The White Lotus creator reveals how he cast the Ratliffs in Season 3

The White Lotus Season 3 premiered in February 2025, and like the previous seasons, was loved by the viewers. With a new location, new story, and new characters, showrunner Mike White created another hit black comedy series that not only impressed the audience but also caught attention in the Award season, garnering 23 Primetime Emmy nominations.

In a new The Hollywood Reporter interview, White revealed how casting actors with different approaches toward their craft was a fun process. In addition, he also revealed that while casting the Ratcliff family, his main aim was to find actors who looked similar and related, as they were going to be a part of a family in the show.

More on this in our story.

The White Lotus Season 3: Mike White shares how he cast the Ratcliff family

In the interview, Mike White talked about bringing different kinds of actors to work together, comparing the process to being a connoisseur of taste, stating it is like "you want a little a taste of this, a little taste of that" or putting together an orchestra. However, he also revealed one aspect during casting that required similarity rather than difference. He revealed that he wanted a cast that looked related to each other.

He took the example of the Mossbacher family from The White Lotus Season 1, who looked a little bit alike, which successfully gave the impression that they were a family in the show. He tried this in Season 3 with the Ratcliff family and cast actors who can give a similar vibe.

He said:

"The first season, we did this family with Sydney Sweeney and Fred Hechinger and then Steve Zahn and we put them all together for the camera test and I was like, ‘Oh, these people look exactly alike. This looks like a family.’ And then I was like, ‘We’ve got to do this with this Ratliff family."

He playfully teased and revealed he wanted a Brunette version of the Mossbacher family and added:

"I was like, ‘We’ve got to make them look alike, maybe the brunette version of that family.’ I don’t know if they’re as perfectly dwarfy cute blondes like that season, but they’re amazing, I think they do [look related]. You want to buy it."

More about the Ratcliff family from The White Lotus Season 3

While White tried to find a cast that looked like a family in The White Lotus Season 3, the actors, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Sam Nivola, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Patrick Schwarzenegger, gave the perfect version of a chaotic family with their performances.

Representing the rich and white family, getting entangled in so much drama that it left them penniless, made Timothy (Jason Isaacs) realize that the safety of his family was more important than money and status. However, they still had to deal with the problem as it was just Timothy’s realization, not the whole family’s.

In an earlier interview with Cosmopolitan, Mike White talked about the ending of the series concerning the Ratcliff family and said:

"It’s a bittersweet ending. Life goes on past this personal valley, but what’s going to happen without their comforts? I don’t think Victoria is someone who can live in poverty. I’m sure she can come up with some other solution."

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Also Read: Where was The White Lotus Season 2 shot? Revisiting key filming locations of the HBO drama

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