White Lotus / Staircase
TV + Movies

Is Season 3 Of ‘The White Lotus’ Inspired By A Real-Life Crime From 2001?

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There’s a popular fan theory that Mike White drew inspiration from a real-life crime case when creating Season 3 of The White Lotus.

Fans are connecting the 2001 murder of Kathleen Peterson to The White Lotus. Her murder was documented extensively in a docuseries on Netflix and a TV series dramatization on Max.

The Ratliff family: Jason Isaacs portrays Timothy Ratliff, the patriarch; Parker Posey plays Victoria Ratliff, his wife; Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola portray their children—Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan Ratliff

Both shows explore the controversy surrounding Kathleen Peterson’s cause of death. Michael Peterson claimed he found his wife unconscious and bleeding at the bottom of the stairs, while the prosecution argued he had beaten her to death, citing extensive blood spatter and multiple lacerations. This controversy led to a highly publicized trial, resulting in Michael Peterson’s conviction for murder in 2003 (although he was later released in 2017).

The Peterson family a dramatized in The Staircase: Colin Firth as Michael Peterson, Toni Collette as Kathleen Peterson, Patrick Schwarzenegger as Todd Peterson, Sophie Turner as Margaret Ratliff, Odessa Young as Martha Ratliff, and Dane DeHaan as Clayton Peterson. ​

Here is more information about the real case if you’re eager for more details.

The Peterson Family & Ratliff Family Connection

The perfect family never turns out to be so perfect.

So how does Kathleen Peterson’s murder relate to The White Lotus?

The first connection to The White Lotus is clear—the surname “Ratliff” seems directly lifted from the Peterson crime drama. Prosecutors emphasized the suspicious circumstances around the death of Elizabeth Ratliff, a family friend who, like Kathleen Peterson, was discovered dead at the bottom of a staircase in 1985.

When Elizabeth Ratliff died, Michael Peterson became the guardian of her daughters, Martha and Margaret, relocating them from Germany to Durham, NC. The Ratliff family in The White Lotus are also from Durham. Also Michael Peterson attended Duke University and so did Timothy Ratliff in the show.

More broadly, both The White Lotus and the Kathleen Peterson case explore marital tension and buried secrets.

Still not convinced? Consider this.

  • Patrick Schwarzenegger, who plays Saxon Ratliff, previously appeared as Michael Peterson’s son in HBO’s dramatized version of The Staircase.
  • Parker Posey, who plays Victoria Ratliff also was in The Staircase series.

What Does This Mean For The White Lotus Finale?

Victoria Ratliff holding Lorazepam shortly before her dreamt death by tsunami in Episode 2 (‘The Meaning of Dreams’), echoing Kathleen Peterson’s reported use of Valium before her death.

Given these similarities, it’s reasonable to think Mike White drew inspiration from the Kathleen Peterson story. It’s also not unreasonable to think that Timothy Ratliff may be plotting to murder his wife just as we saw in the Peterson case.