Sometimes we have a series of subjects that are mixed - singular and plural. In informal speech, the verb then agrees with the nearest subject. Look at these examples:
There's a girl and two boys outside.
There are two boys and a girl outside.
There's some wine and two apples on the table.
There are two apples and some wine on the table.
Note that this is common usage in informal speech only. It is not recommended for formal English such as essay-writing in an exam.
There is/are + lots of
Do we use there is or there are with lots of or a lot of? It depends on the noun: if it is singular, use there is; if it is plural, use there are: