A Guide to Every ‘Survivor’ Cameo on ‘The White Lotus’: Alec Merlino, Natalie Cole, and more

Survivor alum and The White Lotus creator Mike White can’t resist drawing parallels between his reality breakout and his hit HBO show.

White, 53, was a contestant on Survivor: David vs. Goliath in 2018, where he was runner-up to Nick Wilson in a controversial finish. The White Lotus premiered three years later and was an instant success.

Though White was a writer and director long before his Survivor days, he drew from his time on the island when creating The White Lotus.

"Survivor is not that dissimilar to [The White Lotus], 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," White told NPR in 2022.

After White brought on one of his former Survivor castmates in the first season, he soon promised more castaways would join the show. To the delight of fans of the CBS reality series, White has delivered. Here are all of the Survivor castaways who have made cameos on The White Lotus — so far.