Le Lotus Blanc: “The White Lotus” Headed to France for Season 4
HBO’s hit series is trading Thailand’s beaches for France.
The White Lotus is reportedly headed to the European continent for its fourth season, Deadline reports. HBO has not yet confirmed the news, but if the reporting holds, one of the best bets for where season four would be shot is at the Four Seasons at the iconic Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, located at the tip of the Cap-Ferrat peninsula on the French Riviera, southeast of Nice. This location makes perfect sense considering Mike White‘s Emmy-winning murder mystery has utilized HBO’s marketing partnership with the Four Seasons hotel chain each of its first three seasons.
Yet it’s not definitely a done deal that the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat will be the central location for season four. White and his team utilized the Four Seasons Koh Samui as the primary setting for season three in Thailand, but also shot at three other hotels, none of which were part of the Four Seasons family.
What the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat has going for it—and this might actually be a point against it—is that it’s more similar to the locations of the first three seasons, which were shot at deluxe beach resorts in Maui for season one, Taormina and Cefalú, Sicily, for season 2, and Koh Samui, Thailand, for season 3. Other Four Seasons options in France could make as much sense, including the Megève in the French Alps, which would offer White and his cast and crew their first mountain setting. White has previously stated that for season four, he wanted to get “out of the crashing waves on rocks vernacular,” and the French Alps would certainly offer that opportunity. Or, they could opt for the Hotel George V, located in central Paris, which would be the first city setting for the series (and what a city at that).
The production schedule will likely dictate where White and his team can film, given that Megève is a popular ski resort, and filming during the ski season may be challenging or impossible. There’s also the fact that White has reportedly told his cast members that he’ll never film in the cold because he hates it (he lives full-time in Hawaii), so for those of us dreaming of a White Lotus in the snow, we might have to settle for Lotus in the city, which would have its own charms—and filming difficulties.
The good news overall for all White Lotus fans is that White and HBO are locked in for season 4. No doubt many performers are already angling for a spot in the series, which has become a career game-changer for many.
Featured image: Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan. Photograph by Courtesy of HBO
