With just three episodes left in the current season of The White Lotus, fans on both sides of the Atlantic are eager for answers to some of the show’s biggest mysteries – namely what’s going to happen between Belinda and Greg now they’re onto one another, which guests actually make it out of their trip to Thailand alive and, of course, how are those Ratliff brothers ever going to face one another at the breakfast table again?
But, as is the case whenever the end of a holiday is in sight, talk is already turning to where the award-winning US drama will be off to next.
So far, The White Lotus has taken viewers to luxury resorts in Hawaii, Sicily and Thailand, and with a fourth season already confirmed to be in the works, viewers should expect a whole new destination when the show returns to our screens in the next couple of years.
The question is – where will the next season of The White Lotus be set? Well, here’s what we know…
Rumours that The White Lotus could be set in Norway next time around first began circulating last month
A popular post on Reddit in February cited an article in the Norwegian newspaper Bergens Tidende, claiming that The White Lotus could be heading to Scandinavia for its next iteration.
The post suggested that White Lotus creator Mike White had applied for a grant from the Norwegian Film Institute to film the series in one single location in Norway.
Interestingly, the article reported that he made the application using the codename The Secret Garden, which is what season three’s Patrick Schwarzenegger said the show had been referred to as when he was first invited to audition.
A more recent post in the Norwegian outlet NRK suggested that these plans had fallen through
An additional Reddit post about the NRK article claimed that the production company was hoping for a bigger tax incentive than what Norway was able to offer, and had therefore scrapped plans to film there.
It’s worth mentioning that tax and other financial incentives were reportedly a major sway in how the show ended up filming in Thailand last year, after Mike White initially had his eye on Japan for season three.
HuffPost UK has contacted US broadcaster HBO for comment.
If it’s not going to be in Norway, what do we know about where it could be?
Frankly, precious little for the time being.
Last month, HBO executive Francesca Orsi told Deadline that the “chances are”, they’re going to be heading “somewhere in Europe” next. She also revealed that scouting for locations would be taking place “in the next couple of weeks, so we’ll know soon”.
Prior to that, Egypt and Mexico had both been named in the press as potential locations for season four.
How likely is it that The White Lotus could head to a colder climate for season four?
The first three seasons of The White Lotus all took place in sun-drenched climates, so some fans – particularly those who’ve felt the third season is beginning to grow a little repetitive – might be excited at the prospect of the show taking a different approach.
However, we’d advise them against getting ahead of themselves for the time being.
White Lotus producer David Bernad appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast recently, where he claimed (via ScreenRant): “Mike does not like the cold, that is why we will never do it. I feel confident we will never do a season in the cold.
“Mike is not for it. He is a California guy. He is not built for the cold. Never say never, but I would be surprised.”
Bernad made a similar comment in a behind-the-scenes piece published in The Guardian last month, ruling out a less scorching climate for future White Lotus seasons because “Mike doesn’t like the cold”.
The White Lotus continues on Mondays on Sky and Now in the UK.