HBO’s The White Lotus ignites countless theories about its narrative once each season premiere is unleashed, but even before that, fans have been theorizing about the location of each upcoming episode. In the months since Season 3 ended and Season 4 was confirmed, France has become the frontrunner for the next storyline, with HBO and HBO Max chairman and CEO Casey Bloys confirming this week that the new season would be taking place in France. Unfortunately, outside of Bloys revealing the season would be set in France, that’s about all he did tease, noting that creator Mike White is still in the “very, very early” stages of writing scripts.
Bloys confirmed the news at an HBO press event, per The Hollywood Reporter, where he noted:
“It’s going to be in France … Mike [White] is writing and just starting.”
Season 1 of the series debuted in 2021 and took place at the fictional White Lotus resort in Hawaii, while 2022’s Season 2 took place in Sicily, and this year’s Season 3 jumped to Thailand. The long delay between Seasons 2 and 3 was due in part to the writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023, but if scripts for Season 4 haven’t been completed, we shouldn’t expect Season 4 until 2027.
What Else Do We Know About ‘The White Lotus’ Season 4?
Each season premiere of The White Lotus has included the tease of a death, before jumping back in time to show the arrival of White Lotus guests at the respective resorts. From there, a series of unexpected events unravels, as each season culminates in the reveal of which guest (or guests) has died and how. The first season’s death was relatively accidental, as Jake Lacy’s Shane unintentionally stabbed Murray Bartlett’s Armond, who had broken into Shane’s room. Season 2’s major death was Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya, who herself killed multiple men on a boat that she thought were hired to kill her, though she then slipped off the boat and drowned. Season 3 saw Walton Goggins’ Rick and Aimee Lou Wood’s Chelsea getting killed in a shootout after Rick had murdered Scott Glenn’s Jim.
The anthological nature of The White Lotus means that each season has enlisted an impressive ensemble of performers to play all-new characters, and with the scripts only in their early stages, no reports have emerged about potential Season 4 casting. To date, Jon Gries is the only actor to have appeared in all three seasons. Coolidge appeared in both Seasons 1 and 2, while Natasha Rothwell’s Belinda appeared in Seasons 1 and 3. Season 3’s finale saw Gries’ Greg paying Belinda money to not reveal that he was living in Thailand, as he was wanted for questioning by the FBI about Tanya’s death. As they both appeared satisfied with this agreement, it seems doubtful that either would return for Season 4.
Whether White feels as though there are other unresolved storylines from previous seasons that would result in other actors returning is unknown.
