So far, HBO’sThe White Lotushas delivered three darkly hilarious, utterly compelling seasons. Television has long been considered a writer’s medium, butThe White Lotuscreator Mike Whitehas turned it into a writer-director’s medium. Each season, he conjures up an ensemble of fascinating, three-dimensional characters with their own flaws and redeeming qualities, casts some of the world’s finest actors to play them, and gets beautifully nuanced performances out of them. He captures his vibrant filming locations with gorgeous cinematography, and he nails down each season’s central theme with deeply profound, contemplative, humanistic storytelling.
The White Lotusposes a simple question that has sustained it for three seasons: what do people who don’t have to worry about money worry about? Anyone who can afford to stay at a White Lotus resort doesn’t have any stress or anxiety from their financial situation, so what gives them stress and anxiety? For three seasons, White has pondered that question with pitch-black humor, complex characterization, and a tongue-in-cheek blend of compassion and contempt for the one percent.The White Lotusseason 4 is already in the works, butwhich is the show’s best season so far?
3Season 3
Released In 2025
The White Lotusisstill captivating television in its third season, head and shoulders above most other shows on the air, but it’s the weakest installment of the anthology so far. It has a bigger episode count than the previous seasons, but it didn’t necessarily have any more story to tell, soit has an interminably slow pace. Take Tim’s storyline, for example. The first couple of episodes set up that he was in big trouble back home, but he just spent the next few weeks worrying about it. There was no real movement on that story until the finale.
The White Lotus Season 3’s 16 Main Characters, Ranked
The White Lotus’s characters were all very different this season, and each faced their own problems, but some were much more entertaining than others.
There were some great episodes along the way — the nightclubbing episode was delightfully chaotic, and the following episode captured the feeling of hangxiety perfectly — butthe middle section of the season spent too much time treading water.The White Lotusseason 3 endedwith a tense, action-packed finale that kept viewers on the edge of their seats, but it didn’t really earn that payoff, and there was a surprising lack of aftermath in the wake of the massacre. Still, the season did a good job of digging into its themes of religion, spirituality, and attachment to material possessions.
2Season 1
Released In 2021
The first season ofThe White Lotus, which was originally intended to be a standalone miniseries,got the anthology off to a stellar start. If the series ended here, it would still be considered a modern classic. From the transactional relationship between Tanya and Belinda to Shane’s spoilt-brat energy turning his new bride against him, season 1 expertly examines the ways that money can complicate interpersonal dynamics.Murray Bartlett’s Armondis the show’s most entertaining hotel manager, hilariously contrasting the facade of professionalism he puts on in front of the guests with the drug-fueled debauchery behind closed doors.
The White Lotus’ first season is riveting TV with captivating characters, razor-sharp tension, and an intriguing mystery.
Season 1 doesn’t quite land its upstairs-downstairs satire. It initially sets out to juxtapose the trivial problems of the wealthy guests with the dreary lives of the underpaid staff, but that juxtaposition doesn’t really land. For every Shane, who’s getting worked up about petty issues that are preventing him from enjoying the luxuries he’s been afforded, there’s a Mark Mossbacher, who’s going through the very real terror of a health scare. Still,The White Lotus’ first season isriveting TV with captivating characters, razor-sharp tension, and an intriguing mystery.
1Season 2
Released In 2022
The White Lotus’ second season is still the best installment of the series.It replicated everything that made the first season great and took it even further. Where season 1 had explored the social complications of money, season 2 explores sexual politics. Its ensemble cast includes a sex addict, a pair of sex workers, and two couples being torn apart by infidelity, suspicion, and sexual tension. The upstairs-downstairs commentary lands a lot better this time around, as the staff are rounded out to be just as complex and three-dimensional as the guests.
8.8
8.5
In the Sandbox
8.1
Whereas the first and third seasons are a mixed bag of compelling storylines and not-so-compelling storylines,every single plot thread in season 2 is great. The mystery withTanya and the hit squadis a disturbing rollercoaster with nail-biting tension and a deeply unsettling ending. Portia’s budding romance with Jack starts out really sweet and endearing before taking a sinister turn. And the love quadrangle of Ethan, Harper, Cameron, and Daphne is full of unexpected twists and turns. Season 2 isThe White Lotusat its absolute best: brutally honest, emotionally raw, and darkly hilarious.
