Mike Whitewants to apologize for ruining vacations for everyone.
“Sorry,“The White Lotuscreator tells EW with a laugh.
He’s back to the scene of the crime (a.k.a.
Will Sharpe, Aubrey Plaza, Theo James and Meghann Fahy in ‘The White Lotus’ season 2.Fabio Lovino/HBO
A stay in a seemingly idyllic paradise not living up to stereotypical expectations?
White was grateful but shocked when the renewal came in.
kind of deal,” he says.
Theo James and Meghann Fahy in ‘The White Lotus’ season 2.Fabio Lovino/HBO
At first I thought, ‘Oh crap.’
It was exciting, but it suddenly felt like a scramble again.
It was time to pack up and take off for a new location.
Meghann Fahy and Aubrey Plaza in ‘The White Lotus’ season 2.Fabio Lovino/HBO
“I’m literally in a hotel and I can’t leave the grounds without permission.
The canvas gets much bigger and that’s a huge improvement.”
Much like when planning a real vacation, picking the destination was the easy part.
Will Sharpe and Theo James in ‘The White Lotus’ season 2.Fabio Lovino/HBO
Figuring out the itinerary a.k.a.
But Sicily was a totally different vibe than the idea I pitched.
That didn’t seem right.”
Of course the stories and the characters are more volcanic because that was the energy in Sicily.
“It feels a little bit more sinister, a little bit sexier,” she adds.
“This is totally its own thing and creatively that was what I wanted,” he says.
“There is some connective tissue, and having Jennifer back helped that.
But it’s a whole new idea and there’s a whole new reason for it to exist.”
But as for the rest of the stellar cast?
“She’s going to be contending with that.”
“I don’t want to disappoint.”
“I still kind of can’t even believe it that I’m in this season.
It’s such an unbelievable, once-in-a-lifetime experience, for a myriad of reasons.”
“‘Do they have a better relationship than us?’
‘Are we good?’
‘Who’s happier?’
Couples tend to compete with each other in some ways especially couples that are unhappy.”
But we soon realize that there’s more to him than that.
“It was really intense for me, reading it and shooting it.
I relate to this character more than any character I’ve ever played.
It’s really, really close to home.
It felt very naked.
It was pretty devastating and hard.”
Plaza admits she struggled throughout filming with not letting Harper’s reality seep into her own life.
It just felt real, and shaking that off was a big obstacle for me.
I don’t regret it because I wanted to give Mike everything, no matter what happened.
But I’ll be terrified and horrified to see it."
The reward for Plaza was the way in which the couples' storyline concludes.
“Ultimately it’s a love story,” she says.
“You won’t know until the finale, but it’s pretty cool.”
He laughs as he adds, “Come for the murder, stay for something else, hopefully.”
Another big hit that carries over into season 2 is the now-iconic music with a twist.
“We were lucky that he took pity on us and came back for another round.
Plaza laughs about how she hasn’t gone on a vacation in a long time.
“I think vacations are ruined for a while.”
The White Lotusseason 2 premieres at Sunday, Oct. 30 at 9 p.m.
ET on HBO and HBO Max.
