In just a few years, filmmaker Mike White has become a household name thanks to his work on the popular HBO series The White Lotus (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription). While Season 3 was recently nominated for 2025 Emmy Awards, White has been busy as part of the cast of Survivor 50. Although a HBO exec recently explained what's "great" about his return to reality TV.
While Mike White returned to Survivor (which is streaming with a Paramount+ subscription), fans have been wondering where White Lotus Season 4 might film.... and if the show might face delays as a result of White's reunion with Jeff Probst in Fiji. HBO Max boss Casey Bloys spoke to Variety about why this return to reality TV could be helpful for next season, offering:
The great thing about Mike, one of the things I know about him, is whatever is going on in Fiji and Survivor, I know that he’s thinking about The White Lotus. Maybe he’s even observing his fellow contestants and taking notes and getting ideas. So I’m not worried about any sort of delay. Mike always has the show in his head worked out, so I’m excited to talk to him when he’s back about what he’s what he’s thinking.
Honestly, he's got a point. Survivor is the ultimate social experiment, which will no doubt provide plenty of inspiration for the new batch of characters who are brought into The White Lotus 4. So while White might be busy trying to outwit, outplay, and outlast, Bloys seems to think that he's still got the acclaimed HBO comedy series on the brain. Now I'm suddenly even more invested in both of these shows.
While some folks wonder how much Survivor contestants make, I'm curious about which characters from the 50th season might influence The White Lotus Season 4. Mike White also has a habit of giving his Survivor castmates cameos, so someone he competed with could even end up popping up on the show.
Later in that same interview, Casey Bloys teased the talks that have been happening behind the scenes about The White Lotus' fourth season. He shared:
I have a sense of the ideas that he’s playing with, but the scouting process is really important for him. They’re going to be doing that soon. I don’t know where it’s going to end up. I know it has been reported, Europe in general. But so much could change. It really does depend on when he sees a location, what he thinks about it and how it works with the story he’s trying to tell. So I just don’t know until he actually goes and tours a lot of places, and what excites him and what speaks to him. He will go through that process and we’ll take his lead.
It's nice seeing how much faith Bloys and the folks at the network have in Mike White's creative process. They seem down to follow him wherever he'd like to film for Season 4, whether it's in Europe or somewhere else entirely. Of course we all know the location where he's been spending time lately: Fiji. But perhaps that would be too obvious f a choice after Survivor.
For those unfamiliar, White debuted on Survivor's 37th season, David vs Goliath. Despite his long history in Hollywood he was able to be treated like everyone else, and was a fan favorite. For Season 50 he'll be playing with all returning players, including some absolute legends from the franchise. And I'm eager to see exactly how the interpersonal dynamics play out.
The White Lotus' first three seasons are streaming on HBO Max, and Season 4 isn't expected as part of the 2025 TV premiere list. While we wait for Mike White's Survivor return, you can re-watch his first season on Paramount+.
