I think I know why ‘The White Lotus’ isn’t hitting like it used to—and it has little to do with the show itself

Similarly to those more recent seasons of South Park, The White Lotus season 3 is feeling less like a satirical dark comedy and more like reality TV, begging the question: Is it even fun to watch anymore? But even if it’s not, is that not kind of the whole point of the show?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the marriage between conservatism and pop culture. Phrases like “old money” and “mob wife aesthetic” have probably been plastered all over your TikTok FYP, signaling a cultural shift from the more liberal values touted by celebs during the Obama/Biden era to something far more sinister.

So if something smells a bit, ahem, Musky, it’s probably because your favorite nepo babies, wellness influencers, and even your one estranged cousin who pledged Sigma Nu and hasn’t come home for Christmas since, are now attracted to the elite status and social standing the Republican party tends to parade around. As New York Magazine put it, they want a seat at “The Cruel Kids’ Table.” But the thing is, this kind of class consciousness is hardly new, and it’s not strictly a byproduct of Trump’s reelection.

The White Lotus creator Mike White has satirized this phenomenon since 2021 with a class commentary that’s as unforgiving as it is entertaining. Set in Thailand, the series’ third season debuted earlier this month. Per Variety, its viewership numbers are already topping the season 2 premiere, with over 3.4 million viewers tuning in for the second episode. Yet, I feel like White Lotus’ social media isn’t nearly as active as it once was.

Is The White Lotus getting “too real?”

We may only be two episodes in, and this could be attributed to several different reasons, but the discourse surrounding the latest season just feels different. As someone who’s covered the pop culture sphere for the better part of five years, and more so, as someone who really, really looks forward to Sunday nights on HBO, I have to wonder why. Some critics also haven’t had much of anything nice to say about the new episodes, with The Chicago Tribune titling their review: “Three seasons in, there’s little beneath the gleaming surface.”

One thing about The White Lotus is that it’s gloriously formulaic. Our guests, most of them well-established members of the 1%, arrive via boat. We meet the resort staff, watch how our characters’ stories intertwine, suffer through some uncomfortable sex scenes, and bam—someone ends up dead. Now that the series is in its third season, viewers may feel like they’ve cracked the code, so to speak. It’s still fun to watch, but obviously, the show’s format isn’t nearly as shocking as it once was.

On a real-world level, it may be increasingly difficult to separate The White Lotus’ subjects from their real-life counterparts. Out-of-touch billionaires now sit in the highest elected offices here in the U.S. Podcasting gym bros like Saxton (Patrick Schwarzenegger) are dominating the political discourse, and you can’t throw a stone without hitting corrupt businessmen like Timothy (Jason Isaacs).

Of course, it’s kind of cathartic to see these awful human beings’ vacations end in disaster, but it almost always comes at the expense of the lesser-off resort staff (i.e., that heartbreaking jewelry robbery scene in season 1). If this all sounds a bit too close to home, it’s because this is a mirror image of America at the moment. Greedy, ultra-wealthy elites exploiting the working class, and so on. Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) is one of the few White Lotus staff who’s actually benefitted—or so we think.

The White Lotus is supposed to make you uncomfortable

Did the immediate shockwaves of COVID make The White Lotus season 1 feel more accessible and easier to maintain the suspension of disbelief? Was season 2 sexy and silly enough to make us forget it was a class commentary all along?

In any case, I feel like before, we were all in on the joke. Now, we are the joke. Nonetheless, The White Lotus is, first and foremost, a satire, and it’s supposed to make us question our societal hierarchy, even if that second season felt more like a fun caricature of The White Lotus rather than, well, The White Lotus. Audiences, myself included, would do best to remember that.

Who knows, maybe the issue really is the new theme song. Or perhaps I’m just missing our anchor heroine, Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge). As always, I have faith in Mike White, but I really hope the internet can achieve 2022 levels of live-posting and meme-making ahead of The White Lotus season 3’s finale.

The White Lotus season 3 is available now on Max. New episodes premiere Sundays on HBO and Max.