The White Lotus season 2

The second season ofThe White Lotus, an Americansatiricalcomedy-dramaanthologytelevision series created, written, and directed byMike White, premiered October 30, 2022 onHBO. Consisting of seven episodes, the season features theensemble castofF. Murray Abraham,Jennifer Coolidge,Adam DiMarco,Meghann Fahy,Beatrice Grannò,Jon Gries,Tom Hollander,Sabrina Impacciatore,Michael Imperioli,Theo James,Aubrey Plaza,Haley Lu Richardson,Will Sharpe,Simona Tabasco, andLeo Woodall. Coolidge and Gries were the only cast to reprise their roles from theprevious season.
The plot follows the lives of the staff and wealthy guests at aluxury resortinSicily. The season received critical acclaim, earning 12 nominations at the75th Primetime Emmysand 11 nominations at theCreative Arts Emmys, winning five awards across both ceremonies.
On August 10, 2021,HBOrenewedThe White Lotusfor a second season.White initially envisioned the second season taking place in a political setting, such as aBilderberg conference, but scrapped this idea and chose Italy instead.White said regarding this choice, "The kind of mythology of Sicily, at least from the point of view of Americans, is the archetypal sexual politics and role play that you associate with, like, opera and the mafia and Italian romance. I felt like it should be more focused on men and women and relationships and adultery and have an operatic feel to it, so I pivoted."Asked to describe the second season, White likened it to "abedroom farcewith teeth".Kim Neundorf served as an additional composer for the season.White had been inspired for the season by a trip he took withJennifer Coolidgeto Africa.
Upon the announcement of the second season renewal, HBO announced that a predominantly new cast of characters would be focused on at another White Lotus property for the second season, though Mike White had stated there was a possibility for a few cast members from the first season to return as their characters.On October 15, 2021, Coolidge was reported to be set to return for the second season. She andJon Griesare the only actors in the season to reprise their roles from theprevious season.In January 2022,Michael Imperioli,Aubrey Plaza,F. Murray Abraham,Adam DiMarco,Tom Hollander, andHaley Lu Richardsonwere confirmed to be cast to star in the season.In February 2022,Theo James,Meghann Fahy, andWill Sharpejoined the cast as series regulars, whileLeo Woodallwas cast in a recurring role for the season.In March 2022,Beatrice Grannò,Sabrina Impacciatore, andSimona Tabascojoined the starring cast for the season.The season features White's fellowSurvivor: David vs. Goliathcontestants Kara Kay and Angelina Keeley in cameo roles.
On January 20, 2022, the second season was reported to be filmed at theFour SeasonsSan Domenico Hotel[fr]inTaormina,Sicily,Italy;on February 28, 2022, HBO confirmed that production had begun there.The opening theme of the second season, accompanied by a chorus of voices, shows scenes from the frescoes of Villa Tasca inPalermo. Filming took place in various locations in Sicily: throughout the city of Taormina, notably the San Domenico Palace hotel which represents the main location, and in theancient theatre of Taormina; inCefalù, with the long beach and the view of theNorman Cathedral; inFiumefreddo di Sicilia(with the famous Slave Castle); in Palermo, in particular at theTeatro Massimoand at Villa Tasca; the interior scenes of the Opera house inCataniaat theTeatro Massimo Bellini; in the city ofNoto, in particularVilla Elena;Giardini Naxos; and different views of the seafront of Sicily andMount Etna.
For the season,Cristobal Tapia de Veercollaborated with his manager Kim Neundorf to finish original compositions due to his own scheduling conflicts. For the theme tune, Tapia de Veer wanted to keep elements of the first season theme but rework it to better fit the Italian setting, including making it more harmonious. The season's theme, "Renaissance", begins with oscillating notes on a harp and before the orchestral strings, piano chords, and cymbals are layered in before the return of ululating vocals. This then reaches a high pitch, before a syntheticEDMdance beat builds and drops. Tapia de Veer credits Neundorf for bringing a more organic sound to the production.Singer Stephanie Osorio provided the vocals, whom Tapia de Veer recorded holding a long, single note as she wavered the sound through her hand. Tapia de Veer then sampled this and played different versions of it on a keyboard.
According toVulture, the costs of production for the season remained at underUS$3million per episode, the same as the first season. Italy, where the season was filmed, offers up to 40% tax credit to foreign productions taking place in the country.
The second season premiered on October 30, 2022, on HBO andHBO Max, with episodes releasing every week until December 11, 2022.
For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 94% approval rating with an average score of 8.2/10, based on 122 reviews. The website's critics consensus states, "Swapping its tropical trappings for Euro chic while focusing primarily on the corrosive influence of carnal desire,The White Lotusremains a cookie full of arsenic that goes down smooth."OnMetacritic, the season has a score of 81 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Multiple critics voiced that White repeated the success of the first season with sharp writing, his ensemble cast, and more focused plot lines, with some saying it is an improvement on the first season.Lucy ManganofThe Guardianrated it 5 out of 5 and wrote, "The writing is as dense and layered as ever, the plotting is immaculate and the viewers' sympathies – or loathings – are never allowed to rest in one place for too long."Writing forThe New Yorker, Inkoo Kang gave a positive review, writing "the airless sociological fatalism of Season 1, which was matched by a claustrophobic production due toCOVID-19restrictions, gives way to a more mature drama, as well as a deeper exploration of how the characters' class concerns converge with gendered angst."Brian Tallerico ofRogerEbert.comwrote, "Mike White is a writer that is as thrilled with a fascinating dinner conversation as he is amurder mystery, and so even as the plotting sags more than it did the first time, the way that his characters bounce off each other, unpacking their social constructs, remains fascinating."Alison Herman ofThe Ringerpraised the series' pivot to the theme of gender politics, writing "White knows that sex, like money, is a form of power, and that each is intimately bound up in the other."Melanie McFarland ofSalonobserved, "You may not want to be in the same room with the people you're watching, but the sights alone provided a level of escapism like nothing else on TV."ForThe Washington Post, Travis M. Andrews wrote "though these new episodes meander at times, Season 2 is more tightly plotted and there are enough new ideas, with even the most staid insights heightened by White's razor-sharp writing, for it to feel fresh."Some critics welcomed the characters Mia and Lucia, two Sicilian sex workers whose plot lines intersect with many of the hotel guests', saying their presence felt like a response by White to criticisms of the previous season's focus on its well-off leads.Others noted how the second season "has invested inhorrorimagery in a way the previous outing didn't, and it's been one of this installment's best through lines."
Others thought the shift from the themes of class criticism to gender roles made for a less riveting watch.Writing forVulture, Roxana Hadadi said season two "centers infidelity, to diminished effect", and that "there's also a new bluntness, and a noticeable tentativeness, that keeps this second season from hitting as hard and bruising as immediately as its predecessor."Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson wrote season two is a "vibrant set of plates to set spinning, which White does with his usual mix of acerbic bite and melancholy. Though, things do feel a little less pointed this season."Shirley Li ofThe Atlanticnoted "Season 2 is as juicy as season 1, but it's not as caustic in its approach."Commenting on the more diminished role of the hotel staff,Linda HolmesofNPRwrote, "Thematically, without that tension between how the guests see themselves and how the staff sees them,The White Lotusseems adrift. With all the criticism of the first season and the fair questions about whether it was satirizing its rich and white characters' lack of interest in the people around them or just reproducing it, it was always clear what the show was trying to be about, or thought it was about. It was trying to be about the foibles of wealth and carelessness; it's much less clear where White is going with this story."
The second season appeared in the top ten on numerous publications' "Best of 2022" lists, including first forGood Morning America,The Independent, andSan Antonio Express-News; second forI; and third forCleveland Plain-Dealer,Irish Independent,LA Weekly,Newsday,Radio Times,TV Insider,USA Today, andThe Washington Post, among others.
The second season received 12 nominations at the75th Primetime Emmy Awardsacross five categories and 11 nominations at thePrimetime Creative Arts Emmy Awardsacross 10 categories, moving from limited/anthology series to drama series. It won four awards at the Creative Arts Emmys.For the Primetime Emmys, Coolidge won forOutstanding Supporting Actress.Other nominations includedOutstanding Drama Series;F. Murray Abraham,Michael Imperioli,Theo James, andWill SharpeforOutstanding Supporting Actor;Meghann Fahy,Sabrina Impacciatore,Aubrey Plaza, andSimona TabascoforOutstanding Supporting Actress; and White forOutstanding DirectingandOutstanding Writingfor the episode "Arrivederci".