“The White Lotus” packed a punch for HBO with Sunday’s finale drawing 1.9 million viewers across linear and digital platforms.
Viewership of the sixth and final installment of Season 1 was up more than 59% from the Aug. 8 penultimate installment and more than triple the crowd that turned out for the series premiere on July 11. The first episode has now drawn more than 7 million viewers to date, according to HBO.
The buzzy, soapy ensembler from multihyphenate Mike White about a group of pampered guests at a luxury resort in Hawaii at present ranks as the No. 1 series on all of HBO Max.
“White Lotus” become a word-of-mouth summer hit for HBO as it followed the first-world adventures of couples and families who brought plenty of emotional baggage to the idyllic setting. Jennifer Coolidge has drawn raves for her breakout performance as a lonely and entitled woman struggling with grief and the loss of her mother.
The trajectory of “White Lotus” is another example of how the weekly release schedule benefits certain kinds of shows that get a little lucky in the timing-and-zeitgeist department. “White Lotus” became a Monday morning talking point for many industry insiders.
HBO last week confirmed that “White Lotus” has been renewed for a second season albeit with a new cast. The next installment will involve a new group of vacationers at a different resort run by the White Lotus company.
Season 1 starred Coolidge, Connie Britton, Natasha Rothwell, Steve Zahn, Murray Barlett, Alexandra Daddario, Fred Hechinger, Jake Lacy, Sydney Sweeney and Brittany O’Grady.
White served as executive producer along with David Bernad and Nick Hall.