If you’re missing the weekly “Who’s the body in the water?” speculation ofThe White Lotus, check out another series that combines a glamorous vacation locale with a spot of murder — Netflix’sBloodline. WithThe White Lotusseason 3having ended in early April, usWhite Lotusfans are running like Carrie Coon to any good TV recommendation. The hit Mike White series takes its precious time between seasons, with approximately 1.5 to 2-year gaps between each installment, so we need something to tide us over.
With its biting social satire on the privileged guests who luxuriate at the titular hotels,The White Lotushas taken us all over the world, from Hawaii to Sicily to Thailand. When I watchThe White Lotus, I often fantasize about my next vacation. I found myself doing the exact same thing withBloodline, which is set at a family-run seaside inn in the Florida Keys. The Rayburns are a close-knit clan thrown into turmoil when their black sheep brother Danny returns home. Things only get lethal from there.
Netflix’s Bloodline Also Takes Place At A Vacation Destination & Features Plenty Of Crime
We Quickly Learn The Rayburns Are Up To No Good
Though there are many secrets buried in its walls,the Rayburn House inBloodlineseems like a vacationer’s dream. Indeed, with its sun-soaked property right on the water, guests are begging family matriarch and inn owner Sally Rayburn (Sissy Spacek) to extend their stay. This sounds exactly like something thecharacters ofThe White Lotuswould do at the end of their week in paradise, had it not been for all that death.
But make no mistake —Bloodlineis by no means an ad for the Florida Keys. Lots of darkness, crime, and murder happen, just like inThe White Lotus. The main difference is that whereasThe White Lotusfeatures the distinct camps of the privileged guests and put-upon hotel employees,the affluent and powerful characters inBloodlineare the family running the inn. Also similar toThe White Lotusis that theBloodlinecast is stacked with talented actors, from Kyle Chandler to Linda Cardellini.
The Sordid Family Drama Makes Bloodline A Must-Watch
The Rayburns Are Up There With Some Of The White Lotus' Messed-Up Families
Every season ofThe White Lotusfeatures a family hiding a lot of tumult beneath their charmed exterior.If the family drama element is one of your favorite parts of the HBO series, the Rayburns ofBloodlinehave enough secretsto fill Gary-Greg’s yacht. The core unit of siblings is the protective second son with a dark side, John (Kyle Chandler); the hot-headed, loose cannon youngest son, Kevin (Norbert Leo Butz); and the peacekeeping youngest and only sister, Meg (Linda Cardellini). Their world is forever rocked at the return of the pot-stirring eldest, Danny (Ben Mendelsohn).
Sally presents herself as a genteel southern woman who doesn’t want any unpleasantness disrupting her beautifully manicured existence.
Though the siblings certainly don’t have the type ofrelationship that Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan Ratliff(Sam Nivola) do inThe White Lotusseason 3,their parents aren’t that different from Timothy (Jason Isaacs) and Victoria (Parker Posey). Like Timothy, Rayburn patriarch (Sam Shepard) clearly has no problem hurting his kids, and Sally presents herself as a genteel southern woman who doesn’t want any unpleasantness disrupting her beautifully manicured existence. In the first five minutes, you’ll be wishing you could be a fly on the wall of the Rayburn House long beforeBloodlinestarted.
Why Fans Of The White Lotus Will Love Bloodline
It Features Incredible Performances From Actors Playing Terrible People
The vast majority ofThe White Lotus' main characters are people you wouldn’t be able to stomach in real life, but can’t seem to look away from on TV.The Rayburns fall right into that category, as every single one of them has blood on their hands, literally or figuratively. But, similar to the Ratliffs, they put on a facade and would tell you they’re just a normal family. They’re certainly a family I’d never want to join, but I couldn’t get enough of them, and I immediately remembered them fondly when I first tuned intoThe White Lotus.
The performances fromBloodline’s cast are also absolutely spectacular, and several of the actors were nominated for Emmys. The only winner among them was Ben Mendelsohn, whose Danny Rayburn seems like a precursor to Walton Goggins' Rick Hatchett in season 3. Like Rick, Danny presents himself as a self-centered misanthrope, but beneath his sneering, cigarette-toting exterior lies a broken man destined for ruin. A line of lyrics inBloodline’s theme song is, “You’ll drown before the water lets you in”, and given the water imagery ofThe White Lotusseason 3, I’d say the Netflix show is your next binge-watch.
Bloodline
Cast
Bloodline is a Netflix original series exploring the dark secrets of the Rayburn family, who operate a beachside hotel in the Florida Keys. Led by Kyle Chandler as John Rayburn, the show delves into themes of betrayal, family loyalty, and the complexities of human relationships as past deeds resurface to haunt the present.
The White Lotus
The White Lotus is a television series that explores the interactions of guests and staff at an upscale tropical resort. Premiering in 2021, the narrative unfolds over a week, revealing underlying complexities and tensions among the resort’s seemingly ideal travelers and employees.
