Plot twists, fake scripts, rogue hotel guests, and a producer trying to schmooze his way out of chaos. Buckle up – it’s The White Lotus, not Mission: Impossible… but close.
Okay, so picture this: the masterminds behind HBO’s hit series The White Lotus were so terrified of spoilers leaking for the Season 3 finale that they basically turned the set into Fort Knox and handed out fake scripts like they were Oprah giving away cars.
“You get a fake ending! YOU get a fake ending! EVERYONE gets a fake ending!”
Executive producer David Bernad spilled the tea (lukewarm, no spoilers) in a recent interview, revealing that he and creator Mike White wrote six fake endings. Yes, SIX. That’s more plot twists than your group chat during a breakup.
“We wrote up — we have six different endings — and we kind of distributed fake endings to people just in case someone leaked anything…”
Translation: they created a storyline labyrinth so complex even the actors were probably like, “Wait… am I dead in this one or married to a goat?”
And when it came time to shoot the actual finale, they weren’t playing around. The set was so locked down, even ghosts haunting the Four Seasons were told to beat it. No outsiders. No peeking. Not even a single stray extra pretending to “accidentally” walk through a scene holding an iced latte.
But of course, nothing ever goes smoothly in Hollywood.
While filming an important scene (read: likely someone crying in a pool or murdering someone with a papaya), a couple of guests at the Four Seasons decided it was the perfect time to go full TMZ and film the whole thing from their room.
“They didn’t know what they were filming was sensitive,” Bernad explained.
Sensitive?? Sweetie, this is The White Lotus, not a school play. EVERYTHING is sensitive.
So what did our hero David do? Did he call security? Throw their phones into the ocean? Nah. He schmoozed. The man turned on the charm like a used car salesman with a yacht to unload.
“We were like, ‘We gotta make them part of the experience,’ so I could get them to delete the footage…”
Imagine being guilt-tripped into joining the cast of a TV show just so you’ll stop filming spoilers. Iconic behavior.
But don’t worry, Bernad reassured fans that this season isn’t all chaos and cover-ups—it’s world-building.
“It’s like a great novel,” he said. “You gotta get people invested and connected, and then the ride begins.”
We love a literary metaphor, Dave. Basically: it starts slow, builds tension, and ends with your jaw on the floor whispering “no way she did that with a coconut spoon.”
And in case you were wondering, yes, David is really proud of the finale.
So grab your wine, fluff your throw pillows, and prepare to be emotionally devastated in 3… 2… 1…
🕘 The White Lotus Season 3 finale drops Sunday, April 6 at 9 p.m. ET on Max.
Just don’t try to film it from your hotel room unless you want David Bernad showing up at your door with a smile and a non-disclosure agreement.
