When The White Lotus debuted on UK screens last August, it arrived shrouded in hype, and was seemingly the perfect series for increasingly inegalitarian, “new normal” times. Like another HBO hit, Succession, it expertly skewered the privileged, although there was more of a satirical edge to this tale of teenage mean girls, troubled heiresses, and happily unhappy families rubbing shoulders with increasingly frazzled, rictus grin-wearing employees at a luxury Hawaiian resort. Most of the White Lotus guests were white and upper middle class; all were intolerable. There was an unforgettable scene featuring an errant poo and, of course, the small matter of the big box marked HUMAN REMAINS which was loaded on to the travellers’ return flight at the end of the first episode.
As its six episodes unfolded, the question of which of the castaways would meet their end on their luxury break ultimately became less central than observing the slow downfall of the people whom long-suffering masseuse Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) described as “fucking up the world”. Add in an Emmy-winning turn from Jennifer Coolidge as the oh-so-screwed up (yet undeniably pathos-inducing) Tanya, and it was the perfect mix of warped humour and confronting reality.
You could have been forgiven for thinking that that would be it – after all, The White Lotus was initially billed as a six-part limited series. Nowadays, however, that doesn’t mean all that much, and the show returns to US and UK screens this coming week for a second run (in anthology style, it is now set in Sicily, with Coolidge the only main cast member to return, alongside newcomers including Aubrey Plaza and The Sopranos’ Michael Imperioli).
Way back in 2020 I wrote about the rise and rise of the miniseries – from Quiz to Chernobyl – when “one and done” series were gaining ground. I also reflected on the possibility that programme makers (as had happened with Big Little Lies) would continue to tack on future series of shows for the fun of it, quoting Watchmen creator Damon Lindelof’s assertion that “unless you’re compelled to say something new, I don’t think that you should [make a second series] just because you did it once successfully.” Since then, it has only become more of a trend, with the likes of Natasha Lyonne’s Groundhog Day-esque mind-bender Russian Doll and the Kaley Cuoco thriller The Flight Attendant coming back to our screens for unexpected, and arguably unnecessary, second runs. And, of course, there was the news earlier this year that Netflix’s megahit Squid Game would return, something that no one asked for and which seemed more of a response to its ubiquitous success than the necessity of carrying on the story of Gi-hun, already living his best post-games life, complete with a new bright red dye job.
However, it isn’t always the worst idea to bring back a beloved miniseries especially if, as Lindelof said, you do have something new to say. A prime example (and stay with me here) is Netflix’s You, which began as an incredibly hammy thriller about an Instagram-dwelling Nice Guy turned serial killer, but which – over three series – has morphed into an increasingly meta, darkly comic series which went all Mr and Mrs Smith in its last run by pairing its lead with an equally bloodthirsty lover. By the time that people were calling for a crossover event between the series and the much-memed Emily In Paris, it was clear that You had managed to morph into something sillier and more watchable than we could ever have expected when we first saw Joe Goldberg skulking around the streets of New York in his baseball cap.
And so, to The White Lotus’s return, which comes with another batch of privileged guests, and – yes – another fatality. Without giving anything away, I think that, in not attempting to tell the same story verbatim, it just might have pulled it off. Lurching into class tensions, sexual politics and all-pervading malaise from the off, there’s even less of a sense this time that these are people fiddling while Rome burns, but that the inferno has already long taken hold. “Whenever I stay at a White Lotus, I always have a memorable time,” says Tanya early in the first episode. And – although you might not have anticipated this return visit – you surely will too.
The White Lotus series two airs on HBO in the US from 30 October, and Sky/NOW in the UK from 31 Oct.
If you want to read the complete version of this newsletter please subscribe to receive The Guide in your inbox every Friday.
