Season three of The White Lotus, starring Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan and Carrie Coon, has changed its theme song.
The White Lotus is great at sparking conversation. But when it returned for season three last week, the HBO favourite had tongues wagging before the first scene had rolled.
As the opening credits began to play, noticeably absent was the theme song that became a phenomenon when season two aired in 2022. In its place was something moodier, less hummable and, in its biggest crime, devoid of the strange, warbling vocalisation that defined the previous theme.
The two songs still share a similar energy and were the work of composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer, as was season one’s theme, but this season’s is just, well, different.
The backlash was immediate. On the YouTube link of the season two song, one of the top comments now reads, “I can’t believe they took this from us”. The social media site X became a sea of annoyed reaction gifs. Group chats around the world lit up in displeasure. And on Reddit, one user arrived poetically at the crux of the issue: “Season 1 and 2 had the core ‘waaa waaa wa wa’ we all know and love. This one completely did away with the wa”. And we all just really loved the wa.
It might seem like a lot of feelings to have about a 104-second piece of music, but such is the power of a good theme song – especially in the streaming age. Some shows (HBO’s Barry; Netflix’s Beef) have done away with them altogether, aware audiences can skip through an intro with the click of a remote. But the good ones can get bigger than ever before as social media gives them a whole new life.
Bill Hader in Barry, which skipped a theme song altogether.
The White Lotus’ season two theme song fell into the latter category. On TikTok, users celebrated declining to hit the “skip intro” button as each new episode aired, or posted imitations of those all-important “waa” sounds. Its clubby, tribal sound lent itself perfectly to appearances as a novelty tune in exercises classes and DJ sets (I remember dancing to it with glee at Sydney’s Mardi Gras). The theme even won an Emmy.
It burnt bright, but White Lotus creator Mike White has said the season two theme had to be left behind to keep the show “fresh”. It joins a long list of glorious, gone-but-not-forgotten TV theme songs. Here are seven of the best.
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (1990-1996)
The theme song to Fresh Prince of Bel Air didn’t just set the tone for what was to come in this 1990s sitcom, it laid out the entire premise for the show. A violent confrontation at home in Philadelphia spooks the mother of titular lead character – Will Smith, playing a fictionalised version of himself – who sends him to live with wealthy relatives in Bel Air, all of which we learn within the space of a few catchy verses. It was a boppy earworm to boot, and “Nowww this is a story all about how…” remains a versatile, unbeatable storytelling set-up.
The Nanny (1993-1999)
And then there was the jazzy theme song to another ’90s classic – which so delightfully told the story of Fran Fine, who landed out on her fanny and then became the Nanny. In just 42 seconds, with cartoon visuals and all the pep of an old-world advertising jingle, the theme song taught us all we needed to know about the woman from Flushing’s road to the Sheffield household. Which was, basically: she had style, she had flair, she was there.
Friends (1994-2004)
So your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your love life’s DOA? There’s a song for that, and we’ll bet you still remember every word. Peppy, unmistakably ’90s and just a little bit cheesy, I’ll Be There For You so perfectly bottled the mood-enhancing effect of Friends. And it was made even more joyous by the delightfully awkward dancing and singing along the cast did to it in the intro.
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
Amy Sherman-Palladino knew exactly what song she wanted to use as the theme for her show Gilmore Girls: Where You Lead, from Carole King’s 1971 album Tapestry. King didn’t just say yes to the request – she went one better and re-recorded the song with lyrics that better reflected a mother-daughter relationship, and brought her daughter on to duet with her. That tweaked version of the song perfectly matched the sweet, big-warm-hug mood of a show about the unbreakable bond between a single mum and her daughter, adding another dollop of feel-good on top.
Fun fact: King made occasional cameo appearances as a record shop owner in the show.
The Wire (2002-2008)
The White Lotus isn’t the first TV show to remix its theme song every season. HBO’s The Wire led with a new interpretation of the Tom Waits song Way Down in the Hole for each of its five seasons, enlisting a cohort of artists to put their spin on that classic track. Show creator David Simon had chosen the song for the way it captured “ubiquitous drudgery and pain” – fitting for a show bleak and unsparing in its depiction of the human toll of the drug trade. But it’s nonetheless a great tune and two decades on, fans still debate which one was the best version.
The O.C. (2003-2007)
In 2004, every self-respecting teen had a CD copy of The O.C. soundtrack on high rotation. And the first track on that hallowed disc was Phantom Planet’s California, the show’s theme song and the perfect distillation of the breezy, indie, effortlessly cool vibe that would define The O.C.’s taste-making soundtracks. The show only had a few good seasons up its sleeve, but the song’s impact lived on – belt out the soaring cry of “Californiaaaa!” in a room full of Millennials to spark an instant singalong.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015-2019)
Some songs get memeified after their release, but the theme to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt arrived with the heavy lifting already done. In a hat tip to the likes of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, creator Tina Fey wanted to use the intro to her Netflix comedy to set up the premise for the show about a young woman escaping an underground doomsday cult. So she and the team crafted a fake news report about the “rescue” and had it remixed into a stupidly catchy tune (inspired by the Bed Intruder Song, YouTube’s most popular video of 2010). The result, much like the show, was utterly ridiculous and yet totally watchable.
What do you think of The White Lotus′ new theme song? And do you have a favourite TV theme tune? Let us know in the comments below.
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