Is it the season to lampoon and satirize the new-age-y, resort, vacation industrial complex? You do have “Nine Perfect Strangers” coming up, Hulu‘s mini-series about attendees at a boutique health-and-wellness spa that promises rejuvenation and a healthier lifestyle, and now HBO has “The White Lotus.” Set in Hawaii and from writer/director Mike White, who returns to HBO after creating the critically-acclaimed series, “Enlightened,” “The White Lotus” is about a serenity-now-finding resort and all its inhabitants, those who work there and try and maintain order and the guests.
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Starring Murray Bartlett (HBO’s “Looking”), Connie Britton (“Nashville”), Jennifer Coolidge (“2 Broke Girls”), Alexandra Daddario (HBO’s “True Detective”), Fred Hechinger (“Eighth Grade”), Jake Lacy (HBO’s “Girls”), Brittany O’Grady (“Little Voice”), Natasha Rothwell (HBO’s “Insecure”), Sydney Sweeney (HBO’s “Euphoria”) and Steve Zahn (HBO’s “Treme”), the series follows the vacations of various hotel guests over the span of a week as they relax and rejuvenate in paradise. But with each passing day, a darker complexity emerges in these picture-perfect travelers, the hotel’s cheerful employees, and the idyllic locale itself.
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Recurring guest stars include Molly Shannon (HBO’s “Divorce”), Jon Gries (“Dream Corp LLC”), Jolene Purdy (“WandaVision”), Kekoa Kekumano (“Aquaman”), and Lukas Gage (HBO’s “Euphoria”).
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Here’s the official synopsis:
Among the employees at The White Lotus are the fastidious resort manager Armond (Murray Bartlett), who, after a sudden trauma, begins a dramatic downward spiral – and the down-to-earth spa manager, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) who gets taken on an emotional roller coaster ride by a needy guest. The vacationers include the Mossbacher family – Nicole (Connie Britton), a successful type-A exec, who can’t help but treat her family like disobedient employees; her husband, Mark (Steve Zahn), dealing with both an embarrassing health crisis and a terminal inferiority complex; their teenaged son, Quinn (Fred Hechinger), a socially awkward gamer, experiencing the wonder of nature for the very first time; their daughter, Olivia (Sydney Sweeney), and her friend, Paula (Brittany O’Grady), sharp-tongued college sophomores who cast a sardonic eye on the lifestyles and belief systems of everyone around them. The handsome, entitled Shane Patton (Jake Lacy) is here with his beautiful bride, Rachel (Alexandra Daddario). Shane and Rachel are in the throes of young love, but as they get to know each other better in this new, intimate environment, clouds of doubt appear – and by the time Shane’s intrusive mother, Kitty (Molly Shannon) surprises them with an unwelcome visit, their fairytale honeymoon has begun to unravel. And finally, there is Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), a wealthy, unstable woman, recovering from the death of her mother, traveling alone to the hotel, looking for love, and in desperate need of a massage.
Will everything be zen and chill at “The White Lotus”? Will all the vacationers find their chi center or whatever? Find out when the six-episode limited series debuts July 11 on HBO and HBO Max. Watch the new official trailer below.