How White Lotus ended up in France for its season 4

Vincent Cassel, Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Laura Smet are in the cast.

“Something actually happened here, in Cannes.”

While filming has just started, David Bernad, producer of White Lotus, explains in Variety how Mike White’s series found itself settling on the Côte d’Azur, for its season 4.

France was not the only country in the running, but a meeting with waiters on the Croisette decided the producer and director to set the new setting in the south of France:

“We went to a dinner and we had a very special moment with a waiter and a maître d’, that was the stereotype. I think that suddenly unlocked what the show is about and its dynamics.”

From then on, it was a revelation: “We literally canceled all our other choices. We said to ourselves: OK, this is where we’re shooting!”

Season 4 will be almost entirely filmed on the Côte d’Azur. For two weeks, the team filmed at the Château de la Messardière in Saint-Tropez and is now heading to the Martinez hotel in Cannes. Then, Paris and Monaco will also be in the spotlight.

While we recently learned that British actress Helena Bonham Carter – ultimately disagreeing with her character – is refusing her role in this new season (the latter will be completely rewritten and recast), it is a trio of French actors who are arriving in the White Lotus universe. Like its very French setting, Vincent Cassel, Laura Smet and Nadia Tereszkiewicz will be in the cast.

This new chapter in the series relates “the joys and sorrows of the life of an artist” but also “how can fame be corrosive and dictate your life choices?”, details the synopsis. It’s the “most personal” but also “the funniest” season, concludes the producer.

The Cannes Film Festival had a lasting impact on his life as an artist:

“I will never forget coming here. It was the first time I felt respected as a producer,” he said, before continuing: “There is no place as prestigious as the film festival for an artist, it’s the greatest big dream on earth.”

Steve Coogan, Caleb Jonte Edwards, Dylan Ennis, Corentin Fila, Ari Graynor, Marissa Long, Alexander Ludwig, Chris Messina, AJ Michalka, Kumail Nanjiani, also complete the cast.

Release expected in 2027 on HBO Max in France.

The White Lotus season 4: the series heads to the Cannes Film Festival