The White Lotus

It could a serendipitous situation or just on the nose casting

I just couldn't get into season two. Stopped trying mid third episode. Should I try again?

I read somewhere that Sydney Sweeney and her friend's characters were based on James Franco, who would also make sure everyone knew that he was pretending to read heavy intellectual books.

I know Mike White said he was poking fun at James Franco's on-set personality regarding the scenes of Paula and Olivia reading those political books in public.

R2 Yes

Thanks, R5. Binged it today, on episode seven now at the fight in the ocean. Glad I continued.

- R2

James Franco is like the poster boy for poser Hollywood liberals. He even refused to pay the cast on his Great Depression movie.

Mike White said he also based Paula and Olivia on the female hosts of the Red Scare podcast. Which is strange, because they're almost nothing alike. Mayne he just meant their voices?

Jennifer Coolidge, Connie Britton, Alexandra Daddario, Aubrey Plaza and Haley Lu Richardson are basically playing themselves. I'm sure there are other examples as well.

MW writes a character and then casting finds an actor who can play that type of character well

That’s why Jake Lacy frequently plays smug dickheads or Murray Bartlett plays smarmy weasels

It’s not that complicated

I'm not a right-winger by any means, but I have an oddball fetish for any kind of art or entertainment that depicts the left as weak/foolish/hypocritical. TWL S1 has this in spades. And S2 to a lesser extent. I would like them to take it even further without tipping over into cheap/lazy Matt Stone and Trey Parker territory. I don't Mike White is a Republican or even libertarian, but if you look at his entire body of work, there's obviously something weird and interesting going on with him.

Someone maybe needs to learn the difference between affluent liberals and the actual left

That was kind of the point of Season One

I finally watched season 1 and don't quite get the hype. I loved Enlightened, but WL felt uneven. Jennifer Coolidge was painful to watch (her jerking around the spa lady was good drama, but her cartoonish-ness made me start fast-fowarding her scenes).

Not sure what to make of the ending--does Mike White mean it as satire? The rich white kid gets saved by Hawaii, the rich people's marriage and their relationship to their daughter gets saved by the Hawaiian kid getting screwed. Is it supposed to be "the rich always come out on top" message? And did the whiny newlywed go back to her douchebag husband in the end?

(Not to mention all the scenes of people having sex being exposed by leaving doors open/unlocked.)

^ I much preferred Season 1, if you thought JC was painful & cringeworthy to watch, just wait…

I liked the S1 characters a lot better, the only dud for me was Jake Lacy. S2 was mostly duds: the “hookers,” Cam & his wife whose name always escapes me, & the multigenerational family, F. Murray Abraham was the saving grace.

This made it all a little more worth it.

r10 Mike White is a libertarian so the making fun of liberals is probably intentional or at least reflecting his worldview.

He is also an annoying bisexual who thinks 'gay sex' should be 'shocking' and whatever. Total bug eyed asshole

Libertarians are Republicans who can spell.

I think the plot of the rich gays using Jennifer Coolidge as their barbie doll is pretty much what Mike's friendship with her in real life is like.

Season one:

Rachel: A submissive Liberal

Paula: Very left-wing, but also young and foolish

Olivia: Presents herself as similar to Paula, but really a neoliberal at best

Nicole: Presets herself as a strong breadwinner of the family and a pro-#MeToo feminist type, but really the worst kind of neoliberal Democrat

Season 2:

Harper is a strong liberal feminist, yet loses it over an obvious scumbag like Cameron (even before she suspected Ethan had cheated).

Alby: Naive male feminist

Alby's dad: Liberal

[quote] Libertarians are Republicans who can spell.

Libertarians are Republicans on anti-psychotic meds.

Harper seems like the type to keep her last name when she marries. The fact that she changed it is interesting. Mike White is too talented not to have done this for a specific reason. (the issue even gets brought up a little bit with Rachel in season one). I think it's Mike White's subtle way of saying that Harper isn't quite what she seems.

"I'm not a right-winger by any means..."

Uh-huh.

Interesting that you thought the white people in season 1 were "liberals."

Season 3 is fucked. Now that it has to compete in the drama category (like it should have from the start), Season 4 of Succession is most likely going to shut it out of awards. Funny how HBO... er... Max, sometimes cannibalizes itself when it comes to awards fare.