Why ‘The White Lotus’ features all those ‘Survivor’ cameos — and who might be next
Survivor and The White Lotus have more in common than you think.
Not only do the two TV programs take place in sexy, exotic locales and explore themes of power dynamics and societal issues, but they're famous for swapping out their casts every season. Oh, and they also share a common collaborator in Mike White. He came thisclose to winning the $1 million prize on Survivor: David vs. Goliath in 2018 (losing to Nick Wilson by four votes); three years later he created The White Lotus for HBO, winning three Emmy Awards in 2022 for writing, directing, and producing the first season.
Every year, White uses his influence to ensure that some of his favorite Survivor Season 37 castaways make their way onto The White Lotus. So far, five different contestants have appeared in special cameos, with some of them even getting lines. Don't worry, there are no torches being snuffed or alliances being broken — it's all for fun!
Here's a refresher on all of the Survivor cameos on The White Lotus so far.
Alec Merlino
10th place on Survivor: David vs. Goliath
In the first season of The White Lotus, Merlino played the recurring role of Hutch, a waiter and bartender at the Maui resort and spa. Merlino appeared in five out of six episodes, with his duties including making drinks, helping out Olivia (Sydney Sweeney), and returning a lost bag to Armond (Murray Bartlett). Of all of the cameos to occur so far on the HBO drama, Merlino's is by far the biggest and most noticeable.
On Survivor, Merlino started out the game on the same Goliath tribe as White, and they both made the merge together. After he was voted out on Day 28, he became a member of the jury, where he voted for Wilson, not White, to win the $1 million prize — whoops! Later on, Merlino was banned from attending Season 37's live reunion because he'd broken the show's non-disclosure agreement and revealed he'd been dating Kara Kay (more on her below).
SEE ‘How to get a drink around here?’ Mix official ‘White Lotus’ cocktails with these exclusive recipes
Angelina Keeley
3rd place on Survivor: David vs. Goliath
Kara Kay
4th place on Survivor: David vs. Goliath
In the opening moments of the second season, Keeley and Kay are seen lounging around, enjoying their new digs in Sicily, when Daphne (Meghann Fahy) starts up a conversation. Daphne is "jealous" that the girls are just arriving, because she and her husband, Cameron (Theo James), are returning home from their weeklong vacation in "a few hours." She tells the newbies all about the "perfect" hotel, "excellent" staff, and "amazing" food and wine. "You're gonna die," Daphne declares, before heading into the water where she comes into contact with a dead body.
On Survivor, Keeley and Kay started out on the Goliath tribe, and made it all the way to the final four with White and Wilson. Kay lost the fire-making challenge and was booted in fourth place (she ultimately voted for White to win), while Keeley faced the jury and ended up as a zero-vote finalist. Keeley's biggest claim to fame on the reality TV show was when she repeatedly asked a voted-out Natalie Cole if she could have her jacket because she was too cold; Natalie ignored her.
Natalie Cole
15th place on Survivor: David vs. Goliath
Carl Boudreaux
9th place on Survivor: David vs. Goliath
In the Thailand-set Season 3 premiere, Belinda's Natasha Rothwell is seated alone at dinner when she spots Cole and Boudreaux being escorted to their table. The three share a quick moment as they smile across the restaurant at each other. "I saw two Black people tonight, and they weren't staff!" Belinda later told her son, Zion (Nicholas Duvernay), while speaking to him excitedly on the phone.
So far, all of the Survivor cameos have come from White's original Goliath tribe, except for Boudreaux, who hailed from the opposing David tribe. (That season featured a Biblical-type battle of overachievers versus underdogs.) While Cole is mostly remembered from the aforementioned jacket drama with Keeley, Boudreaux's claim to fame was using the idol nullifier against Dan Rengering, thereby negating his power at tribal council. Cole was ousted before the jury phase, while Boudreaux voted for Wilson to win the prize money.
Survivor castaways Natalie Cole and Carl Boudreaux in the season 3 premiere of The White Lotus.#Survivor #TheWhiteLotus pic.twitter.com/xesUbXzVLm
— Reality TV News/Updates (@Realitytv__fan) February 17, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Who could be next?
We don't know if it's a spoiler, but there was one notable Survivor alum very visible at the Season 3 premiere of The White Lotus who has yet to appear: Parvati Shallow. The Survivor legend, who won Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites and competed in three other seasons but not on White's, made the rounds at The White Lotus party, posing for photos with Natalie Cole and sharing a selfie with White. Could she be angling for her own cameo? There are still two episodes left this season, so we will find out soon.
One more thing...
In 2018, White jokingly expressed his frustration with Gold Derby over our Survivor odds, because our users had placed him last to win an immunity challenge, even below the "No One" option. "It's more likely that something that has never happened in the history of the game would happen than for me to win the next immunity," he laughed. "And I won that one!" He looked at the camera and shouted, "Screw Gold Derby! You're all losers!" Our Emmy odds in 2022 proved much better, as we correctly predicted White would win Best Limited Series, Writing, and Directing for Season 1 of The White Lotus. Is all forgiven, Mike?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions