HBO had 3 conditions before greenlighting The White Lotus (& it only made the show more engaging)

Mike White's dark comedy anthology series The White Lotus became a Global phenomenon since its premiere in 2021 on HBO.

However, as White once revealed to The New York Times, the network had three conditions before the show, which eventually proved favorable to its success.

While the world was in quarantine during the COVID pandemic, Francesca Orsi, HBO’s executive vice president of drama series, came White with a peculiar idea: to make a show in a single location, with a budget of less than $3 million for each episode and adhering to the pandemic protocols.

White, who had previously worked on HBO's series Enlightened, was intrigued by the idea and chose Hawaii as the first location. The crew and cast for The White Lotus Season 1 were quarantined together at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea and shot each episode on a budget.

Read on to know how HBO's three conditions paved the way for The White Lotus.

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How did HBO's three conditions result in Mike White's The White Lotus?

It is insane that The White Lotus and the Global phenomenon it became came out of HBO's specific conditions for White. The Enlightened creator used the resources at hand and created a show about rich people vacationing in an exotic location.

While most TV show productions were cancelled and negatively impacted by the COVID pandemic, White's show was born because of it. As White told The New York Times, HBO's three conditions "sounded hellish", but the more he thought about them, the more the idea grew on him.

Since HBO wanted their new show to be set in one location entirely, White immediately thought of Hawaii as he took budget trips to the place in his formative years. White also had a writer's retreat on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, and he would often spend half his year there, writing and reading about the island's culture and history.

Talking about the first location for the anthology series, White told The New York Times:

“It [Hawaii] was kind of the first place where I realized there is another place and another culture and another life...''

Now that White had a location in mind, the concept for his anthology series grew, as he further added:

“I just was like, I should just do a show about people on vacation who have money, and how money is impacting all of their relationships...There’s something about vacationing in other people’s realities.''

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HBO's conditions for The White Lotus worked in favor of the show

While HBO's conditions at that time were restrictive, they worked for the best, and the show emerged as one of the network's most popular and successful anthologies.

The concept of a group of rich people vacationing in a luxurious resort at an exotic (and new) location each year was an instant hit. As White anticipated aptly, 'vacationing in other people's realities' is fun, and the ratings are evidence enough.

In addition, The White Lotus premiered in July 2021, when the world was still partly stuck within the pandemic restrictions, making the show's visuals even more enticing. At a time when people couldn't take a vacation, watching this group of elite people in an exotic location like Hawaii was the best consolation prize.

White even acknowledged how this worked in favor of the show with The New York Times:

“It was a pleasure to feel like people had been bounced out of their pandemic prisons to come and party...''

After Hawaii, The White Lotus eventually took people on vacation in Sicily and, most recently, Thailand, and the show has already been renewed for Season 4.

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Also Read: 5 worst characters from The White Lotus who we love to hate