Between the onscreen drama, the buzzy cast of the White Lotus‘ upcoming fourth season found plenty of ways to enjoy their downtime in France together—and star Kumail Nanjiani is sharing all the details!
“We hang out constantly,” Nanjiani, 48, tells Parade while promoting his exciting new partnership with Purina’s Tidy Cats. “When we were shooting in Paris, we would have a picnic outside the Louvre almost every Saturday. It was [the] cast and crew, so it was over a hundred people just hanging out.”
Laura Dern, Chris Messina, Max Greenfield, Rosie Perez, Heather Graham, Ben Kingsley, AJ Michalka, Steve Coogan, Max Minghella, Ari Graynor, Sandra Bernhard, Alexander Ludwig, Chloe Bennet, and Charlie Hall are also among the many stars climbing aboard creator Mike White‘s acclaimed HBO series for season 4. Further detailing his experience working with this starry group, Nanjiani admits that he’s “never been with a cast this big where everybody got along so well and got so close.”
“We’ve been shooting since April. Getting to work with legends like Laura Dern and Sandra Bernhardt and Rosie Perez and having them also come and hang out,” he continues. “We go out to dinners, so we’ll do smaller dinners. We’ll do big dinners with everybody. We went to a nightclub a couple weeks ago when I was there.”
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“It’s a really, really social situation, but also everybody’s really about the work. So as I was saying, on the weekends we rehearse and then at night we hang out, get dinner. I mean, when we were shooting in Paris, it’s an incredible place, so many great restaurants. So it’s really been one of the most satisfying professional experiences,” he concludes.
Season 4 of The White Lotus is slated to premiere in the first half of 2027. Although he can’t share too much about what’s to come, Nanjiani teases that “scale-wise, it’s by far the biggest season” yet.
“In terms of number of cast, in terms of locations, in terms of just the scale of it. I mean, we’ve done scenes with three, 400 extras. Huge! So it’s a really, really huge. And, we’re shooting for eight months, which is the longest shoot that they’ve ever had by quite a way. So I think that’s what’s really different about it,” the Howl star-director reveals.
“Mike is such a great writer because everything feels like White Lotus, but every season has its own tone a little bit, ” he explains. “Some of them are more funny forward, some are more drama forward, and this one is really both. What I really love about this season is that it’s also a really, really funny season. The interesting thing about working with Mike is
that he understands the tone of it so well and it’s in his head. He has a whole show in his head. There’s no way to really know exactly how he wants a scene to go.”
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Nanjiani also says that the cast will “actually get together on the weekend and we rehearse, and then, we go in, because we have to get a lot of work done.”
“So when we go in, we know the scene, but then he’s always like, ‘Actually, the scene’s more like this.’ And that’s what’s really exciting. Working with Mike, is that you really get to see inside his brain. [It’s] very cool,” he concludes. “He’s such a great director, so he really, really will guide you.”
Details on what fans can expect from The White Lotus season 4 may be under wraps, but what Nanjiani can talk about is his all-new partnership with Purina’s Tidy Cats, which just unveiled its highly-advanced Tidy Cats Performance+ litter in May.
Tidy Cats
The partnership involves a three-part social procedural series, titled Special Litter Unit (S.L.U.), which sees Nanjiani starring as lead agent. Content creator Jordan Howlett joins the Silicon Valley alum, playing his rookie officer. Adding to all the fun, the Litter Crimes HQ pop-up is clawing it ways to the Big Apple for a one-day event. At said event, feline lovers will get to partake in interactive missions and meet with adoptable cats from Petfinder.
“I only do these kinds of collaborations with products I use of the products I can genuinely
support,” he says. “I do genuinely judge people who don’t clean their kitty litter often enough. I really do, because I know cats get uncomfortable with that. [My late cat] Bagel would. I could see her getting stressed if you forgot to clean.”
Tidy Cats
Nanjiani concludes: “So for me, what this product implies to me is caring for your cat. That’s why I jumped on board.”
Episode 1 is now available on Tidy Cats’ Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. New episodes will continue rolling out through the week. Litter Crimes HQ one-day pop up is open on Oct. 2 from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at 45Grand in New York City.