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The White Lotus Season 3 came, saw, felt very slow at times, revealed some shocking deaths… and then shattered some records.
On Sunday night, the third season finale drew 6.2 million viewers, a 30% jump over the previous series high… which was set at 4.8 million viewers just seven days earlier.
Along with the increase from Episode 7, this finale’s audience represented a 51% increase from the Season 2 finale and a 158% increase from the Season 3 premiere.
The show is a legitimate hit.
In case you weren’t aware, HBO has already given the green light to Season 4, an announcement that immediately prompted speculation from fans across the globe.
The White Lotus has already taken us to Hawaii. And Italy. And most recently Thailand.
Where might we be headed next?
Those who know creator Mike White well have said there’s no chance he takes the series anywhere cold; he just doesn’t like that type of environment.
“For the fourth season, I want to get a little bit out of the crashing waves of rocks vernacular but there’s always more room for more murders at the White Lotus hotels,” White said at the end of Season 3 in an interview with Deadline.
This same outlet reported earlier this year that the HBO drama was considering a Four Seasons hotel in Europe for its impending season.
A source added that back then, however, that “everything is on the table for next season” and that no decision has been made.
Elsewhere, HBO Executive Vice President Francesca Orsi has also teased where Season 4 may take place in a chat with Deadline in February.
“We’re going on some locations scouting in the next couple of weeks, so we’ll know soon,” Orsi said. “I can’t really say where we’re going to land but chances are somewhere in Europe.”
According to Deadline insiders, any scouting trip for the next location has been pushed to summer because White needs a little break after Season 3.
The guy writes every episode. He has certainly earned it.
For those wondering, The Four Seasons chain and HBO formalized their partnership before Season 3 aired, meaning it’s increasingly likely Season 4 will also use a branch of the resort.
The luxury resort’s European locations include London, Paris, Geneva, Budapest, Athens, Madrid and Portugal. Just something to think about it and wonder about.
Early on in Season 3, Executive Producer David Bernad old The New York Post about future episodes: “We haven’t gotten to it yet,” adding:
“There’s a macro approach, which is ‘what’s a country that has a film community or local crew that also has a tax rebate that’s film friendly?’ We start in a broader sense, and each season has a larger theme.”