We’re Going Back to Monterey Because Big Little Lies is Getting a Second Season
Remember that one week when all your friends watched Big Little Lies together and wouldn’t stop talking about it? You’ll be glad you caved to peer pressure and subscribed to HBO Now (and keep forgetting to cancel it), because our favorite moms of Monterey are coming back for another season full of mystery and (presumably) murder.
Even though the initial seven-episode miniseries was wildly popular, I didn’t think another season was coming — primarily because there’s no second book about these much-celebrated characters. While Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty has written other popular novels, they’re unconnected to the events of BLL. But now, Moriarty is announced to be behind the ideas for season two’s scripts, and I’m here for it.
Season one swept the nation in February with its suspenseful story and star-studded cast playing (mostly) rich women and their families. It won eight Emmys this fall, including a win for Nicole Kidman’s performance as Celeste, a talented attorney in an abusive marriage.
The news about season two confirms that Kidman is returning along with Reese Witherspoon, who co-produced the series and also starred as the biting Madeline. I loved watching Madeline’s friendship with Celeste, and the way all the women became bonded together by the end of the first season. As long as those bonds stay intact and most, if not all, of the cast returns, season two should be looking pretty good. I would think that part of the appeal of doing limited-run miniseries is that actors know it’s a shorter time commitment compared to signing on for a traditional TV show. We’ll see how difficult it is to lock down return appearances by the likes of Laura Dern, Zoë Kravitz, Shailene Woodley, Adam Scott, and the rest of the Monterey crowd.
It sounds like a lot of women will be involved in telling this next chapter, and that bodes well. All seven episodes of season two will be directed by Andrea Arnold, most known for her work on Amazon original Transparent.
Vulture reports that auditions are allegedly happening now for some new characters, and that production will take place starting in March.