From WHY Wine Philadelphia, this is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Sam Briger in for Terry

Gross. Today Mike White talks about his hit HBO series The White Lotus. Season 2

follows wealthy American guest vacationing at a luxurious hotel in Sicily. The

setting is idyllic, but they've all brought their troubles with them. I'm doing

like basically a reboot of Lverdon Shirley meets you know Fantasy Island with

some survivor dropped into it. Also Michael Checky as Alina tells us what it's

like being a matradee at the fanciest restaurants in New York. He's worked in

the business for decades telling wealthy diners, celebrities and even the

mafia whether or not they can have the table by the window. While performing

his duties he's been tipped, insulted and threatened. And he pushed me against

the woman who goes, I don't know who you are. I don't know your name, but you just

insulted me and I'm gonna take care of you. That's all coming up on Fresh Air Weekend.

This is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Sam Briger in for Terry Gross. Our first guest is

Mike White, creator of the HBO comedy drama series The White Lotus. He also

created the HBO series Enlightened, wrote the hit film School of Rock and early

in his career wrote several episodes of the TV series Freaks and Geeks and Dawson's

Creek. In The New York Times, Alexis Salosky pointed out two themes his

examinant and his work, quote, the gulf between the people we imagine ourselves to

be and the people we actually are, and quote, how living your best life usually

pushes a lot of other people into living worse ones. Unquote. A seemingly out of

character chapter of his career is being a reality show contestant. He competed

on two seasons of the amazing race with his father and was a runner-up on

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