• Photo Courtesy Of Rip Cord Productions And Hbo
• TROUBLE IN PARADISE Son Quinn Mossbacher (Fred Hechinger, left) tries to connect to his dad, Mark (Steve Zahn), during an otherwise dysfunctional family vacation at an expensive Hawaiian resort, in HBO's miniseries The White Lotus.

What's it rated? TV-MA

When? 2021

Where's it showing? HBO Max

This miniseries opens as a mystery with preppy guy Shane Patton (Jake Lacy) looking utterly worn down in an airport, waiting for his plane ride home. A friendly couple starts politely questioning him about his stay. We soon learn the reason for the plane delay is a body being loaded on board, but who passed away and under what circumstances are unknown. We then jump back in time and watch as Shane and his new bride, Rachel (Alexandra Daddario), arrive on a boat along with the Mossbacher family and lone guest Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge).

We also meet the staff of The White Lotus—a bougie, gorgeous Hawaiian resort that clearly caters to the upper crust. Manager Armond (Murray Bartlett) is the easy-going, eager to please guy on the outside, but inside he's tightly strung and close to imploding. The writers have done a fantastic job at leading their audience into a beautiful, incredibly uncomfortable, and cringe-inducing world of the über-rich and those who serve them, and the cast is a force to be reckoned with.

From internal conflicts within each group to drug-fueled decisions and gaslighting galore, this six-part HBO series isn't looking to make the audience feel comfortable. This may be a love-it-or-hate-it sort of series, but it's a total gem in my book. With the likes of Connie Britton, Coolidge, Steve Zahn, and Bartlett on the cast list, it's hard to go wrong. (six approximately one-hour episodes) Δ