<p id=”par-1_66″>While Mike White’s biggest contribution to television has been <em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/the-white-lotus-season-4-is-headed-to-france.html/”>The White Lotus</a></em>, he also made his <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/survivor-49-winner-pre-show-fasting-routine.html/”>mark on <em>Survivor</em></a>. The writer, director, and actor appeared on the show’s “David vs. Goliath” season and is now back for its 50th. White, who was a runner-up on the show the first time around, said he jumped at the chance to return. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, though. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-mike-white-spoke-about-the-challenges-of-competing-on-survivor”>Mike White spoke about the challenges of competing on ‘Survivor’</h2>
<p id=”par-2_25″>When White was invited to <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/survivor-50-massive-3-hour-premiere.html/”>return for <em>Survivor 50</em></a>, he initially thought it wouldn’t work with his schedule. He didn’t want to miss it, though.</p>
<p id=”par-3_64″>“<em>Survivor 50</em>, that’s a huge deal,” he said on <em>The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon</em>. “It’s a cultural milestone. I don’t want to miss out on something that <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/survivor-50-cast-cirie-fields-mike-white-season-49-winner.html/”>could be super cool</a>. I never thought it would work with my schedule, but then I found out the dates, and I was like, ‘I actually could go. That would be so gnarly to go again.’”</p>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Mike White Says Survivor Fans Suck, Reveals Safari Trip w/ Jennifer Coolidge Led to The White Lotus” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/SZ3ig3yIa4s?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-4_41″>He said that while he enjoyed his time on the show, he had forgotten how “hellish” it could be. While he found the game as a whole difficult, he admitted that the moments when cameras weren’t rolling were the most challenging. </p>
<p id=”par-5_98″>“But you know the truth is the hardest parts [of the show] were the parts that there were no cameras,” he said. “As long as there were cameras, I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ The cameras give me life. I’m suffering, but people are going to watch this suffering. It’s the moments where you’re waiting to go to a challenge and you’re sitting under a tent and there’s a PA yelling at you and there’s no cameras and you’re just in the dirt, you’re like, ‘Why did I do this? Where are the cameras?’ I need cameras to suffer.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-mike-white-said-survivor-fans-frustrate-him”>Mike White said ‘Survivor’ fans frustrate him</h2>
<p id=”par-6_22″>This season of <em>Survivor</em> invited fans to vote on some elements of the game. This didn’t win them any favors with White.</p>
<p id=”par-7_13″>“The fans, they suck,” he said. “The fans are, like, cruel. They’re sadistic.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_10″>He sarcastically corrected himself to say the fans were “great.”</p>
<p id=”par-9_6″>“Thanks, fans,” he said. “Love fans.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-he-shared-how-the-show-influenced-the-white-lotus”>He shared how the show influenced ‘The White Lotus’</h2>
<p id=”par-10_23″><em>The White Lotus</em> premiered just three years after White’s time on <em>Survivor</em>. He admitted that he sees some similarities between the two shows.</p>
<p id=”par-11_73″>“<em>Survivor</em> is not that dissimilar, which is a lot of times just people kind of kvetching about who’s tending the fire or they’re hangry because they haven’t had anything to eat,” he told <a href=”https://www.npr.org/2022/12/05/1140224760/white-lotus-mike-white” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>NPR</a>. “But then the music is making it feel like this is going to end up bad for somebody. And then you have these transitions of sharks in the water. And I was like, we do that in <em>White Lotus</em>.”</p>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”The White Lotus Wins Best Limited Series or TV Motion Picture | 2023 Golden Globe Awards on NBC” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/wyLB_l60G2Y?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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Jeff Probst Will ‘Finally’ Compete on ‘Survivor’ After Years of Talking ‘so Much Smack’ About Players </a>
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<p id=”par-12_14″>The long-running reality series helped inspire some of the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/tv/the-white-lotus-season-4-changes.html/”>dramatic choices on White’s show</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-13_26″>“I have to cop to being influenced by <em>Survivor</em> and these shows where you have a device that makes it feel like it’s a built-in cliffhanger.”</p>
<p id=”par-14_11″><em>Survivor 50</em> airs on CBS on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.</p>