Among Cast . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201019200621/https://deadline.com/2020/10/hbo-the-white-lotus-enlighteneds-mike-white-connie-britton-alexandra-daddario-natasha-rothwell-sydney-sweeney-1234599772/ . October 19, 2020 . October 19, 2020 . Deadline Hollywood.
  5. Web site: Porter . Rick . October 19, 2020 . HBO Snags Limited Series From 'Enlightened' Creator Mike White . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201129025614/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hbo-snags-limited-series-from-enlightened-creator-mike-white . November 29, 2020 . October 19, 2020 . The Hollywood Reporter.
  6. Web site: October 22, 2021 . 'The White Lotus' Cast And Crew . October 22, 2021 . HBO.com.
  7. News: Travers . Ben . July 8, 2021 . HBO Presents...ATX TV Festival Closing Night Conversation . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221110164104/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9-_JG1asLE . November 10, 2022 . November 10, 2022 . ATX TV Festival.
  8. Web site: Del Rosario . Alexandra . August 10, 2021 . 'The White Lotus' Renewed For Season 2 At HBO . August 10, 2021 . Deadline Hollywood.
  9. Web site: Otterson . Joe . October 19, 2020 . HBO Sets Tropical Resort Limited Series 'White Lotus,' Production to Begin This Month . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210701042322/https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/hbo-white-lotus-mike-white-1234809659/ . July 1, 2021 . October 19, 2020 . Variety.
  10. Web site: Neill . Jay . June 12, 2023 . Where Was The White Lotus Filmed: 2 Exotic Locations . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230703043314/https://ifilmthings.com/where-was-the-white-lotus-filmed/ . July 3, 2023 . July 3, 2023 . iFilmThings.
  11. Web site: Rorke . Robert . July 28, 2021 . How 'The White Lotus' Transformed the Four Seasons Maui Into a Zany TV Show Set . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210818035319/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/the-white-lotus-the-four-seasons-maui . August 18, 2021 . August 18, 2021 . . Condé Nast . The crew took over the hotel ballroom and sewed enough curtains, pillows, and headboard covers to take the resort from understated to vibrant.
  12. Web site: Cerizo . Kehaulani . November 21, 2020 . HBO miniseries filming in Wailea . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210501061334/https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2020/11/hbo-miniseries-filming-in-wailea/ . May 1, 2021 . April 30, 2021 . The Maui News.
  13. Web site: O'Connell . Mikey . July 18, 2021 . Steve Zahn on Leaving His Rural Kentucky Life for HBO's 'White Lotus' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230112003257/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/steve-zahn-hbo-white-lotus-1234982335/ . January 12, 2023 . January 12, 2023 . The Hollywood Reporter.
  14. Web site: Jacobs . Matthew . June 30, 2021 . The White Lotus Review: Our Summer TV Addiction Has Arrived . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210701053229/https://www.tvguide.com/news/the-white-lotus-review-hbo-summer-tv-addiction/ . July 1, 2021 . July 1, 2021 . TV Guide.
  15. Web site: Swift . Andy . October 19, 2020 . Connie Britton Among 10 Cast in HBO's Resort-Set Limited Series White Lotus, From Enlightened Creator . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210303031125/https://tvline.com/2020/10/19/the-white-lotus-hbo-series-cast-connie-britton/ . March 3, 2021 . October 19, 2020 . TVLine.
  16. Web site: Petski . Denise . October 30, 2020 . 'The White Lotus': Molly Shannon Among Five Cast In HBO's Limited Social Satire . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201030185731/https://deadline.com/2020/10/the-white-lotus-molly-shannon-cast-jon-gries-jolene-purdy-lukas-gage-kekoa-kekumano-hbo-limited-social-satire-1234606587/ . October 30, 2020 . October 30, 2020 . Deadline Hollywood.
  17. Web site: Phillips . Patrick . July 6, 2021 . Why Hutch From The White Lotus Looks So Familiar . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210802184052/https://www.looper.com/419293/the-white-lotus-release-date-cast-plot/ . August 2, 2021 . August 2, 2021 . Looper.
  18. News: Blake . Meredith . July 21, 2018 . 'The White Lotus' composer breaks down the eerie score we can't get out of our heads . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230127235617/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-08-08/the-white-lotus-hbo-composer-score-title-sequence . January 27, 2023 . March 30, 2023 . Los Angeles Times.
  19. Web site: McHenry . Jackson . August 29, 2022 . The White Lotus Returns, and the Behavior Is No Better . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221212042247/https://www.vulture.com/article/the-white-lotus-season-2-set-visit.html . December 12, 2022 . December 12, 2022 . Vulture . en-us.
  20. Web site: White . Peter . October 19, 2020 . 'Enlightened's Mike White Sets Limited Social Satire 'The White Lotus' At HBO With Connie Britton, Natasha Rothwell & Sydney Sweeney Among Cast . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201019200621/https://deadline.com/2020/10/hbo-the-white-lotus-enlighteneds-mike-white-connie-britton-alexandra-daddario-natasha-rothwell-sydney-sweeney-1234599772/ . October 19, 2020 . October 19, 2020 . Deadline Hollywood.
  21. Web site: Gelman . Vlada . May 10, 2021 . TVLine Items: Netflix's Sex/Life First Look, CW Tweaks Schedule and More . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210514010435/https://tvline.com/2021/05/10/sex-life-premiere-date-netflix-sarah-shahi/ . May 14, 2021 . May 10, 2021 . TVLine.
  22. Web site: Moore . Paul . July 30, 2021 . Sky will show The White Lotus in August, the murder mystery with great reviews . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210805184820/https://www.irishmirror.ie/tv/sky-show-white-lotus-august-24654809 . August 5, 2021 . July 30, 2021 . Irish Mirror.
  23. Web site: Lovell . Kevin . July 12, 2022 . 'The White Lotus: The Complete First Season'; Arrives On DVD September 13, 2022 From HBO – Warner Bros . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221129214411/https://screen-connections.com/2022/07/12/the-white-lotus-season-1-dvd-release-details/ . November 29, 2022 . November 29, 2022 . Screen-Connections.
  24. The White Lotus. the_white_lotus. tv. 1. August 3, 2022. y.
  25. The White Lotus. the-white-lotus. tv. 1. August 3, 2022. y.
  26. Web site: Jacobs . Matthew . June 30, 2021 . The White Lotus Review: Our Summer TV Addiction Has Arrived . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210701053229/https://www.tvguide.com/news/the-white-lotus-review-hbo-summer-tv-addiction/ . July 1, 2021 . July 1, 2021 . TV Guide.
  27. Sepinwall . Alan . June 30, 2021 . 'The White Lotus': Class Warfare Comes to Fantasy Island . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210701054234/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-reviews/white-lotus-review-1190058/ . July 1, 2021 . July 1, 2021 . Rolling Stone.
  28. Berman . Judy . June 30, 2021 . 'The White Lotus' Is the Must-See Show of the Summer . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221206071301/https://time.com/6076867/the-white-lotus-review/ . December 6, 2022 . December 6, 2022 . Time . en.
  29. News: Poniewozik . James . July 8, 2021 . Review: 'The White Lotus' Offers Scenery From the Class Struggle . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221205230536/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/08/arts/television/review-white-lotus.html . December 5, 2022 . December 6, 2022 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
  30. Web site: Hadadi . Roxana . July 7, 2021 . The White Lotus movie review & film summary (2021) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221206071307/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-white-lotus-tv-review-2021 . December 6, 2022 . December 6, 2022 . RogerEbert.com . en.
  31. Web site: Obie . Brooke . August 20, 2021 . 'The White Lotus' And The Limits Of White Self-Critique . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221206071307/https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/08/10640659/the-white-lotus-review-the-limits-of-white-self-critique . December 6, 2022 . December 6, 2022 . . en.
  32. Web site: Kuga . Mitchell . August 15, 2021 . The White Lotus is as clueless about Native Hawaiians as its characters . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221206071301/https://www.vox.com/first-person/22621960/white-lotus-native-hawaiians-hbo . December 6, 2022 . December 6, 2022 . . en.
  33. Web site: VanArendonk . Kathryn . August 15, 2021 . Mike White Accepts the Criticism . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221206071309/https://www.vulture.com/article/the-white-lotus-finale-mike-white-interview-departures-ending.html . December 6, 2022 . December 6, 2022 . . en-us.
  34. News: Kang . Inkoo . July 9, 2021 . 'The White Lotus' is the latest show to join HBO's carnival of awful rich people we can't look away from . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210922050750/https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/tv/2021/07/09/white-lotus-hbo-review/ . September 22, 2021 . December 6, 2022 . The Washington Post.
  35. Web site: Turner . Kyle . August 16, 2021 . The Whiteness Lotus: HBO's Hit Show Wants to Critique Power, But It Fails to Commit . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221206071301/https://observer.com/2021/08/the-white-lotus-whiteness-essay/ . December 6, 2022 . December 6, 2022 . . en-US.
  36. Web site: Paskin . Willa . July 12, 2021 . What if HBO Doesn't Need Another Show About Terrible Rich White People? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221206071303/https://slate.com/culture/2021/07/white-lotus-hbo-mike-white-review.html . December 6, 2022 . December 6, 2022 . . en.
  37. Web site: St. James . Emily . August 16, 2021 . Nothing changes on The White Lotus. That's the point. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221206072806/https://www.vox.com/culture/22622686/white-lotus-finale-departures-recap-review-hbo . December 6, 2022 . December 6, 2022 . Vox . en.
  38. Web site: Herman . Alison . August 15, 2021 . 'The White Lotus' Finale Didn't Need a Dead Body—But It Picked the Perfect One . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221209045003/https://www.theringer.com/tv/2021/8/15/22626312/the-white-lotus-finale-season-1-armond-shane . December 9, 2022 . December 9, 2022 . The Ringer . en.
  39. Web site: Dietz . Jason . December 3, 2021 . Best of 2021: Television Critic Top Ten Lists . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221208040707/https://www.metacritic.com/feature/tv-critics-pick-10-best-tv-shows-of-2021 . December 8, 2022 . March 7, 2023 . Metacritic.
  40. Web site: The White Lotus Season One Ratings. October 16, 2021. October 16, 2021. TVSeriesFinale.
  41. Snierson . Dan . September 12, 2022 . See the full list of 2022 Emmy winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230107214000/https://ew.com/awards/emmys/emmys-2022-winners-list/ . January 7, 2023 . January 11, 2023 . Entertainment Weekly.
  42. September 4, 2022 . 2022 Creative Arts Emmys: See full winners list . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220905072515/https://ew.com/awards/emmys/2022-creative-arts-emmys-winners-list/ . September 5, 2022 . January 11, 2023 . Entertainment Weekly.
  43. Web site: Otterson . Jason . September 12, 2022 . HBO and HBO Max Reclaim Most Emmy Wins Crown as 'White Lotus' Snags 10 Awards . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220915074157/https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/emmys-2022-wins-by-show-platform-hbo-max-white-lotus-1235369416/ . September 15, 2022 . September 12, 2022 . Variety.

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