The White Lotus Season 1 Originally Had A Completely Different Location

The following article contains spoilers for "The White Lotus" season 1.

Few television series released this decade have left as much of an impact as HBO's semi-anthology series, "The White Lotus." Created by Mike White, what began as a miniseries exploring the problematic lives of wealthy vacationers and the working-class staff at the titular hotel chain in the Hawaiian location has since blossomed into a continuous series, showcasing a different group of characters (with some carry-over from previous seasons) amidst a different White Lotus location.

The first season of "The White Lotus" was filmed in late 2020 in Hawaii under COVID-19 guidelines. Much of the production was held at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. The hotel was closed to film the season, giving the cast and crew their own bubble. Interestingly enough, Mike White had different plans for the location of what would become the first season of HBO's latest original hit series.

The COVID-19 pandemic grounded Hollywood, which made film and television productions particularly difficult, given governmental guidelines. With that in mind, HBO reached out to Mike White about potential ideas for a series that could be shot during lockdowns. With the greenlight from HBO, White scouted locations in Australia for a bubble-like environment for the cast and crew to shoot the series. However, the work visas in Australia only allowed for eight weeks, which was not enough, according to executive producer David Bernad. Because of that, the team started to scout for locations in Hawaii, with the intent to find a resort where the series could be filmed for 13 weeks.

David Bernad told The Wall Street Journal that The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea was chosen because it was "the one hotel that let us shoot there." The Four Seasons signed on for the first season, with no knowledge of the stories for "The White Lotus" and no completed scripts at the time, with only a nondescript first episode written.

Setting the first season of "The White Lotus" in Hawaii ended up being the right choice not just for the series' production, but also creatively. Given that the series is mostly seen by an American audience, most viewers would often associate such luxurious tropical vacations with the Aloha State. That being said, a visit to Australia would be an exciting place for Mike White to explore in a future season. Whether it would be with the upcoming fourth season is unknown, but a new group of characters dealing with their issues amidst the backdrop of Australia would be an intriguing change of scenery, especially compared to what the Hawaiian, Sicilian, and Thai locations showcased for their respective ensembles.

Given that the events of "The White Lotus" season 1 end in a tumultuous fashion for the characters, one would assume that any real-life location that the series would film in would be reluctant to be showcased. After all, the season (much like the following two seasons) begins with a flashforward, teasing a tragedy that took place in the resort, and concludes with the revelation of the tragedy. Naturally, the last thing any guests at a luxury resort would want to be reminded of is troubled hotel manager Armond (Murray Bartlett) getting stabbed to death by clawingly irritating and entitled guest Shane Patton (Jake Lacy) after defecating in his suitcase. However, the craftsmanship of the season, both on page and onscreen, was executed so well that viewers watching the series cannot help but pine for such luxurious vacations.

Marc Speichert, the chief commercial officer and executive vice president of The Four Seasons acknowledges that collaborating with HBO on "The White Lotus" was an absolute win in the long run. Speichert reflected as such to The Wall Street Journal:

"We wouldn't have gotten any business at the Maui resort during Covid without the show."

Although the Four Seasons declined to share how much in bookings "The White Lotus" helped bring, traffic to the Four Seasons' Sicily Hotel webpage surged 193% following the release of season 2, which was filmed at that resort. Companies may often get concerned at the prospect of being featured in films and television series that may portray them in a peculiar light, but at the end of the day, "The White Lotus" still showcases the visual splendor and alluring nature of such destinations, whether it be in Hawaii, Sicily, or Bangkok. Naturally, viewers will only grow more eager to visit for their own vacations. Let's just hope for their sake that their trips will be less dramatic than those of the guests we see in the series, especially compared to those we just witnessed in season 3.

All three seasons of "The White Lotus" are available to stream on Max.