Out of all the new television shows that debuted in the past few years, The White Lotus is a surprising hit. Initially debuting in July 2021, the show has seen a staggering increase of 155% since its first premiere, with over 2.4 million viewers recorded watching the debut episode of its third season, according to Variety.
It’s unsurprising why the show has found such consistent success. American audiences for decades have been enraptured by the lives of the wealthy elite, be it through various reality TV shows or from the day-to-day news headlines. It has always been a curiosity to witness the lives of wealthy people and their troubles.
The White Lotus takes this concept and expands on it. It shines a light not only on wealthy American experiences abroad but also on the experiences of Americans of all social classes, how they interact with each other, and the service workers who have to withstand their insanity.
Additionally, the show’s resort setting reveals the detrimental impact these places have on the local populous, exploiting them and using up their resources. While resorts can offer an easy and relatively safe space for tourists to lounge around in, they often disconnect tourists from legitimate local experiences.
The money these resorts rake in often doesn’t go back into the local community. Instead, it goes strictly into upholding the upkeep of the resort. This results in the depletion of many of the natural resources surrounding the resort that locals need.
It is a bleak reality, but The White Lotus manages to engage audiences with the help of its charming and provocative comedy. While the show hardly offers any solutions to predatory resorts, it does more than enough, showcasing these realities to a populous who have largely remained willfully oblivious to their impacts on the world.
