A Look Back at Season 3 with Mike White
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Who are the hosts and guest of this podcast episode?
Hello, this is Josh Behrman, the co-host with Gia Tolentino of the official White Lotus companion podcast for season three. And we are here with a bonus episode with Mike White. Mike is of course the creator of the show, but it's also worth noting that he is the writer and director and executive producer, which is not really common in television. So what's emerged is a TV show that's sort of like auteur film. I've known Mike for a long time. We've worked together and I think it's not a secret he doesn't really like to talk about his work that much, but we're gonna get a chance to do so and dive in. And so next we have Mike White.
Mike, thank you so much for talking to us today.
Well, thank you for doing this. Yeah, this is going to be fun. We're deep in it, and so we're obviously super excited to talk to you about it.
Dave Burnad told the story about you being on a nebulizer when you were in Thailand early on, and the season materializing in your mind, almost fully formed from that nebulizer.
Yeah, it was a really weird thing and I'm like thinking now, I guess I'm like, now that this is over and like fourth season, I'm like, should I get bronchitis again?
How did Thailand influence Mike White's creative process?
What was in it?
Can I have some? Yeah, it is a true story. We were scouting in Thailand and Thailand was kind of just a stalking horse because I really wanted to shoot in Japan because I'd had more fun in Japan the times I'd visited. But I was having a really good time in Thailand, and then I got sick, and then they put me on this nebulizer, and I did not sleep for two days. And I had had some of these... There were some vague concepts that I was starting to, like, you know, kept churning over. But then I had, like, 12 hours in a bed going crazy, and by the time the weekend was over, I was like, oh my... Yeah, like, I was like, oh... Oh, yeah, Belinda's son could be... By then I was like, I think I have the season.
And so I was... I mean, I'm sure things continued to... Yeah, and when I write, things change stuff. But it definitely felt like I was like, I can plant my flag and it was taking place in Thailand. So I was like, I have a feeling we're going to end up in Thailand. I might have mentioned a little bit when I was in Thailand, but I had the whole thesis before really knowing anything about season three, that season one was this kind of Buddhist allegory. All the characters, they're all in some form of pain. And so then now we're in season three where this now is about sort of Buddhism and spirituality and people examining their own suffering and death.
What are the themes of identity and Buddhism in Season 3?
Well, the first season was definitely like a class, upstairs, downstairs, comedy of manners kind of thing. And I mean, I don't know. I do read a lot of Buddhism, so I have thoughts about that. This one, at least from how I was composing it, there is a using Buddhist sort of ideas as a organizing... principle. It was about trying to think about identity as a cause of suffering. I think identity as this way of thinking about yourself in these concrete literal terms that like then end up becoming a source of pain for you. You know, it's a source of, can be a source of pride, but it also becomes a source of pain. And basically the whole thing is really like a kind of dramatic investigation. And this is why the writing is a little different than like the other ones. It's
Obviously, there's satirical elements, but there is a kind of Buddhist parable kind of... It has a little bit of a parable sort of feel, like the Wollongongan story. It's a little more hard-boiled or something than something that I usually write. The main original idea was having two guys that were seemingly very different, but having a parallel experience during the week. And one guy who has had so much expectation, he has some kind of familial backstory of somebody who always was expected great things. He's kind of like a pillar of the community. He still has the respect and love intact of his family and then has done this shady thing. And then he realizes it's not only are they going to be poor, but just this idea of this self that he's created.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Who are the hosts and guest of this podcast episode?
0:21–1:37
2
How did Thailand influence Mike White's creative process?
1:37–2:58
3
What are the themes of identity and Buddhism in Season 3?
2:58–5:55
4
How does Mike White approach character development?
5:55–10:00
5
What inspired the plot lines and character dynamics in Season 3?
10:00–16:06
6
What changes were made from script to screen in Season 3?
16:06–33:40