Carrie Coon Has One Condition To Return For The White Lotus Season 4

Not everyone was happy with the season 3 finale of "The White Lotus," but nobody denied Carrie Coon's performance in that big emotional monologue she gave. There's a reason fans of "The Leftovers" and "The Gilded Age" were so excited to have her on the show, and she more than delivered on our expectations.

Although "The White Lotus" is largely made up of standalone seasons, a small handful of characters have still returned to their roles in fun, surprising ways. It's technically possible that Coon's character, Laurie, might return for season 4, and a lot of fans want it to happen. Does it seem likely that Laurie, someone not as rich as her friend Jacelyn, would be returning to an expensive White Lotus resort so soon? Probably not, but we didn't think Natasha Rothwell's Belinda would be able to do that either, and the writers found a way. 

Coon herself would be happy to reprise her role, but she wants to return to a colder location. "I would certainly be open to it. I would prefer to work in the snow," she said in a recent interview. Referring to her six months in Thailand in the humid heat, she said, "It was the hottest I've ever been in my life, and it's only getting hotter."

The complaint is understandable: Ko Samui, Thailand, is a famously hot, humid place, even during the winter months. The coldest time of year has an average high that's equal to the hottest time of year in New York City, but the Thai heat doesn't even cool off as much at night. It makes sense that Coon, as a New Yorker just like her character, wouldn't love spending six months in a place like this. The other cast members didn't appreciate it either. "By the end of each day, we're just caked in sweat and makeup," complained Jason Issacs (who played Timothy Ratcliff) in a February 2025 interview. 

The only issue with Carrie Coon's request is that showrunner Mike White, a California/Hawaii resident who has exclusively chosen warm locations for the series so far, famously does not like the cold. "Cast members have warned that White hates the cold, so don't expect a ski version, either," Deadline reported recently about the upcoming season 4. It's no surprise that White's runner-up picks for season 3 were countries like the Philippines, Bali, and Sri Lanka; countries like Canada or Norway weren't considered for a second. 

White's hate for the cold is a disappointing thing to hear for the many fans who want the show to embrace a total change of scenery. It'd be pretty cool for "The White Lotus" to go off to Iceland or the Swiss Alps, but it seems like that's off the table. 

But just because Mike White hates the cold doesn't mean the next location has to be hot. There are plenty of middle-ground locations out there; large areas of Latin America are cooler than expected thanks to the elevation, for instance, and there are plenty of beautiful European countries that stay in the 60s and 70s during the summer, not the 90s or 100s. If the show wants a place with beautiful scenery and culture but without the sweltering weather, there's hardly a shortage of options. 

And although White hates the cold, he has acknowledged that he probably can't be picking these tropical paradise locations every single season. He mentioned that he wants to "get a little bit out of the crashing waves of rocks vernacular," referring to how every season of "The White Lotus" has been set around a beach. Admittedly, those crashing waves serve as a wonderful tone-setter for the show, but it would still be fun to see how White takes advantage of another sort of environment. An HBO exec hinted recently that the next season of the show might be set somewhere in Europe; nothing against Italy, of course, but let's hope White picks someplace a little further north this time.