In 2021, The White Lotus took the world by storm. The tragi-comedy received mass praise for its biting social commentary on topics ranging from wealth, privilege, and entitlement, to power dynamics and colonialism.
This year, The White Lotus swept its categories at the Emmy Awards, winning a total of 10 awards, including Best Limited Series — despite the fact that a second season was announced shortly after the first season wrapped.
Now, The White Lotus is back for a second season, and this time, the anthology series is leaving behind the palm trees of Hawaii for the baroque aesthetics of Italy, as we meet a new group of travellers for The White Lotus: Sicily. While the majority of the cast is new, there is one guest returning to stay at the White Lotus: Jennifer Coolidge, who is reprising her role as Tanya McQuoid, fresh off the heels of her Emmy win.
To make sure you don’t miss out on a single episode, sign up for a 10-day trial of Foxtel Now, where you’ll not only gain access to The White Lotus, but the full suite of Foxtel shows.
Unlike the show’s first season, with The White Lotus: Sicily, creator Mike White set out to examine gender roles and jealousy, to create what he calls “a bedroom farce with teeth”.
The White Lotus: Sicily premiered on October 31, but does it live up to its predecessor? The critics have weighed in, and the resounding answer is: yes, it does.
While Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson noted that the season doesn’t quite pack the same punch as the first season, he went on to say: “It is, ultimately, a pleasure to be bathed in the gleam and gloom of White’s view on the world and its people.” He also praised the performances of the series, calling them “more beguiling than the mystery”.
“Every actor is in full, fluid command of their role, from Richardson’s achingly credible portrait of Portia’s indecision about how to pursue what she wants … to Plaza’s fine rendering of Harper’s suspicion and discomfort. They all seem to revel in the flow of White’s writing, the way he delicately plucks strings to change the tenor and vibration of his characters’ social dynamics. It seems like they’re having fun, even when pain and anxiety creeps at the edges of a scene.”
Tara Bennett, for IGN:
“Creator Mike White’s eye and voice for satirising the wealthy and entitled remains on point. The White Lotus Season 2 shifts its location to Sicily, but the guest registry collects another fascinating grab bag of ugly Americans wrestling with mo’ money, mo’ problems. This collection of characters is a bit more diversified in background which makes for a more relatable representation. And White is masterful in weaving their disparate stories together for a slow build of tension that finally snaps in Episode 5. While overall less frenetic than Season 1, White knows how to make watching the imploding the lives of the rich, and their collateral damage, both horrific and delicious.”
Lucy Mangan, for The Guardian:
“The writing is as dense and layered as ever, the plotting is immaculate and the viewers’ sympathies – or loathings – are never allowed to rest in one place for too long. The characters may be there to unwind, but White is not one to let his audience relax.”
Shirley Li, for The Atlantic:
“For the most part, the pivot from observing class and racial politics to sexual politics work in The White Lotus’s favor. Season 2 is as juicy as Season 1, but it’s not as caustic in its approach. White has said he wanted the new instalment to have “an operatic feel” that would match (perhaps stereotypically) its Italian locale, and the story is certainly a lot soapier than before. … This is still The White Lotus, just prodding the privileged from a new angle.”
Brian Lowry, for CNN:
“Once again, White meticulously applies layers on each of these stories, which begin as parallel lines before gradually starting to intersect and collide in unexpected, hazardous ways. When a character utters a line like, ‘Please don’t make me regret this,’ in the environs of The White Lotus, it immediately feels like a warning that he eventually will.”
The White Lotus: Sicily is dropping onto Foxtel Now every Monday at 12pm AEDT. Catch it on Foxtel Now (available on phone, tablet and laptop + more) and if you’re new, you can sign up for a 10-day trial where you’ll gain access to the full suite of Foxtel shows. Sign up here to tune in.
