‘The White Lotus’ to Shoot Season 4 in Paris and the French Riviera at Five-Star Hotels (EXCLUSIVE)

While HBO hasn’t yet officially confirmed that Season 4 of “The White Lotus” will shoot in France, Variety has learned that the hit Mike White anthology will indeed next shoot in the country and has even been actively scouting swank locations in two iconic locations: Paris and the French Riviera.

Similar to Season 3 — which shot mainly on the island of Koh Samui with some episodes in Bangkok, where Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins) prepares a doomed revenge plan — the story of Season 4 will likely unfold mostly in the South of France, with a subplot in Paris. At this point, no hotels have been locked for Season 4, which is still in development and won’t shoot until next year, according to sources.

Although the last three seasons have taken place at Four Seasons properties across Hawaii, Sicily and Thailand, Season 4 will go a different route as HBO hasn’t renewed its marketing partnership with Four Seasons hotel chain.

The luxury hotels that have been visited in Paris include the iconic Le Lutetia, a five-star property on the Left Bank of the Seine, in the chic neighborhood of Saint-Germain des Pres. Built in 1910, Le Lutetia (now part of the Mandarin Oriental chain), was a second home to a number of iconic figures throughout history, including Charlie Chaplin, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso and Josephine Baker. The other Parisian palace that’s been considered for Season 4 is the Ritz Paris, another five-star hotel which opened its doors in 1898 and was a favorite hangout spot for the likes of Coco Chanel, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Marcel Proust.

White, who enjoys cultivating some mystery and suspense around his show, gave some enigmatic cue about the location of Season 4 in the “after the episode” clip package that ran on HBO after the Season 3 finale. “For the fourth season, I want to get a little bit out of the crashing waves of rocks vernacular,” he teased. “But there’s always more room for more murders at the White Lotus hotels.” Locations with rocky beaches on the French Riviera include Monaco and Nice.

As in other seasons that featured wealthy Americans vacationing in idyllic resorts and mingling with local characters, Season 4 will likely showcase some French talent alongside American actors. While the cast is mostly different from one season to another, there’s been some returning characters, such as Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge), Greg (Jon Gries) and Belinda (Natasha Rothwell). It would certainly be amusing to see Charlotte LeBon, the French-Canadian actor who plays Chloé, return in Season 4.