Season 2 of HBO’sThe White Lotuspremiered on October 30, with the63% jump in viewershipmaking clear that fans can’t wait to see what happens in Sicily. The hit series rightfully dominated at this year’sPrimetime Emmy Awards, with 10 wins and 20 nominations. And now, the wait is finally over to see what happens at the hotel chain’s Italian location.
Having evolved from a one-off miniseries to an anthology,The White Lotusseason 2 features an almostentirely new, diverse cast, with plenty of familiar faces. But there are common themes between the two installments, as demonstrated in season 2’s premiere. And there’s no denying that both of the hotels themselves are simply beautiful.
Speaking of — just how much do we really know about The White Lotus hotel chain besides the fact that its Hawaii location saw some recent (fictional) turmoil and even a death, per season 1? Is it a real-life hotel? Inspired by an existing hospitality business? Or is it complete fiction for our enjoyment as media consumers? Here’s a deep dive into the company, including its backstory and how it’s evolved over the past couple years, thanks to writer, director, andcreator Mike White.
The Hit Series' Origins
White’s writing has been terrific for years, and it’s a relief that his latest TV endeavor is finally getting the recognition he deserves. His underrated, short-lived HBO seriesEnlightenedwith Laura Dern was a showcase of White’s script talents. And on a related note toThe White Lotus, Enlightenedeven has a one-off episode that takes place entirely in Hawaii, where Luke Wilson’s character attends a rehab clinic. And now, years later,The White Lotusdebuted in the very same U.S. state. When the first season came out in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a smash hit, primarily for the relatable yet often despicable characters involved.
“I just wanted to get at how money really impacts all relationships, beyond even just guest and employee,“White told EWlast year about season 1. “But how some of these classic relationships — a couple on their honeymoon, a family on vacation, a woman who’s maybe looking for love or looking for some kind of relaxing vacation on her own — and just try to orchestrate it around who has the money and calls the shots and how there’s these power dynamics, even in these relationships that seem like they would transcend that kind of thing.” In effect, the most talked about hotel of the year — two years in a row now — may be the five-star White Lotus, at the center of a series about white privilege, colonialism, and rich people behaving badly. The show started quietly when it premiered in July only to become a rarity in 2021: a genuine watercooler hit.
Related:The White Lotus Season 2 Review: An Underwhelming, But Still Entertaining Addition to the Series
Real-Life or Fictional Hotel Chain?
“Four Seasons, meet Mike White. He’s going to turn two of your hotels into TV stars.” Okay, no one said that, but that’s the gist ofThe White Lotus' true nature. Both the six-episode first season and the second installment were shot at Four Seasons hotels, with the cast and crew largely taking over each property. The real-life general manager of the Four Seasons Resort Maui once toldTown & Country Magazinethat his phone had been ringing off the hook since the show exploded: “Nonstop, nonstop, nonstop… It’s taken on a life of its own. You could imagine the amount of calls we’ve gotten like, ‘Is that really—’ It’s like, No, far from it.”
So, why call it The White Lotus? Before the show existed, the name comes from that of a beautiful flower, which is perhaps telling of the TV show’s nature. On the surface, these are attractive characters in an attractive location — everything is pretty. But then, when you get to the roots of everything that’s happening, an entirely different picture is revealed…
Related:The White Lotus: Best Season 1 Moments, Ranked
The White Lotus Filming Locations
“When I was little, I would go to Hawaii with my family. My dad was a minister, so we didn’t have a lot of money. It was my first experience of being somewhere other than where I lived,” White once toldThe New Yorker. “The Hawaiian culture is very specific, and there’s something very magnetic and beautiful about it. After I madeEnlightened, I actually was able to buy a place there. I was hoping to be Paul Theroux and have my Hawaiian writer’s retreat or something. And it is such a paradisiacal, idyllic place. But it’s also such a living microcosm of so many of the cultural reckonings that are happening right now. There are ethical aspects to just vacationing there, let alone buying a house there. The longer I spent time there, the more I realized just how complex it is. And it just felt like that might be interesting as a backdrop to this show.”
Following the first season’s shoot in Maui, season 2 ofThe White Lotuswas filmed at the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Taormina, Sicily. “I think the environment is very much a part of the show,” season 2 star Aubrey Plaza toldNewsweek. “It’s like a character, the location. So I think the show is very informed by the energy of kind of being on this volcanic Italian island and I think the show is more focused on sexual politics rather than cold, colonialism, and, in my opinion, the money and those kinds of issues that the first season dealt with. So I think that’s it, there’s a slight shift in kind of focus. There is a lot about relationships and cheating, jealousy, sex, like, things like that.”
While a third season of the show hasn’t been officially announced, it sounds like White’s creative juices are already flowing. “We just turned in our last episode to the network yesterday, so it’s hard to think about the next race,” White recently told Deadline. “But if we did, I think it’d be fun to maybe go to a whole different continent. You know, we did Europe, and maybe Asia, something crazy like that, that would be fun.” Wherever he takes the show next, I’m sure White will get plenty of devoted viewers — even if the White Lotus isn’t a real-life business. Season 2 ofThe White Lotusis currently airing Sundays on HBO.
