The White Lotus Producer Says Season 4 Is ‘Funniest’ And ‘Most Personal’

The White Lotus producer David Bernad has teased what fans are in for when the show returns to our screens next year.

Bernad has worked closely with White Lotus creator Mike White on all three seasons of the award-winning comedy, which began production on its fourth run earlier this month in the South of France.

It was already confirmed that the upcoming episodes would be set at a luxury resort in the South of France during the Cannes Film Festival, exploring various ideas around fame.

On Monday, Deadline reported that Bernad told the audience during a Canneseries Q&A that the new episodes would explore the “loneliness” and “pain” that surround “the life of an artist”.

“As we located the show at the Cannes Film festival, this idea of fame popped up,” he explained. “And [the idea of] who has the world’s attention? Who can grab it and who is the plus one in a relationship?

“What are the things that satisfy us? Is it the love of an intimate partner, the love of strangers, what do we prioritise in people?”

He continued: “It really examines the things we value as people and what is attractive to us, and how fame can be corrosive and dictate your choices in life.

“Some of the characters are existentially reflecting on those choices, some are reflecting on the choices and sacrifices they made as artists, and some are just starting to enter into this world of fame.”

Bernad added that the episodes would look at “how relationships can be corroded” by celebrity – but if all that sounds a little bit heavy, rest assured that he also described the upcoming season as “the funniest” White Lotus offering to date, as well as the “most personal”.

Indeed, he went on to tease how an incident he and Mike White witnessed while dining out at Cannes, involving a waiter and a maître d, led to them settling on France as a location.

Shooting is now underway at two hotels in the Côte d’Azur, and while some scenes will also be filmed in Paris, this is simply for logistical reasons, and the action will be contained to the south of France and its surrounding areas.

The cast of The White Lotus’ fourth season will include Steve Coogan, Kumail Nanjiani, Black Swan’s Vincent Cassel, Max Greenfield, Chris Messina and Heather Graham, as well as some burgeoning new stars.

Helena Bonham Carter was originally cast as one of the series leads, but left the project around a week into filming.

US broadcaster HBO said: “With filming just underway on Season 4 of The White Lotus, it had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set.

“The role has subsequently been rethought, is being rewritten and will be recast in the coming weeks. HBO, the producers and Mike White are saddened that they won’t get to work with her, but remain ardent fans and very much hope to work with the legendary actress on another project soon.”

Since then, Jennifer Tilly has been rumoured to be in the running to take over the role originally set aside for Helena, though this remains unconfirmed.

HuffPost UK has contacted Jennifer’s team for comment.