As the Summer Dead Zone winds down and fall TV crawls back into form, Deadline reports that The White Lotus Season 4 will head to France for another round of sublime satire, drama, and murder.
But where in France, you ask?
To take a step back, The White Lotus is a (mostly) anthology show that takes place at a fabulous luxury resort (thus far set in Hawaii, Italy, and Thailand). And if the production stays true to form, it’ll continue to base the fictional resort chain on a real life Four Seasons location.
Therefore, Deadline helps us sort through three potential locations for the action based on this backdrop:
- Four Seasons Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat – French Riviera
- Four Seasons Megève – French Alps
- Four Seasons George V – Paris
So to simplify further, we’re talking about White Lotus near the French sea, in the mountains, or in the big city.
Any of these would have an enormous and dramatic impact on Season 4 as Mike White and crew always leverage the local scene, culture, and characters who work at The White Lotus to maximum effect.
If TWL S4 does end up at the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, it’ll be the “most true to form” White Lotus location, and therefore I’m tempted to say that that makes it the least likely option.
It would make for the second time that the show has been located on the Mediterranean (see: Season 2 was set Taormina, Sicily in Italy), so as fabulous as a French Riviera backdrop would be – and as a counterpoint to the themes of wealth and privilege that the show often explores – I’d bet White will go for mountains or city this time around.
This is where I’ll let my own biases creep in even more.
A Paris-centric season feels unlikely. The show thrives on trapping its wealthy guests together, and a bustling city – even the City of Light – could break that spell.
While The White Lotus was famously created and filmed its first season amid the harsh constraints of covid era restrictions, the show benefits greatly from “forcing” its characters to mostly be “stuck with each other” while on vacation, away from the rhythms and norms of life in the United States for its rich and entitled American characters.
Which leaves us with The Megève in the French Alps. While Mike White has stated that he simply hates cold weather and that that has influenced his filming locations to some extent, I believe a Cold Lotus setting on a French mountainside is the location that suits White’s vision and The White Lotus best.
The shift to skiwear and fireside huddles alone would be refreshing, and I also believe a winter setting out in the wilderness offers an incredible opportunity to provide that sense of isolation that The White Lotus thrives on.
Oh, and then there’s the entire murder mystery part out in the snowy woods to look forward to under this scenario as well, yes?
If Mike White wanted to do another seaside season, I can’t help but think that he’d move the show somewhere further afield this time around – Australia or Fiji, home to White’s beloved Survivor setting, perhaps – and an Urban Lotus just doesn’t make sense.
Here’s my vote: Cold Lotus. The Megève.
Ski masks, hot toddies, and murder.
Let’s make this happen.