By Anna Richards

Copyright independent

Emily in Paris’s protagonist may be eschewing France for Italy, but swapping killer fashion for, well, just killing, The White Lotus is due to arrive in l’Hexagon instead.

Back in April, The Independent travel desk predicted where the next series would be filmed, but if sources are to be believed (HBO has declined to comment), then Mike White’s cult series will be filmed in France for Season 4, and I, for one, am hoping for a quintessentially French murder. Skewered on the end of a cabaret dancer’s stiletto, brained by a stale baguette, or guillotined perhaps?

Using ze little grey cells (yes, I know Hercule Poirot is Belgian, but allow me some artistic licence) whittles The White Lotus’s location down to three places. Unless, of course, the producers decide to throw in un hareng rouge (“red herring” doesn’t actually translate literally; don’t use this on your summer holidays), it’s likely to be filmed at a Four Seasons hotel.

Why, you ask? All three previous seasons of The White Lotus have been filmed at a Four Seasons hotel: Hawaii (Season 1), Sicily (Season 2) and Koh Samui, Thailand (Season 3). Which leaves us with three all-singing, all-dancing and super-luxurious possible locations in France.

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Everyone from Travis Kelce to Paul McCartney has been spotted staying here. Paris seems like the perfect place for a high-profile murder case — a crime of passion in the city of love couldn’t feel more perfect. The cast could enjoy a Parisian experience as gold-gilded as the domes of Les Invalides: dinner cruises along the Seine, dining at Le Jules Verne on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, chauffeur drives along a curiously traffic-free Champs-Élysées. It’s all up for grabs.

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Paris’s 8th arrondissement would have plenty to keep them entertained, from a night at the cabaret at Crazy Horse Paris, just down the road, to happy hour at Hotel Lancaster’s opulent bar, CopperBay Lancaster, to shopping the countless designer boutiques along the Champs-Élysées. As of yet, there’s no information about which cast members will be returning for Season 4, but if it’s set in Paris, my money is on at least one beret-wearing chihuahua gracing the set. And let’s keep fingers and toes crossed that Aimee Lou Wood returns.

None of the previous White Lotus seasons were set in a city, which means Paris, if chosen, would be a break from tradition.

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On paper, the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat checks every box. Seaside location? Check. Encyclopaedic list of previous celebrity visitors? Check. Proximity to Hollywood hotspot Cannes? Check. Does its perfection lie in this simplicity, or is it too obvious a choice? There are so many ways to commit a textbook murder here. A tragic fall on the rocks, or death by dodgy oyster. Further fuelling rumours that Cap-Ferrat is likely to be the chosen spot is the fact that Mike White himself decided to holiday in Nice this year, at the Le Negresco, a Belle-Époque-style hotel similar to the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat. Coincidence? There’s no such thing in the entertainment business.

The potential filming locations are spectacular: Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, with its nine themed gardens, sundowners at Paloma Beach and road trips to perched villages like Èze along the Corniche. It’s also been reported that White hates the cold, which goes in favour of the balmy climate of the French Riviera.

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If I were a betting woman, I’d place my poker chips here. Not due to any particular logic (see above: White hates the cold.) But if I were to place my hard-earned cash anywhere, I’d advise ignoring any hunches and revisiting suspects #1 and #2). It gets my vote because Megève is so cinematic, particularly for a murder mystery. White snow; red blood. Hooray Henrys at La Folie Douce in Saint Gervais-Megève sabering someone’s neck rather than their champagne bottle. Characters whacked over the head with ski boots or drowned in a vat of fondue… the possibilities are endless.

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Even by Four Seasons’ standards, the Megève hotel is special, and guests can book a suite at altitude (la Suite Idéal), which has views over Mont Blanc. There’s also a vast golf course, a spa and a meditation/yoga room with panoramic mountain views. Tanya McQuoid-Hunt (RIP) – played by Jennifer Coolidge – would have loved it.

Full of luxurious experiences, like Michelin-starred meals at La Table de l’Alpaga and heliskiing to make the first tracks, it’s not surprising that Megève has been the haunt of celebrities for decades, from Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot in the 50s and 60s, to the Beckhams, William and Kate and Kim Kardashian in more recent years. However, filming for Season 4 is due to start in May 2026 — hardly prime time in a ski resort.

As highlighted by various sources, White often features multiple Four Seasons hotels per series, so perhaps one of the French ones won’t even be the main setting. I’m still holding out hope that they’ll bring back the original theme song (Cristobal Tapia de Veer’s Aloha!), and play it on an accordion, though.

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