Send Louis Theroux to the ‘White Lotus’ set immediately
There is drama afoot in France. No, it doesn’t have anything to do with President Macron’s sunglasses or even the potential for World War III. This drama is all about The White Lotus.
Recently, it was reported that Helena Bonham Carter would be exiting series four of Mike White’s hit show, even though filming had already gotten underway in Cannes. According to reports, her departure is due to the character not aligning with White’s vision rather than any potential personal differences.
You can take the PR blandness however you choose, but the fact is, the behind-the-scenes drama of The White Lotus has had significantly more attention lately than the drama on-screen. Last season, there was a solid month of hysteria over the real-life relationship or lack thereof between stars Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood. Goggins walked out of an interview at one point when the reporter asked him one too many prying questions, and the two actors eventually did damage control with a joint interview.
Then, there was the falling out between White and Emmy-winning composer Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, who created the now iconic credits theme on the first three seasons. De Veer told The New York Times that he had quit the show, making several not-so-subtle jabs at White in the process. White later described that interview as a bit of a “bitch move” and downplayed any reports that they had feuded.
Last but not least, of course, is the colourful testimony of Jason Isaacs, who played a dad and financial advisor hanging on for dear life in season three. In an interview with The Guardian, he described the atmosphere on set as hedonistic. “People are away from home and, you know, there’s a lot of bacchanalian behaviour going on,” he said. “I’m not telling stories out of school. It’s just grownups doing whatever we like.” Late in the interview, he compared the experience to a prison camp.
None of this is particularly surprising. The production takes place over about six months in an isolated, luxurious setting. With an open bar, a hoard of A-list celebrities, plus their families, what else could you expect? Isaacs suggested that the fireworks are precisely what White and the producers are hoping for. “I imagine they think it feeds into the on-screen drama,” he said. “And they might well be right.” Carrie Coon was a bit more circumspect but no less revealing when she described her experience shooting the series. “It’s something I’ll be processing for a long time,” she said.
Given how long it takes for each new season to be released, it’s no wonder that the behind-the-scenes theatrics gain so much traction. Along with cast announcements, it’s all fans have to look forward to for the approximately two-year interval between releases. With the announcement that Bonham Carter is out of the Cannes-set fourth season, however, the backstage shenanigans appear to have begun unseasonably early. Production has barely begun.
After years of mystery, it’s time to give the people what they want and expose the other half of The White Lotus: We need a behind-the-scenes documentary. And who better to get the job done than Louis Theroux? He did it with the Manosphere. He did it with polyamory. He can do it with Hollywood, too. Theroux’s greatest skill is quietly hazing his most morally bankrupt subjects while letting them dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole. He also doesn’t concern himself with coming across as objective. This would serve him well in the rarified climes of a palatial hotel on the French Riviera surrounded by movie stars, and it would almost certainly outdo whatever scripted drama White has up his sleeve for season four.
