‘The White Lotus’ Cast Reveal: Mike White Returns to HBO After ‘Enlightened’
It has been seven years since Mike White’s critically acclaimed-though-not-commercially-successful series “Enlightened” ended its two-season run, and HBO has announced that White will be returning to the fold as creator, executive producer, writer, and director of the series “The White Lotus.”
The six-episode limited series, set to begin production this month in Hawaii, is described as a social satire set at an exclusive tropical resort. It will follow the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week.
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The cast will include Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Fred Hechinger, Jake Lacy, Brittany O’Grady, Natasha Rothwell, Sydney Sweeney and Steve Zahn. It is said that filming will be done under strict health and safety guidelines, one of several productions starting to ramp back up post-coronavirus.
“It’s beyond exciting to return to HBO with this project and such an incredible cast,” said White in a prepared statement. “I am very grateful to everyone who has made it possible for us to bring our little bubble to Hawaii, a place I am proud to think of as a second home.”
(And that Hawaii bubble is no joke, according to the state’s COVID-19 travel guidelines; it includes a 14-day self- quarantine.)
“Mike is an unparalleled talent whose groundbreaking work has transformed both the film and TV space,” said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President of HBO Programming, in a statement. “We couldn’t be happier to collaborate with him again on yet another hilarious and perceptive piece that exposes the complexities of life and humanity itself.”
White was originally set to return to the network after “Enlightened” concluded in 2013. He was connected with a comedy series entitled “Mr. Romance” which he would produce but not star in. Unfortunately that series never came to fruition.
Since “Enlightened” ended White has kept himself busy writing scripts for the films “Beatriz at Dinner,” “The Emoji Movie,” “Pitch Perfect 3,” and the most recent Disney+ feature “The One and Only Ivan.” He also contributed to the “School of Rock” TV series that ran from 2016 to 2018. There’s no word on when “The White Lotus” would make it to air.
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