Whitlotus Cannes
Whitlotus Cannes
A long-standing partnership
This announcement is part of a relationship that began in October 2021, when Mike White spoke at CANNESERIES as part of the CANNESERIES Writers’ Club. Seduced by the unique atmosphere of the destination, the designer has since developed a close relationship with Cannes.
In the second half of 2024, an international competition pitted several countries – France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Germany and Norway – against each other to host this new season. In the first half of 2025, the Cannes Town Hall team began a series of meetings with local players to promote the region’s assets: a unique cultural and heritage wealth, a strong European heritage supported by the Côte d’Azur, and an event ecosystem structured around the 7th Art.
At the end of summer 2025, France was officially selected. In the autumn, Mike White moved to Cannes to begin the writing phase, immersing himself in the city’s identity and settings. Location scouting and site selection then took place between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, with shooting scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2026.
Filming on an international scale
Filming will take place over 50 days, spread over a period of four months.
Several emblematic locations in Cannes will be highlighted, including the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, the Hôtel Martinez, the flagship hotel for season 4, which will be renamed White Lotus Cannes for the occasion, and other key sites in Cannes, providing an exceptional backdrop for this new storyline.
The project will also have a significant impact on the local area, generating over 17,000 overnight stays. It will also mobilise a large number of local professionals in the audiovisual industry, including stage managers, technicians and specialist service providers, making a direct contribution to local employment and expertise.
Like the spin-offs seen during the filming of the previous season in Thailand, the series is a powerful lever for raising the profile of the region and attracting tourists from all over the world.
A dynamic driven by the creative economy
Hosting The White Lotus is fully in line with the City of Cannes’ strategy for developing the creative economy. This is based on a complete ecosystem combining training, production, distribution and innovation. At the heart of this dynamic, the Cannes On Air initiative embodies the city’s ambition to structure and strengthen an audiovisual sector of excellence, by connecting talent, creative centres and industry players.
Around the Georges Méliès Campus, dedicated to the image and writing professions, and internationally recognised infrastructures, Cannes is developing a structured sector of excellence. This ambition is also reflected in the organisation of major events such as the Cannes Film Festival, CANNESERIES and the Marché du Film, which play an active role in the vitality of the sector.
By encouraging large-scale film shoots and supporting productions, the city is asserting its strategic position in the cultural and creative industries, while supporting local employment and know-how.
A new international showcase
Hosting The White Lotus marks a new stage in Cannes’ audiovisual development.
This major shoot reinforces Cannes’ position as an exceptional natural setting and a privileged partner for major international productions such as Warner Bros Discovery.