The White Lotus casts Vikings actor Alexander Ludwig for season four

The first guests have checked in for the fourth season of The White Lotus. Mike White’s HBO drama The White Lotus has cast Alexander Ludwig, known from Vikings, and AJ Michalka, known from The Goldbergs (2013), for the new season, which is being filmed in France. According to HBO, season four will follow a new group of hotel guests and staff over the course of a week.


Alexander Ludwig

The location for the fourth season was kept secret for a long time; it was only on November 20th that HBO officially confirmed the season would be set in France. Casey Bloys, head of HBO, indicated at the time that White was still in a very early stage of the casting process. The first results of that process have now been announced.

The French location had been hinted at since the end of season three. Executive producer David Bernad previously stated that White “didn’t want to be in the cold” and he has a preference for sunny locations. In the official White Lotus podcast after season three, White hinted that the new season would differ from the beach resorts of the earlier seasons in Hawaii, Italy, and Thailand.

Although White did not want a setting in Paris, he expressed a desire for something other than the typical coastal environment. During the red carpet of the Emmy Awards 2025, Parker Posey, an actress from season three, mentioned that White was then in the south of France, “where season four will take place.” Bloys joked that if Posey said it, he had to agree.


AJ Michalka

Bernad also mentioned that although he couldn’t share specifics about the season, he is very excited about White’s plans. He stated that the new season will speak about culture in a relevant way and that he believes viewers will be pleased with the direction season four is taking.

Ludwig is best known to the general public as Bjorn Ironside, the eldest son of Ragnar Lothbrok, from the historical drama series Vikings by History Channel. He played the role from the second season until the series ended in 2021. He also had roles in the Starz wrestling drama Heels and the science fiction miniseries Earth Abides by MGM+.

Machalka played Lainey Lewis in the ABC comedy series The Goldbergs (2013) and its spin-off Schooled, which aired for two seasons on ABC. Additionally, she appeared in the 2022 Ray Donovan film and The Good Doctor.