'The White Lotus' Is A Stale Entry In The 'Shows About Rich White People Problems' Genre

The HBO limited series is the latest in the plentiful well of shows about the absurdities and follies of the uber-wealthy and privileged.

“You have to treat these people like sensitive children,” Armond (Murray Bartlett) advises Lani (Jolene Purdy) on her first day of work at the White Lotus, a resort in Hawaii and the titular setting of HBO’s newest Sunday night limited series. “The White Lotus” quickly establishes itself as a show in the “can you believe these rich white people and their petty problems?” genre. As soon as the moneyed vacationers arrive via yacht, the staff members at the White Lotus must tend to their guests’ various demands and complaints. They smooth over the many tensions that arise, smiling and waving while seething inside. But three episodes into the six-episode limited series, the show’s treatment of “rich white people problems” feels stale and lukewarm. The absurdities and follies of the uber-wealthy and privileged are a plentiful well for pop culture. However, “The White Lotus” isn’t all that lacerating or distinctive when considering the volume of TV shows that have satirized or gazed critically at these kinds of characters, from “Arrested Development” to “Billions.” HBO has long been a home for some of the buzziest “rich white people problems” shows, like “Big Little Lies,” “The Undoing,” the new “Gossip Girl” reboot, and the best and most scathing of them all, “Succession,” which will finally return for its third season this fall. Its combination of savage wit, physical humor, eerie parallels to real life and characters out-maneuvering each other produces the perfect tragicomedy.