Before The White Lotus became a cultural phenomenon — before the Emmys, the satire, the pineapples — Mike White was sweating through challenges and racing across continents on The Amazing Race and Survivor: David vs. Goliath. In this episode, we’re tracing Mike White’s path from writing and directing Hollywood favorites like School of Rock and Nacho Libre to becoming a reality TV contestant and how those reality TV experiences didn’t just entertain us — they informed everything about how Mike White sees power, privilege, and performance.
Before The White Lotus became a cultural phenomenon — before the Emmys, the satire, the pineapples — Mike White was sweating through challenges and racing across continents on The Amazing Race and Survivor: David vs. Goliath. In this episode, we’re tracing Mike White’s path from writing and directing Hollywood favorites like School of Rock and Nacho Libre to becoming a reality TV contestant and how those reality TV experiences didn’t just entertain us — they informed everything about how Mike Wh...