Tamal Kundu
Created by Mike White, ‘The White Lotus’ is an HBO dark comedy series that revolves around a group of vacationers and the staff that attend them at the eponymous luxury hotel in Hawaii. While the series is predominantly a biting satire on privilege and classism, it doesn’t spare any of its characters regardless of their background. If you have become a fan of the show and are looking for more content like ‘The White Lotus,’ then these recommendations might fit your taste.
8. The Resort (2022-)
Starz’s comedy-drama series ‘The Resort’ has two distinctive timelines. In 2022, Noah (William Jackson Harper) and Emma (Cristin Milioti) arrive in Yucatán, Mexico, for their 10th anniversary, and Emma finds an old cell phone that belongs to Sam Knowlston (Skyler Gisondo), a young man who disappeared 15 years ago along with fellow tourist Violet Thompson (Nina Bloomgarden). The narrative goes back and forth between 2022 and 2007 as Emma and Noah try to find out what really happened to the two teenagers. Like ‘The White Lotus,’ ‘The Resort’ is set in a tropical region and revolves around the guests and staff of a hotel. However, where ‘The White Lotus’ is a biting satire on modern society, ‘The Resort’ is a magic realism series about time.
7. Death In Paradise (2011)
Like in ‘The White Lotus,’ a death begins the story in ‘Death in Paradise,’ which is a British–French series set in the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie. Detective Inspector Richard Poole (Ben Miller) is sent to the island to investigate the murder of a police officer. Teaming up with DS Camille Bordey (Sara Martins), Poole begins looking for the perpetrator in the criminal underbelly of his new home. It is soon proven that despite their contrasting personalities, Poole and Bordey make an excellent team.
6. Enlightened (2011-2013)
Also created by White in collaboration with Laura Dern, ‘Enlightened’ is an HBO comedy-drama series with distinctive satirical elements, much like ‘The White Lotus.’ It tells the story of Amy Jellicoe (Dern), a career-orientated 40-year-old executive who suffers a nervous breakdown and subsequently takes a break from work to spend some time at a holistic rehabilitation center. When she comes back home, she resolves not to repeat past mistakes. She also wishes to inspire her loved ones with her newfound positivity. However, they are at different stages in their lives from her, and her attempts become a matter of conflict.
5. The Office (UK) (2001-2003)
The original BBC rendition of ‘The Office’ spawned from the brilliant minds of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. It is an unflinching satire on British work culture. Developed in a mockumentary style, the show takes place at the Slough branch of a paper company named Wernham Hogg. Gervais leads an ensemble cast as David Brent, the branch’s general manager, a self-deluded and hypocritical man who tries his best to avoid conflict despite his position in the company. Like ‘The White Lotus,’ the satire in ‘The Office’ makes its audience incredibly uncomfortable due to its realism.
4. Parks and Recreation (2009-2015)
Despite belonging to the mockumentary genre and being a bonafide political satire, there is an inherent optimism that oozes out of every scene of NBC’s ‘Parks and Recreation.’ It is set in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana, and revolves around various local government employees. In both ‘Parks and Recreation’ and ‘The White Lotus,’ the humor often heavily relies on the audience’s ability to understand it.
3. South Park (1997-)
Comedy Central’s ‘South Park’ is a revolutionary animated series that follows local youths Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick and their misadventures in South Park, Colorado. Despite the main characters being young boys, ‘South Park’ deals with adult themes and caricatures various facets of American life — from entertainment to politics to religion to society. While ‘The White Lotus’ is much more limited in scope and carries much less profanity in its dialogues, the humor of both shows seem to originate from the same dark and complex place, as ultimately, they are unrestrained satires on human nature.
2. The Righteous Gemstones (2019-)
Created by and starring Danny McBride, HBO’s ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ tells the story of the titular family, the members of which are televangelists and run the megachurch Gemstone Salvation Center. They have amassed considerable wealth and power and are always looking to expand the highly profitable venture. The family patriarch, Dr. Eli Gemstone, is portrayed by John Goodman, while McBride plays Jesse, Eli’s oldest son. Like ‘The White Lotus,’ ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ offers brutal commentary on the uber-rich. However, McBride’s show takes things a step further and brings religion into the discussion.
1. Succession (2018-)
Another HBO series, ‘Succession’ is arguably one of the greatest social satires of all time. It focuses on the Roy family that runs the multibillion-dollar media corporation Waystar RoyCo. When the patriarch of the family, Logan (Brian Cox), starts experiencing serious issues, a desperate and nasty struggle begins between his four children, Connor (Alan Ruck), Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Siobhan “Shiv” Roy (Sarah Snook), to be his successor. Like ‘The White Lotus,’ ‘Succession’ is a delightfully sinful comedy that holds up a mirror to the upper-tier of society.
Read More: Is the White Lotus a True Story?
