X
- 2021
- TV-MA
- HBO
- 2021
- TV-MA
- HBO
Summary The satirical limited series created by Mike White gradually reveals the truth behind the seemingly perfect guests and staff at an exclusive Hawaiian resort over the course of a week.
Created By: Mike White
- 2021
- TV-MA
- HBO
- 2021
- TV-MA
- HBO
The White Lotus
Season 1 Premiere: Jul 11, 2021
7.9
Where to Watch
Summary The satirical limited series created by Mike White gradually reveals the truth behind the seemingly perfect guests and staff at an exclusive Hawaiian resort over the course of a week.
Created By: Mike White
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 79 Critic Reviews
82
95% Positive
75 Reviews
75 Reviews
4% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
1% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 79 Critic Reviews
82
95% Positive
75 Reviews
75 Reviews
4% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
1% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
White has once again produced something as heady and intoxicating as it is sour and unsettling. This is another dose of self-sabotaging lurid luxury that makes helpless, gleeful voyeurs of us all.
"The White Lotus" is still a buzz of capitalist hypocrisy, absurd indulgence, clueless privilege and mordant wit. The beautiful people have changed for the most part, but the abundant anxieties and kinks beneath their shiny surfaces are apparently universal.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 273 User Ratings
7.9
84% Positive
228 Ratings
228 Ratings
7% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
10% Negative
27 Ratings
27 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 273 User Ratings
7.9
84% Positive
228 Ratings
228 Ratings
7% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
10% Negative
27 Ratings
27 Ratings
This series kept me riveted. It is suspenseful, quirky, and funny. It delves into the characters in a fascinating way.
Report
This is just a fantastic show, from the photography, scenery, character development, music, script. I have not been captivated like that for a long time. The complexity of the characters and layers to the story are just fantastically layered. It's not for kids, so I don't expect anyone without life experience to enjoy it.
Report
Some of the year's best television thus far. ... White has a deft way of interweaving storylines so they never feel contrived, and he gives everyone who appears multiple moments of first-rate comedy. The roving camerawork (by Ozark cinematographer Ben Kutchins) and tribal score (by Hunters composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer) contribute to the show's polish.
In a nutshell this series is funny, but not as funny as the last one. But series one took its time to take off too. And, having watched ahead only five episodes; I don't know the denouement be assured that Mike White builds the tension exquisitely and there is much toxicity to gorge upon. ... I love Tanya. She embodies the show's essence: that being filthy rich doesn't make you happy. Indeed, it can make you wretchedly miserable. Enjoy the schadenfreude.
“The White Lotus” 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. And it sometimes strains to be topical, with its culture-war Mad Libs references to triggering and cucking, canceling and doxxing. But this is a sharp, soulful series that knows its characters in full and gets richer as it goes on.
For all the goings on, the first five episodes don’t exactly build up a narrative head of steam. It’s hard to tell where any of these stories are heading, or if they’re heading anywhere. That’s not a criticism, exactly; it’s easy enough to hang out here, with the actors and the scenery, and the series is not without a subtle sort of movement.
Nobody has a real conversation; they say things at each other as if lobbing verbal tennis balls over a net, which is maybe why it all sounds so trite. Even as it skewers these people, the show is too in love with the idea of being rich to really consider the rot at its core.
This was an interesting show. While I liked some of the story lines, most of them went nowhere and didn't make much sense. The concierge was great and was the highlight of the show. Saying that, there were some truly horrible people in this show but the one I just hated was Jennifer Coolidge. I find her presence to be very offputting as she is remarkedly unattractive. Every time she appeared on screen it was like a horror movie jump scare. (I don't understand why she keeps getting cast in movies). This show left a lot of loose ends which was frustrating as well. E.g. One of the hotel staff has a baby in episode 1 which she tries to keep secret. Never see or hear from her again after that even though it was one of the main themes from the episode.
Report
It’s well acted and put together, but I didn’t find it interesting in the slightest. I didn’t like the characters or the plots. Quite dull.
Report
Wow is this show boring. I actually can't believe just how bland it is. Plot twists you see coming from miles away and characters that are both unlikeable and unrelatable. The camera work is pretty good, but each wasted hour of an episode is an absolute chore to get through. The only people I can see enjoying this are those who've never experienced any kind of challenge in life since these frail characters seem to make mountains out of molehills. I understand if this is the point, as a "satire" but it's just not an enjoyable ride. Also, to the show runners at HBO, we get it. You like man butts. Maybe cut the shots down to one or two an episode and it'll be more palatable for everyone else.
Report
This show is meant to watch while doing some other primary activity like browsing Instagram stories or whipping up a nice hollandaise sauce. This show is really slow, but reliably builds tension every episode. The difference between say this, and the Leftovers, is that I don't really care about any of the characters or what happens to them. There's no compassion building, and unlike other shows about almost nothing like Seinfeld, this show isn't funny and its script is derivative and boring. All of the characters are incredibly unlikeable, but the writers lack the skill to build connection with characters who are truly awful people like Breaking Bad's writers did. It's fairly obvious why reviewers like the New Yorker gave this great reviews: it's a great show for people who consider themselves smart to blow smoke up their own butts about how smart they are for grasping this show's subtlety. This show is TV's meta jump-the-shark moment. It's a clear reminder that the golden age of TV is behind us. It is content. It is built as a distraction from the mediocre lives that late-stage capitalism has provided for many of us. All of the characters are neoliberal archetypes that don't actually exist. This is really the first show I can say was probably produced solely to keep people in front of their TVs and out of the city hall and streets.
Report
Production Company:
- Rip Cord Productions
Initial Release Date: Jul 11, 2021
Number of seasons: 3 Seasons
Rating: TV-MA
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards
• 15 Wins & 44 Nominations
Online Film & Television Association
• 11 Wins & 33 Nominations
