David Bernad, Mike White’s longtime producing partner, received his first Emmy win, for outstanding limited series, for season one of The White Lotus. As the Sicilian follow-up prepares to potentially dominate the drama categories this fall, Bernad chats with THR about moving the hit series across continents, killing off Jennifer Coolidge and a taste of what to expect for season three’s jump to Thailand.
David Bernad
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Did you get the green light for season two after wrapping season one?
No, it was really only after the show came [out]. After the experience of making the show, and audiences responding to it, Mike then was committed to doing a second season. And HBO came to Mike and said, “What do you want to do next?” He said, “Another season of White Lotus.” They jumped at it. We scouted, basically, from Rome south, all through the Amalfi Coast, Ravello, Positano, Portofino, the north, and then we went to Sicily. Really, what it was — that hotel in Taormina, the Four Seasons, is an incredible hotel, just incredibly captivating. We were walking around [on] a tour, and there were all these statues, these heads, which is a theme in the season. Mike asked the tour guide, “What are these heads?” He explained what the teste di moro were, and talked about the history and what they stand for, which is really the story of the sexual politics of men and women and how deep that runs in the culture of Sicily. I think that was the spark for Mike that then led to the second season. What really makes Mike such a special screenwriter — he really went and lived it. He moved to Taormina. He lived there for three or four months. He saw the island and met people and had his own experience.
When do the casting choices start to emerge — how soon in that process do you guys have conversations about actors like Aubrey Plaza?
Jennifer Coolidge was always coming back. Aubrey’s someone that we’ve had a long relationship with; Mike and her are close friends. We were going to do a movie together at one point that fell apart because of COVID. He’s always loved writing for her. As the story took shape, it became clear that he wrote it for Aubrey. That was very early on. And then we started filling in the pieces as the scripts came in.
How did shooting season two compare to season one?
When I arrived in Italy, January of ’22, Mike had been there since October, November. COVID was still a thing — in Italy, they really follow the rules. I would be walking down the street, and there’d be people alone in a car wearing a mask. The big difference, though, was we weren’t in a bubble. We were able to leave the hotel and live somewhat normal lives, where in season one, we were trapped with each other. This feeling of, “Oh, I can get away from the people I’m annoyed with. I don’t have to spend every waking moment with them.” That was really nice. The cultural experience for everyone involved was incredible. There was obviously a language barrier. The local crew, the local cast [had] incredible patience with us as we were stepping into their world.
What did the local hiring process look like?
We were connected with two casting directors in Rome, Francesco Vedovati and Barbara Giordani, who are incredible people. They had worked on Fargo. Mike and I spent three or four days in Rome, doing live auditions. When we met Beatrice Grannò, Simona Tabasco, Sabrina Impacciatore, it was just obvious, they were just so perfect for the parts. At first it was a challenge because they’re auditioning in Italian. Mike and I had never cast actors speaking a different language. But the way we cast all the parts, it’s a feeling of: They just embody the character. There is a learning curve in terms of how things are done on Italian sets. The first couple of weeks were a little rocky. The Italian crew, on Friday nights, would always throw a party in the hotel. And they would be out dancing late. I remember it was the second or third weekend of the shoot, and Mike and I went to the party. I think the crew, then, were like, “OK, these outsiders are one of us.” And that was the beginning of when we really started to jell.
What I think we’re going to do going forward is, there’s an Italian crew we’re going to bring with us to Thailand. So we’re going to have Thai crew, Italian crew, American crew. And then if we’re lucky enough to do another season, we’ll have [crew who are] Thai, Italian, American, wherever we end up. I think just having a melting pot of different people is something that we’re really excited about.
What was filming that climactic sequence with Jennifer shooting up the boat like?
Before he wrote the scripts, I had a sense of what the climax would be. I knew that Jennifer was going to die. I didn’t know the details of how we got there. When I read that script, I was blown away. And the immediate thought is: “How are we going to pull this off where it feels grounded and feels real?” I think Mike is a genius. He always had this vision of the camera being on her face, and playing not the violence of it but the emotionality of what she’s going through, and being on her as that scene is happening. I think we figured out how to thread the needle for it to feel funny but also heartbreaking, but also scary. I really give Mike all credit for that, in terms of having that vision at the very beginning, of how to pull it off in camera. Shooting that scene was really sad, for all of us, the whole sequence of her dying. Obviously, Jennifer is one of our best friends, and Mike and I have known her for almost 20 years.
How has it been prepping for your third season?
I will say it was very similar [to previous seasons]. Mike and I scouted in January, February of this year. The thought was we’d end up in Japan, which was a rumor that was online. Both of our dreams are to film in Japan. When we went to Thailand, we had a similar experience that we’ve had in Sicily, where there was just something about the hotels that we saw but also the experience of the culture of the people there. It felt so specific, in the way that we needed for season three. There’s a warmth, and it’s exciting that Thailand hasn’t really been depicted in the way that we are going to attempt to depict it.
Did you go into scouting this time with a theme in mind?
There was a general sense of wanting to explore Eastern philosophies and religion. And the experience we had in Thailand definitely further informed what the potential story would be in a deeper thematic. What makes Mike such a special writer and creator is that he really ingests and takes in his environment. Mike’s a humanist — he loves people, he loves highlighting different cultures and, really, outsiders. I feel like whenever he spends time in a place, he takes in everything, and it comes through in the work.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
