Family matters: the history of incest on television

“The White Lotus” didn’t do it first.

Incest has been playing out on television long before the third season of the hit HBO series explored the sexual tension between brothers Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Lochlan Ratliff (Sam Nivola).

One of the earliest instances was in the late 90s/early 2000s soap opera “Passions.” Chad Harris (Donn Swaby and Charles Divins) and Whitney Russell (Brook Kerr) fall in love as teens and then learn that they’re allegedly half-siblings — but they stay together and have a son named Miles.

Chad and Whitney’s incestuous relationship was controversial both on and off the show. However, it’s later revealed that the characters aren’t actually blood related.

“I believe Chad Harris-Crane’s and Whitney Russell’s incest storyline and others like it can help serve the purpose of delivering a kind of warning via a tragic morality tale, as in, ‘Don’t do this, or bad things will happen,’” Swaby, who left “Passions” and was replaced by Divins before Chad’s incest storyline played out, exclusively told The Post.

The 51-year-old actor said he doesn’t watch “The White Lotus” but praised the series for tackling incest this season.

“I commend the show for having the courage to explore such a taboo topic and would hope it’s being done in a way that’s honest,” he said.

“How to Get Away with Murder” also covered incest in it’s final season. Frank (Charlie Weber) is revealed to be the product of siblings Hannah (Marcia Gay Harden) and Sam’s (Tom Verica) childhood incest.

Meanwhile, “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon” feature numerous incestuous relationships like Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Cersei (Lena Headey), Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), and Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Daemon (Matt Smith).

Last year, Ryan Murphy’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” went down the incest path with the bond between the California brothers who murdered their parents.

While the real Lyle and Erik have denied ever having a sexual relationship, Murphy, 59, defended including incest innuendos in the series. “We had an obligation as storytellers to also try and put in their perspective based on our research, which we did,” the producer told Entertainment Tonight in September.

Justin Lehmiller, We-Vibe scientific advisor and researcher at the Kinsey Institute, exclusively told The Post that he believes the rise of incest on TV “is mostly being done for shock value” — which “The White Lotus” executive producer David Bernad denied is the case in his own interview with The Post.

However, Lehmiller doesn’t think that incest has become “normalized” from the shows exploring it.

“Based on public reaction, it’s quite clear that these depictions continue to stir up a heck of a lot of discomfort among viewers, suggesting that most people don’t see anything normal at all about this,” Lehmiller told The Post.

“I think it’s also worth noting that the use of incest as a plot device is nothing new. Long before the recent uptick in incest portrayals on popular streaming shows, it still made occasional appearances in media, such as in the 1999 film ‘Cruel Intentions.’ That was long before the modern social media era, but those depictions generated the same kind of shocked reaction we see among people today.”

In 1999’s “Cruel Intentions,” stepsiblings Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) exhibit plenty of sexual tension.

The HBO show sent viewers into a spiral when the Ratliff brothers kissed during Episode 5. Then, the internet exploded over the revelation that Lochlan jerked Saxon off during a threesome.

Lehmiller said that the incestuous relationship between the Ratlif brothers is unique to past incest storylines.

“It’s taking place between two men, which adds another layer of taboo to it,” he explained. “But it’s also taking place in a world that doesn’t feel as disconnected to reality as, say, Westeros. An incest portrayal that takes place among royalty in a fantasy setting is one thing. However, the world that ‘White Lotus’ inhabits hits much closer to home — the characters feel more like real people who could be walking among us. And that may make something like a portrayal of incest even more unsettling to viewers.”

Dr. Laura Berman, host of “The Language of Love” podcast and author of the new book “Sex Magic” (available for preorder now), exclusively told The Post she’s “not surprised” about the incest sparking such a big reaction from “White Lotus” fans.

“If the show uses this moment to open up more depth — about boundaries, trauma or even cultural silence around incest — it could become a meaningful narrative choice,” Berman said. “But if it’s just a blip for shock’s sake, it risks contributing to a culture of numbness and sensationalism around something that affects real people in devastating ways.”

She added, “That said, if I’m being optimistic, I hope that all the buzz this storyline is generating can at least spark real conversations about the reality of incest — how common it actually is, how silenced survivors often are, and how important it is that we bring these conversations out of the shadows.”

Bernad, one of the executive producers on Mike White’s series, previously told The Post that Saxon and Lochlan’s kissing scene has a bigger meaning behind it.

“There’s a specific reason in terms of the narrative storytelling, and the larger thematic idea Mike is trying to get across,” he said.

“As the season wraps up, you’ll see the purpose of that story turn,” Bernard continued. “The show goes there for a larger thematic idea. I love that family storyline, especially the brother story — and, it culminates in a very satisfying way.”

The finale of “The White Lotus” Season 3 airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO.