What’s next for ‘The White Lotus’ after its explosive third season finale?

The White Lotus has once again been a hit for Max — this time more than ever. While we’re still awaiting the final viewership figures for the much-discussed season three finale, released this past Sunday night, this batch of episodes has already doubled the audience of the first season and surpassed the second. Citing internal HBO statistics and audience measurement company Nielsen, The New York Times reports that the series has drawn nearly 20 million viewers in the U.S. alone. By comparison, the first season had nine million viewers, and the second season reached 15 million. It’s now one of the most-watched shows in HBO’s recent history, surpassed only by The Last of Us and Euphoria.

In light of this success, the platform announced several weeks ago that Mike White’s series has already been renewed for a fourth season. The process is so advanced that both White and executive producer David Bernad have been scouting potential locations for the next season since March. As White explained to EL PAÍS during the filming of previous seasons, he would like to set each one on a different continent.

In recent weeks, the creators have hinted at relocating to Australia this time around — the country meeting all the required criteria, as White mentioned while participating in a cultural festival in Sydney. However, platform executives are leaning toward a more accessible location, likely somewhere in Europe.

This was recently suggested, or nearly confirmed, by HBO’s head of drama, Francesca Orsi, in an interview with Deadline, an audiovisual industry magazine.

As for White, he revealed that it’s highly probable he won’t choose a location by the sea: “For the fourth season, I want to get a little bit out of the crashing waves of rocks vernacular,” the creator confessed in a behind-the-scenes special published on Max’s YouTube channel.

David Bernad adds that White isn’t a fan of cold climates, so a hot, landlocked location could be in Africa, the other continent the franchise is set to explore.

The White Lotus premiered in the summer of 2021, when Max was still simply HBO. Initially conceived as a miniseries, its impact — a pandemic-era tale of a group of disillusioned millionaires isolated in a luxury hotel in Maui, Hawaii — was so profound that it evolved into an anthology series, with a new set of characters each season. Since then, the high-end Four Seasons chain has served as the filming location for the series, standing in for the fictional hotel.

Each season, in addition to changing destinations (and platform names), follows a familiar narrative formula: a murder revealed in the final episode and the clash between hotel guests and staff, highlighting class divides. But each season has explored different themes. The first season, set in Hawaii, tackled issues of colonialism and racial differences. The second, set in Sicily and released by HBO Max, examined the politics of sex and the diplomacy of emotions. This third season, filmed across two islands in Thailand and part of the Max catalog, delves into themes such as spirituality and personal beliefs.

What White has always explained is that he doesn’t choose the location for the next story until a particular place inspires a new narrative. In Sicily, it was the Teste di Moro (Moorish Heads): iconic decorative objects on the island that recall a love story between a local maiden and a Moor. For the Thailand-set story, filmed on Phuket and Koh Samui, the inspiration came from White’s own feverish delirium, as he fell ill during a visit to the islands. That means it’s still too early to know which destination will be chosen for season four.

Although The White Lotus has gone from a miniseries to an anthology series, its cast has not been entirely renewed. The second season brought back fan favorite Jennifer Coolidge as the eccentric Tanya, and with her returned Greg (played by Jon Gries), the man she had fallen for in the earlier episodes. The third season also reconnected with the original storyline, featuring the return of Belinda, the hotel worker whom Tanya had lured with promises of investing in her business, only to abandon her at the last minute. Greg also makes an appearance in this third season: he has so far been a constant throughout the series.

Without a story, there’s no cast. However, it’s almost certain that the fourth season will feature characters already familiar to fans of the series. Before becoming a showrunner, Mike White was a dedicated reality show contestant. He appeared on Survivor and The Amazing Race, where he experienced the very challenges that later inspired parts of the script for The White Lotus. This background means it’s possible that he could lean into one of the most common twists in this type of format: All Stars. Rather than bringing back just one or two characters, the continuation of the story might feature a mixed cast, drawn from actors across all three previous seasons.

In any case, filming for The White Lotus won’t begin until 2026. By the time the new episodes air, will Max have changed its name again?

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