Some major changes could be coming to The White Lotus.
The hit HBO series has become known in part for its distinctive theme songs and soundtrack, earning three Emmy Awards in the first two seasons. But composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer, the mastermind behind the show’s unique soundtrack, announced he has resigned from the show ahead of Season 4.
In a candid interview with The New York Times, Tapia de Veer detailed several creative disagreements he had with series creator and director Mike White — whom he seemingly described as being “a diva” — beginning in Season 1.
Tapia de Veer told the Times he left over creative differences with White, and compared his time on the show to being in “a rock ’n’ roll band” in which “the guitar player doesn’t understand the singer at all.”
The composer said he didn’t even tell White he was quitting the show, but did inform “the whole editorial team and music editor and producer.”
“I didn’t tell Mike for various reasons; I wanted to tell him just at the end for the shock and whatever,” he said, adding, “I didn’t think that they were going to tell him. At some point he heard about that.”
When asked how White reacted to his resignation from the show, he demurred, but did tell the Times, “He says a lot of things, but I can’t really talk about that. There was a French movie, La Cage Aux Folles. You know how there’s Albin, which is like the star, and there’s Renato, who is the producer who is always taking care that Albin doesn’t lose his mind about something, because Albin is the diva and Renato is the guy who is trying to make everything work. To me, the show felt very much like that.”
Tapia de Veer also gave insight into the show’s iconic theme music, and said before he created his version of the popular Season 1 opening track, White wanted it to resemble “something you would listen to in Ibiza, in some clubby place with a chill, sexy vibe,” that had “no edge to it.”
While his work on the Season 2 theme song became a viral hit, inspiring several remixes that played out on social media and in clubs, the Season 3 theme song drew immediate backlash when the show first premiered in February. Tapia de Veer said that he wanted to release a longer version of the theme song in response to the “furious” backlash, but White nixed the idea.
“He wasn’t happy about that,” Tapia de Veer said. “I mean, at that point, we already had our last fight forever, I think. So he was just saying no to anything. So I just uploaded that to my YouTube.”
The Chilean composer admitted that he may have been “unprofessional” at times with White, but he pointed to the three Emmy Awards he earned the show: two for Outstanding Music Composition and one for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.
Tapia de Veer added, “People don’t remember, but at first some people were complaining about the music … But I’m really happy to take those kinds of risks. That is the main thing that I’m most happy about — it was worth all the tension and almost forcing the music into the show, in a way, because I didn’t have that many allies in there.”
DECIDER has reached out to White’s rep for comment.
The White Lotus Season 3 finale airs Sunday on HBO and Max at 9/8c.