When it comes to Mike White's TV credits that are not The White Lotus, most people would probably name the gone-too-soon Enlightened, his early work as a writer on Dawson's Creek and Freaks and Geeks, or even his reality stints on The Amazing Race (twice) and Survivor. But one that hardly ever comes up is Pasadena.

The Fox prime-time soap was the first series White created. Named after his California hometown, the show had the nascent marks of what everyone loves about The White Lotus now: a mysterious death, backstabbing, secrets, privileged white people, and even sexual tension between — yes — siblings. It starred Dana Delany as the matriarch of the wealthy Greeleys. After her daughter, Lily (Alison Lohman), witnesses a murder, family secrets are uncovered. The cast also included Martin Donovan, Balthazar Getty, Mark Valley, Christopher Marquette, and Natasha Gregson Wagner. Diane Keaton even directed the pilot. Pasadena got...