Draft:The White Lotus season 1

The first season of The White Lotus an American satirical comedy-drama anthology television series created, written, and directed by Mike White premiered on HBO on July 11, 2021. The season was greenlit in October 2020, filmed in Hawaii in late 2020, and features an ensemble cast including Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Lacy, Natasha Rothwell, and Steve Zahn. The first season, consisting of six episodes, concerns the lives of the staff and wealthy guests at a tropical resort in Hawaii.

In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the series premiered on Sky Atlantic on August 16, 2021. On August 10, 2021, HBO renewed the series for a second season, officially making it an anthology series.

Main

 * Murray Bartlett as Armond, the manager of the White Lotus resort who is also a recovering drug addict who has been clean for 5 years
 * Connie Britton as Nicole Mossbacher, a CFO of a search engine and Mark's wife
 * Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya McQuoid, a troubled woman whose mother recently died
 * Alexandra Daddario as Rachel, a journalist and newly wed to Shane
 * Fred Hechinger as Quinn Mossbacher, Nicole and Mark's socially awkward son
 * Jake Lacy as Shane Patton, a real estate agent and Rachel's husband
 * Brittany O'Grady as Paula, Olivia's friend from college
 * Natasha Rothwell as Belinda, the resort's spa manager
 * Sydney Sweeney as Olivia Mossbacher, Nicole and Mark's sardonic daughter who is a college sophomore
 * Steve Zahn as Mark Mossbacher, Nicole's husband who is dealing with a health crisis
 * Molly Shannon as Kitty, Shane's mother

Recurring

 * Lukas Gage as Dillon, a staffer at the White Lotus
 * Kekoa Scott Kekumano as Kai, a staffer at the White Lotus who forms a connection with Paula
 * Alec Merlino as Hutch, a waiter at the White Lotus
 * Jon Gries as Greg, a White Lotus guest who connects with Tanya

Guest

 * Jolene Purdy as Lani, a trainee at the White Lotus

Development
On October 19, 2020, HBO gave The White Lotus a limited series order that consists of six episodes. The series is created, written and directed by Mike White. White also serves as executive producer alongside David Bernad and Nick Hall. Mark Kamine serves as the co-executive producer. Cristobal Tapia de Veer is the season’s composer and Ben Kutchins is the cinematographer for the season.

Following the first season’s critical acclaim and viewership numbers, the show was renewed as an anthology series, which will tell the story of a different group of travelers during their stay at another White Lotus property.

Filming
Principal photography for the first season began October 2020 in Hawaii under COVID-19 guidelines. On November 21, 2020, it was reported that the series was halfway through filming at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea and was scheduled to film in December at locations around Maui.

Casting
Upon the limited series order announcement, Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Fred Hechinger, Jake Lacy, Brittany O'Grady, Natasha Rothwell, Sydney Sweeney, and Steve Zahn were cast to star. On October 30, 2020, Molly Shannon, Jon Gries, Jolene Purdy, Kekoa Kekumano, and Lukas Gage joined the cast in recurring roles. Alec Merlino, who was a contestant on Survivor: David vs. Goliath with Mike White, appeared as a waiter.

Critical response
The White Lotus has received acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 88% based on 83 critic reviews, with an average rating of 8.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though its true intentions can get a bit murky, gorgeous vistas, twisty drama, and a pitch perfect cast make The White Lotus a compelling—if uncomfortable—viewing destination." On Metacritic, it has a score of 82 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Matthew Jacobs of TV Guide rated it 4.5 out of 5 and wrote that it is "some of the year's best television thus far." Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall graded it 3.5 out of 5 stars and called it "frequently uncomfortable, sometimes poetic, occasionally hilarious, and deeply idiosyncratic throughout."

Viewership
The first season of The White Lotus ranked number one among all series on HBO Max and achieved consistent week-over-week growth for both the premiere and digital audience.

More specifically, the second episode showed a 9.29% increase in premiere ratings from the first episode, while the third episode only saw a 4.14% increase, the fourth episode saw a 7.74% increase, the fifth episode saw a 5.05% increase, the sixth and final episode saw a 57.12% increase making it the largest ratings increase in the season. The first season also reached an average of 0.544 million viewers in ratings.