Big Little Lies is an American drama television series based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty. Created by David E. Kelley, it premiered on HBO on February 19, 2017. The seven-episode first season was written by Kelley and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. Despite being originally billed as a miniseries, HBO renewed the series for a second season.^[2] Production on the second season began in March 2018 and it premiered on June 9, 2019.^[3][4] All seven episodes were written by Kelley and directed by Andrea Arnold.^[5]

Big Little Lies stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz, and tells the story of five women in Monterey, California who become embroiled in a murder investigation. Alexander Skarsgård, Adam Scott, James Tupper, and Jeffrey Nordling feature in supporting roles. Meryl Streep joined the main cast for the second season.

Critically acclaimed, the series garnered several accolades. It received 16 Emmy Award nominations and won eight, including Outstanding Limited Series and acting awards for Kidman, Skarsgård, and Dern. The trio also won Golden Globe Awards in addition to a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film win for the series. Kidman and Skarsgård also received Screen Actors Guild Awards for their performances.

On August 6, 2014, it was announced Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon had optioned the screen rights to Liane Moriarty's novel Big Little Lies. The actresses were expected to develop the project as a film in which they would both star. Bruna Papandrea and Per Saari were set to executive produce alongside Kidman and Witherspoon. Moriarty was also expected to produce as well.^[20] On November 25, 2014, it was announced that Kidman and Witherspoon had decided to develop the project into a limited television series instead of the originally planned film. Additionally, it was announced that television series would be written by David E. Kelley.^[21] On May 8, 2015, it was announced that HBO had given the production a series order and that in addition to writing, Kelley would also executive produce.^[22] On October 23, 2015, it was reported that Jean-Marc Vallée was in talks to direct the first episode of the series with the potential to direct more.^[23] On December 17, 2015, it was announced that Vallée would direct all seven episodes of the series.^[24] On November 28, 2016, it was announced that the series would premiere on February 19, 2017.^[25]

The show was initially conceived of and billed as a miniseries^[26] of seven episodes. In the wake of the Emmy nominations, Reese Witherspoon said: "As of right now, I think it's pretty whole. I feel really good about where it is, and if this is all it ever was, it's a beautiful thing we all accomplished together",^[27] while Vallée came out strongly against the idea of producing a second season: "There's no reason to make a season two. That was meant to be a one-time deal, and it's finishing in a way where it's for the audience to imagine what can happen. If we do a season two, we'll break that beautiful thing and spoil it".^[28] Later, when the show garnered an array of critical accolades, he changed his mind: "It'd be great to reunite the team and to do it. Are we going to be able to do it, altogether? I wish."^[29]

In July 2017, two weeks after the series was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series, HBO revealed that a second season was possible, and that Moriarty had been asked to write a story for it.^[30] In December 2017, after the Critics' Choice Television Award and Golden Globe Award nomination voting periods were over,^[31] HBO officially renewed the series for a seven-episode second season to be written by Kelley, directed by Andrea Arnold,^[32] and based on a new novella by Moriarty.^[26] Vallée remains an executive producer of the series.^[33] Meryl Streep joined the cast as the mother of Alexander Skarsgård's character.^[34]

The announcement of the second season, and—specifically—its timing, enraged the producers of rival shows that were competing for award nominations in the limited series category, particularly since the announcement was made after voting for the Critics' Choice Awards and Golden Globe Awards had ended. The Producers Guild of America restarted voting for the 2018 PGA Awards, reclassifying the show from a limited series to a drama series.^[35][36]

In July 2019, it was reported by IndieWire that director Andrea Arnold lost creative control after filming had completed, and it was given to season 1 director Jean-Marc Vallée in an attempt to unify the style between the seasons. Arnold was initially promised by HBO that the show would be done in her vision, including post-production, and was unaware that Vallée would edit the footage she had shot. Once Vallée completed his work on Sharp Objects, he took over the editing process along with his own editorial team in Montreal. HBO also ordered 17 more days of additional photography, to be filmed by Arnold, but were overseen by Vallée. Significant reworking of the episodes also took place, where episodes were shortened.^[37] In response, HBO programming president Casey Bloys stated, "There's a lot of misinformation around that subject" and "the director typically does not have final creative control". Bloys clarified that Vallée came back to "hone the episodes" after being asked by the entire producing team, including Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, and that they were clear with Arnold about how the process would work from the start.^[38]

HBO president Casey Bloys said a third season of the show was "not realistic" due to scheduling the show's actors. However, Bloys mentioned that HBO is more than willing to greenlight a third season if the cast are able to work out their schedules.^[39]

Alongside the initial announcement of the production's development, it was reported that Kidman and Witherspoon would also star in the adaptation.^[21][22] In December 2015, it was announced that Shailene Woodley, Adam Scott, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz had joined the cast in lead roles.^{[40][41][42][43]} On January 5, 2016, it was announced that Alexander Skarsgard and James Tupper had joined the main cast and that Jeffrey Nordling, Santiago Cabrera, P. J. Byrne, Kelen Coleman, Sarah Burns, Darby Camp, Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti, Ivy George, Chloe Coleman, Virginia Kull, Sarah Baker, Kathreen Khavari, Larry Bates, Hong Chau, and Gia Carides had joined the show's supporting cast.^[44] A few days later, it was reported that Iain Armitage had joined the cast in the role of Woodley's character's son.^[45] Soon after that, it was reported that Merrin Dungey, Larry Sullivan, and David Monahan had also joined the cast.^[46]

On January 24, 2018, it was announced that Meryl Streep had joined the main cast in the role of Mary Louise Wright, the mother of Perry (played by Alexander Skarsgard in Season 1).^[47] In February 2018, it was confirmed that Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, Zoë Kravitz, Adam Scott, James Tupper, Jeffrey Nordling and Iain Armitage were returning for the second season.^[48][49][50] On March 27, 2018, it was announced that Douglas Smith had joined the cast in a recurring role.^[51][52] On April 3, 2018, it was confirmed that Kathryn Newton, Robin Weigert, Merrin Dungey, and Sarah Sokolovic were returning for the second season. Newton and Sokolovic have been upped from recurring roles to series regulars. Additionally, it was announced that Crystal Fox had joined the cast in a main role and that Mo McRae would appear in a recurring capacity.^[53] On April 10, 2018, it was announced that Martin Donovan had been cast in a recurring role.^[54] In May 2018, it was reported that Poorna Jagannathan had joined the cast in a recurring capacity. Additionally, it was confirmed that P.J. Byrne would reprise his role of Principal Nippal.^[55][56] On June 15, 2018, it was announced that Denis O'Hare had been cast in a recurring role.^[57]

The series was shot with an Arri Alexa digital camera. Jean-Marc Vallée, who directed the entirety of the first season, preferred using natural lighting and handheld shooting style to allow actors to move freely around the set.^[27]

Much of the series was filmed on location on the Monterey Peninsula and Big Sur. Several scenes were shot in Pacific Grove and Carmel Highlands as well.^[58]

A soundtrack for the series was released on Google Play and iTunes on March 31, 2017.^[59]

On February 7, 2017, the series held its official premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California.^[60][61] Internationally, the series premiered on February 20, 2017, in Australia on Showcase,^[62] and on March 13, 2017, in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sky Atlantic.^[63]

On October 16, 2016, HBO released the first teaser trailer for the series.^[64] On December 5, 2016, HBO released a full length trailer for the series.^[65]

The first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 1, 2017.^[66]

The first season of Big Little Lies was met with a positive response from critics. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 93% "certified fresh" rating with an average rating of 8.05 out of 10 based on 119 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Bitingly funny and highly addictive, Big Little Lies is a twisty, thrilling, enlightening ride led by a first-rate cast."^[67] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the first season a score of 75 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[68] Time magazine listed Big Little Lies as one of its top ten television shows of 2017.^[69]

The second season has received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a 87% "certified fresh" rating with an average rating of 7.71 out of 10 based on 97 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Gorgeous and gripping, Big Little Lies' second season doubles down on the dark humor and gives its impressive cast even more juicy drama to chew on – especially an excellent Meryl Streep."^[70] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 82 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[71] Ben Travers of IndieWire wrote a positive review giving it a "B+" grade, concluding that Season 2 is a "wholly different beast" and "doesn’t feel like a necessary addition so much as an enjoyable epilogue", yet it is "still very, very good".^[72]