The White Lotus…does it even need an explanation at this point? The hit drama series is now officially back with a third season and just like that, it seems anyone who is anyone is wrapped up in the latest twists and turns as a new all-star cast take on Thailand. Us on the other hand? We can’t stop thinking about the man *behind* the show.
Enter Mike White. The 54-year-old is a pretty big deal in the film industry and has won numerous awards, including Primetime Emmy Awards and the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. A producer, writer, director and actor, Mike has worked on Freaks and Geeks, School of Rock, Nacho Libre and of course, The White Lotus.
But, as we gear up for another White Lotus season, we can’t stop thinking about another area of Mike’s wide-ranging career: Reality Television.
Reality TV may be a genre often overlooked by Hollywood, but for Mike White, it’s served as an opportunity to join not one but two franchises.
In 2009 the filmmaker and his father Mel appeared on the fourteenth season of The Amazing Race, competing across seven legs of the competition before getting eliminated in sixth place in Phuket, Thailand.
In 2011 the duo returned to the franchise to compete in The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business, however, they were the second team eliminated in Japan after they both developed hypothermia.
For some, a two-season stint on a globally recognised franchise would be enough – but, the reality TV appearances didn’t stop there for The White Lotus creator, who went on to test his survival skills on Survivor: David vs Goliath in 2018.
As one of 20 players split across two tribes, Mike made it to day 29 of the competition, finishing in second place behind the winner, Nick Wilson – but don’t make the mistake of thinking he joined the show as a joke.
“It’s not ironic,” he previously told The New Yorker. “Survivor is the only show I really devotedly watch, even though I get frustrated with it. Part of my job and my way of life is studying people and analyzing motivation and character. I still feel like, even on the most contrived reality show, the people are human and they’re more interesting than some of the most well-scripted drama. And for me, as a writer of drama, I aspire to do what reality television already does. To create characters that are surprising and dimensional and do weird shit and capture your attention.”
Now a good friend of Survivor host Jeff Probst, Mike admits his time on reality TV may be over, despite his belief he could take out a win if given a second chance. Talking to the publication he acknowledged that a Hollywood ‘Goliath’ who’s friendly with Jeff wouldn’t exactly be a season win audiences would enjoy watching.
“Now that Probst knows I can get to the end, I don’t think he wants there to be a chance of that happening again,” he explained.
While his time on the show may be over, it hasn’t stopped Mike from throwing in some fun Survivor ‘easter eggs’ during the three seasons of The White Lotus.
Hutch, the bartender of Season One’s Hawaii resort, was played by Alec Marino, a fellow Season 37 Survivor contestant, while the second season of the show, saw Mike’s former castmates Kara Kay and Keeley invited to make cameos on the Sicily set show, appearing as two guests of the hotel in the first episode.
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