‘The White Lotus’ creator Mike White is coming back to ‘Survivor’
Mike White seems to love an island getaway — the filmmaker and creator behind the HBO drama “The White Lotus” is headed back to “Survivor” for the show’s 50th season.
White was among the 24 all-star cast members announced Wednesday. The season will feature previous contestants, including Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, who appeared on the show’s first season in 2000, all competing for a $1 million prize.
“In between writing and directing seasons of ‘The White Lotus,’ Mike White is back,” “Survivor” host Jeff Probst said.
“Survivor,” which has been credited with changing the landscape of reality television, tosses a group of contestants into a remote location where they are separated into tribes who have to build shelter and live with minimal resources. Contestants also compete in mental and physical challenges, but much of the competition is social. Their fate is in the hands of their fellow competitors, who vote each week on who should be voted out of the game.
White previously appeared on Season 37 in 2018, titled “David vs. Goliath.” The filmmaker lasted until Day 39, where he faced the final tribal council before losing out to Nick Wilson (who is now a Kentucky state lawmaker). White also competed on CBS’ “The Amazing Race” in 2009 and 2011 with his father, Mel White.
After working on a slew of projects in the 2010s, including “The Emoji Movie,” “Pitch Perfect 3” and the TV series “Enlightened,” White developed “The White Lotus,” which debuted in 2021 on HBO. The hit drama, which recently completed its third season, follows wealthy guests and the staff at fictional luxury resorts where murder, mayhem and lorazepam are all on the table.
White has said that his experiences on “Survivor” paved the way for “The White Lotus.” He has even cast previous “Survivor” contestants — like Alec Merlino and Angelina Keeley (who is also coming back to “Survivor” for Season 50) — for cameos on the show.
“‘Survivor’ is not that dissimilar, which is a lot of times just people kind of kvetching about who’s tending the fire or they’re hangry because they haven’t had anything to eat,” he told NPR in 2022 about the connections between the two shows. “But then the music is making it feel like this is going to end up bad for somebody. And then you have these transitions of sharks in the water. And I was like, we do that in ‘White Lotus.’”
White also referenced the show when accepting an award for “White Lotus” at the 2022 Emmys. “On ‘Survivor,’ the way to stay in the game is you lower your threat level,” he said. “And it’s like, now I feel like I’ve raised my threat level. And I just want to stay in the game. Awards are great, I love writing, I love doing what I do. Don’t come for me. Don’t vote me off the island, please!”
White will have his next chance to survive being voted off the island in spring 2026, when the show is expected to air on CBS and stream on Paramount Plus.