The White Lotus Is Coming Back—Here's Everything We Know

Money, sex, Aperol spritzes, and at least one body bag. By now, you know the White Lotus drill. What began as a scrappy pandemic satire about miserable rich people in Hawaii has morphed into HBO’s most decadent murder machine — each season dropping us into a new luxury resort, each finale reminding us that affluence never really buys safety. Or happiness. Or taste.

And now, after Sicily’s palazzos and Thailand’s temples, Mike White has picked his next playground: France.

Bonjour, Le Lotus Blanc

Deadline was first to float the news, citing the French Riviera as the likeliest setting for season four. Specifically, the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat — a Four Seasons property where Grace Kelly once dined, Cannes is around the corner, and the Mediterranean practically begs for drone shots.

But as always with The White Lotus, nothing is official until HBO says so. White loves to layer his locations. Thailand’s season three filmed at Koh Samui’s Four Seasons but also used three other resorts. So don’t be surprised if the Riviera is just the anchor, with side trips to Nice’s Hôtel Negresco (where White himself was spotted recently) or even Paris’s legendary Hotel George V.

Other Four Seasons properties are technically in play too, like Megève in the French Alps — but given White’s self-declared hatred for the cold, a ski lodge seems about as likely as Tanya McQuoid making it through customs. Paris, meanwhile, would mark the show’s first urban backdrop, a shift from crashing waves to café terraces. Could work. But this is The White Lotus. Sun, sea, and simmering resentment remain its true aesthetic.

Why France Makes Sense

France isn’t just geography. It’s cultural shorthand for old money, faded glamour, and the kind of inherited wealth that The White Lotus skewers so deliciously. The Riviera is where Hemingway drank, where Fitzgerald wrote Tender Is the Night, where Brigitte Bardot invented Euro-chic. It’s also where Russian oligarchs now park their yachts, and where Cannes becomes a global circus every May.

In other words: it’s perfect White Lotus terrain. This show thrives on the tension between beauty and rot, leisure and violence. Sicily gave us operatic betrayal. Thailand leaned into spirituality and chaos. France? Expect champagne-soaked ennui, ancient grudges, and at least one wealthy American mangling their French at a Michelin-starred restaurant.

A Murderous Franchise

It’s still surreal that this thing became a franchise at all. The White Lotus started in 2021 as a six-episode filler project, shot during COVID, intended as a one-off. But HBO struck gold: 10 Emmys for the Hawaii season, 23 nominations for Thailand, and an instant pop-cultural presence. Jennifer Coolidge became an icon. Aubrey Plaza became a meme. Tourism boards from Sicily to Samui saw their bookings spike — the “White Lotus effect” is now a real economic force.

Mike White’s formula is deceptively simple: drop a group of privileged travellers into a luxury bubble, stir in resentment, lust, or paranoia, and let the social commentary write itself. The deaths are the hook, but the show’s real kill shot is its satire of privilege.

France, then, is a natural evolution. The Riviera is practically a character already — part playground, part mausoleum for wealth. It’s the place where decadence feels inevitable, and where a single bad decision can still ruin a dynasty.

Who’s Checking In?

Casting remains under wraps, but speculation is half the fun. The only recurring figures so far are Natasha Rothwell’s Belinda (the spa manager from season one) and Jon Gries’ Greg (Tanya’s charmingly odious husband). Both are alive, which is more than can be said for most White Lotus alumni.

White has a knack for mixing names you know with ones you didn’t expect. Sicily gave us Theo James flexing on a balcony, alongside F. Murray Abraham quietly stealing every scene. Thailand brought Parker Posey, Jason Isaacs, and some criminally underrated monkeys. France could lean into European heavyweights — imagine Juliette Binoche sipping rosé on Cap-Ferrat, or Vincent Cassel smouldering by the pool. But White also delights in casting against type. Don’t rule out a pop star, a random comedian, or someone who hasn’t been in the spotlight for a decade suddenly getting their Emmy moment.

The Waiting Game

Here’s the bad news: you’ll be waiting. While season one and two aired within a year of each other, season three took over two years to materialise thanks to strikes and White’s need for creative recovery. Which means France won’t hit screens until late 2026 or 2027 at the earliest. HBO, predictably, is keeping mum.

Murder, But Make It Continental

Mike White has teased wanting to escape the “crashing waves” aesthetic of past seasons. France offers that pivot without losing the sunlit decadence. Cap-Ferrat isn’t technically beachfront, but it’s close enough for glamour shots and distant enough for bodies to pile up discreetly. Paris, if it happens, would be a fascinating shift: a murder mystery staged against couture week, the Louvre, or some crumbling Haussmann apartment.

Whatever the setting, the core promise remains: new guests, new staff, new resentments — and a luxury resort where money buys privacy, but never peace. By checkout, someone will be zipped into a bag. The rest of us? We’ll be glued to our screens, equal parts horrified and envious.