What To Watch To Fill The White Lotus Void In Your Life
The White Lotus finale somewhat split opinion – yes, the Darth Vader father twist was a bit on the nose, but wasn’t Carrie Coon’s monologue great? Whether you were disappointed or satisfied with the ending, viewers will now have a giant White Lotus-shaped hole in their lives. Thankfully, we’ve rounded up a list of ten films and shows that will help ease the pain somewhat, whether you want more luxury resort mysteries, character studies or rich-people psychodramas.
The Resort
If you want more White Lotus vibes with an added sci-fi twist, The Resort is the show for you. Cristin Millioti and William Jackson Harper star as a couple going through relationship difficulties who head to a luxury tropical resort hoping to solve it (sounds familiar). Soon though, they are brought together to research the mystery of two teenagers who went missing at the same resort 15 years previously. It’s fun and less serious than the White Lotus, but a ride worth taking.
Force Majeure
It feels like everyone is thinking the same thing for The White Lotus season four: ski resort. Sadly, it seems like creator Mike White doesn’t like the cold, so chances are it might not happen. Thankfully we have Force Majeure, the 2014 film with a plot that feels like it could easily be a Lotus storyline. A family heads for a ski vacation and, while sitting down for lunch, watches as a minor avalanche occurs in the distance. After watching from what they thought was a safe distance, the avalanche starts rolling towards them, and, in blind panic, the father and husband sprint away, leaving his family behind.
As it turns out, no one was harmed. But his wife accuses him (fairly) of abandoning his family in a moment of crisis. The story of a marriage falling apart starts from there.
Lost
The original ‘disparate group of people harbouring secrets are brought together in a tropical setting’ show. Granted, the similarities end there – Lost morphs into a ball of mystery, sci-fi and viewer confusion, while The White Lotus stays grounded. But to this day, there’s nothing quite like Lost on TV.
To this day, there’s nothing quite like Lost on TV
The Worst Person in the World
The White Lotus is full of characters confused about their place in the world. Think of Rachel in season one, Portia in season two or Saxon in season three, all at a crossroads in life with no idea how to move forward. This is essentially the plot of The Worst Person in the World, which follows 30-year-old Julie (Renate Reinsve) as she flits between different careers and two different relationships in Oslo.
Succession
The other ‘extremely rich people are extremely unhappy’ show on HBO. Succession is a modern classic, and if you want all the trappings of luxury with a side of trauma and psychological breakdowns, this is the show for you.
The other ‘extremely rich people are extremely unhappy’ show on HBO
Murder at the End of the World
Rich people at a remote resort? Check. Murder mystery? Check. Think crossover between an Agatha Christie novel and The White Lotus.
Emma Corrin stars as an amateur sleuth invited on an exclusive retreat run by Clive Owen‘s tech billionaire in Iceland. What follows is multiple deaths and an actual engaging and intelligent mystery.
A Bigger Splash
Tilda Swinton stars as an ageing rockstar on vacation with her younger partner on an Italian island that is interrupted by Ralph Fiennes‘ arrogant producer and his supposed daughter. Soon, it becomes a pressure cooker of desire and resentment, aided by a truly magnetic performance from Fiennes.
And, in very White Lotus style, it all ends with a body floating in the water.
Enlightened
Before The White Lotus, Mike White created Enlightened, a show about Amy, a “woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown” (its official tagline).
Laura Dern stars as Amy as she tries to piece her professional life back together and searches for a philosophical reawakening. If you’re keen on more explorations of the human psyche without the luxury resort angle, this one is for you.
The Lost Daughter
An underrated gem of the past few years, with an absolutely stacked cast – Olivia Colman, Ed Harris, Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Dakota Johnson and Peter Sarsgaard all star.
Colman and Buckley share duties as Leda, a university professor on vacation in Greece. In the present, we see her become increasingly troubled by her interaction with young mother Nina (Johnson). In the past, we see why she is so troubled. Seaside and trauma, White Lotus to a tee.
Survivor
On the surface, this is the most left-field suggestion, but dig a little deeper and it becomes the most obvious. There’s a simple reason – Mike White is an absolute Survivor mega-fan, so much so he’s actually competed on the show, finishing as runner-up.
So much of the White Lotus can be understood by Survivor – every season has winners and losers, and White has even found a way to sneak in guest cameos for his Survivor castmates.
