The White Lotus Season 3 Is Full Of Reality TV Easter Eggs

Before Mike White won several Emmys as the writer, creator, and director of HBO’s acclaimed series The White Lotus, he was... a reality show contestant. No, really.

While working on his pre-White Lotus film and TV projects, like School of Rock, Enlightened, and The Emoji Movie (which won him a Razzie), White also made himself a household name in the world of reality TV. He competed on the 14th season of The Amazing Race in 2009 along with his father Mel, finishing in sixth place. They returned for the 18th season in 2011, only to get eliminated second.

White then set his sights on Survivor in 2018, competing on the 37th season, entitled Survivor: David v. Goliath. He almost won, becoming the runner-up to winner Nick Nelson (who is now serving in the Kentucky House of Representatives). But the show still had a huge impact, given how White has been open about Survivor’s influence on the conception of The White Lotus.

His love of reality TV is perhaps most evident in Season 3, where he’s hidden several Easter eggs nodding to his past and even advised some of his cast to study Bravo in preparation for filming. Read on for all the reality TV references.

The Survivor Cameos

Familiar faces greeted Survivor fans in the Season 3 premiere. White’s fellow castaways, Natalie Cole and Carl Boudreaux, guest-starred as White Lotus resort guests, whom Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) notices at dinner and smiles at. Later that night, Belinda gushed to her son that she “saw two Black people tonight, and they weren't staff!”

Christian Hubicki also made a sneaky appearance later in the season, having a drink with his wife in the background of an Episode 5 scene.

This isn’t the first time that White has asked Survivor contestants that he competed with to guest star. Kara Kay and Angelina Keeley played two wealthy guests on Season 2, who lounged on the beach with Daphne (Meghann Fahy). However, Alec Merlino was the only Survivor alum to actually get a name, playing Season 1 bartender Hutch in five episodes.

An Amazing Race Easter Egg

In the sixth episode, security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) secretly searches the Ratliffs’ villa for his gun, knowing that Timothy (Jason Isaacs) took it from his post when he stepped out for a few minutes. He quickly realizes that it’s in a chest of drawers near the entrance, and has to choose which of many doors to check.

As one Reddit user noted, this was eerily similar to White's challenge on The Amazing Race, where he and Mel had to choose the correct box to get their next clue. In a full-circle moment, that specific episode was filmed in Thailand, where Season 3 is set.

Southern Charm’s Impact

In an interview with People, Sam Nivola revealed that White asked most of the Ratliff family, including Jason Isaacs and Patrick Schwarzenegger, to watch Southern Charm while preparing for their roles. Everyone immediately noticed that Isaacs’ character had an eerily similar voice and attitude to Thomas Ravenel.

“It came out on the internet that Mike had asked us to watch Southern Charm, a great reality show, and somebody in it — people from Southern Charm — went, ‘He’s clearly doing Thomas Ravenel.’ Like, that's clearly who I am," he said on Good Morning America. “And Thomas, I am doing you, mostly, but not for two vowels, which are completely English.”

Schwarzenegger also confirmed in a Sunday Times interview that his character, Saxon, was partially inspired by a “guy from Southern Charm,” but refrained from divulging his identity.

A Potential Real Housewives Reference

Leslie Bibb admitted that Bravo also inspired her character Kate, but she chose the Real Housewives universe rather than Southern Charm. “Sometimes I’d just watch it and I just see what seeps in,” she said on Watch What Happens Live. “A lot of Beverly Hills was happening, and that felt in the right world. Maybe a little [Orange County]. Maybe there’s a little Heather Dubrow in her.”

However, some fans thought the Housewives influence ran deeper, noticing parallels between Bibb’s onscreen BFF Michelle Monaghan’s rendezvous with their White Lotus butler Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) and Luann de Lesseps’ Season 5 hookup with “the pirate” on The Real Housewives of New York. Even Vanity Fair said Valentin looked like the infamous “pirate,” Tomas Ribiero.