EXCLUSIVE: Welcome to Le Lotus Blanc — The White Lotus creator Mike White and HBO have zeroed in on France as location for the upcoming fourth season of the hit murder mystery comedy-drama anthology, sources tell Deadline.
A rep for HBO declined comment.
HBO has a marketing partnership with the Four Seasons hotel chain which doubles as White Lotus hotels. Speculation has focused on the famous Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, perched on the tip of the Cap-Ferrat peninsula on the French Riviera, which has strong Hollywood ties with its proximity to Cannes.
However, sources stress that no hotel has been locked in, noting that the show tends to use multiple resorts in one season, as was the case with the Thailand-based Season 3. It used the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui as its main setting, along with three other non-Four Seasons hotels. It is unclear yet whether a French Four Seasons resort would be the primary location of Season 4.
The two other Four Seasons hotels in France are the Megève in the French Alps and Hotel George V, located in the heart of Paris.
The Cap-Ferrat is the closest to the settings of the first three seasons of The White Lotus which took place at luxury resorts by the beach in Hawaii (S1), Italy (S2) and Thailand (S3).
“For the fourth season, I want to get a little bit out of the crashing waves of rocks vernacular but there’s always more room for more murders at the White Lotus hotels,” White said at the end of Season 3.
It is unclear whether he still feels that way but in any case, the Cap-Ferrat is not directly on the beach.
Megève could provide a change of scenery. It may be too much of a change, especially if production starts before May next year, which is possible. That is because the location is a popular ski resort during the winter.
The White Lotus cast members have revealed that White hates the cold and has previously nixed suggestions about ski resort locations.
As for Paris, that would also be a dramatic change, bringing The White Lotus to an urban environment (albeit a very picturesque and romantic one.)
Deadline reported in February that the acclaimed series, whose third season received 23 Emmy nominations, was “likely” going back to Europe for Season 4.
White and HBO executives were originally scheduled to scout locations in early spring; the scouting trip was subsequently pushed to summer as White needed a little breather after Season 3.
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