'White Lotus' creator Mike White's next tropical island is return to 'Survivor'
Fans don't yet know the next scandalous "White Lotus" setting for HBO's hit. But one future tropical destination for creator Mike White has been revealed.
White, 54, is returning to "Survivor" for its landmark 50th season, longtime host Jeff Probst said while announcing the "Survivor 50" cast on "CBS Mornings" May 28. White and the cast of 23 other returning players will vie for a $1 million prize on the anniversary show premiering next spring on CBS and Paramount+. The season begins filming shortly in Fiji.
"In between writing seasons of 'The White Lotus,' Mike White is back," Probst said, picking names out of a flaming cauldron.
Probst kept moving through the names, but White was the most prominent returning participant, no vote required.
Then the celebrated writer of "School of Rock," White was a contestant on "Survivor: David vs. Goliath," its 37th season, which aired in 2018, and lasted 39 days. He was one of three contestants at the final Tribal Council but lost to Nick Wilson. In 2009 and 2011, he competed on CBS' "The Amazing Race" with his father, Mel White.
White discussed writing about guests at a five-star tropical resort and his time on "Survivor" with NPR in 2022, saying they were "not that dissimilar."
The island reality show is primarily "just people kind of kvetching about who's tending the fire or they're hangry because they haven't had anything to eat," said White. "And then you have these transitions of sharks in the water. I was like, we do that in 'White Lotus.'... I have to cop to being influenced by 'Survivor' and these shows where you have a device that's a built-in cliffhanger."
Season 3 in Thailand featured many "Survivor" cast cameos. After finishing the season with a record-breaking audience in April, White was mum about the following location during an interview with The Howard Stern Show. But the exhausted TV creator did admit to traveling to Colombia for a non-research break.
“I don’t think we’re going to South America," said White. "Maybe one day we could do it there. I've just got to get out of L.A."