Big Little Lies is officially returning for season 2, with both Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman on board. Andrea Arnold will replace Jean-Marc Vallée as a director, and she will serve as an executive producer alongside Kidman and Witherspoon.
“I’m excited to announce the return of Big Little Lies,” HBO’s programming chief Casey Bloys. “David Kelley wrote beautiful scripts and Reese and Nicole were, once again, a force to be reckoned with, reuniting the cast and recruiting the talented Andrea Arnold to direct. We look forward to working with this amazing group of artists.”
If you are hoping to get new episodes soon, we have to disappoint you. Bloys discussed the potential release date with Vulture, saying that the filming is scheduled for spring of 2018 and that the second season will premiere in 2019. Creator of the series, David E. Kelley will again handle the writing duties. Although the rest of the cast didn’t sign on yet, the network is expecting their return.
Reese Witherspoon issued a statement following the announcement of season two, saying that she is excited to work with Arnold.
“I’m thrilled to be bringing back this talented team of artists,” – said Witherspoon. “It gives us the opportunity to delve deeper into the lives of these intriguing and intricate Monterey families and bring more of their stories back to the audience who embraced and championed them. I’m beyond excited to be working with talented and acclaimed director Andrea Arnold who will be at the helm. Andrea’s unique storytelling style will be a welcome addition to the filmmaking team.”
Based on the novel by Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies premiered in February 2017 and immediately received critical acclaim, currently holding 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The series earned 16 Emmy nominations, winning 8 of them. Since the initial seven episodes of Big Little Lies covered the novel material and had a “perfect ending,” there was a doubt that the show will return for season two. Still, after the success and critical acclaim, HBO approached Moriarty asking her to write a story for a second season.
