Big Little Lies is an American television drama series that premiered on HBO on February 19, 2017. Created and written by David E. Kelley, the series' seven-episode first season is based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty. Each episode was directed by Jean-Marc Vallée.
Big Little Lies stars Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, and Alexander Skarsgård, and tells the story of three emotionally troubled women in Monterey, California, who become embroiled in a murder investigation. Laura Dern, Jeffrey Nordling, Adam Scott, Zoë Kravitz, and James Tupper feature in supporting roles. 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 Award for their performances.
Despite originally being billed as a miniseries, HBO renewed the series for a second season.
Video Big Little Lies (TV series)
Cast and characters
Main
- Reese Witherspoon as Madeline Martha Mackenzie
- Nicole Kidman as Celeste Wright
- Shailene Woodley as Jane Chapman
- Alexander Skarsgård as Perry Wright, Celeste's husband
- Adam Scott as Ed Mackenzie, Madeline's husband
- Zoë Kravitz as Bonnie Carlson, Nathan's second wife
- James Tupper as Nathan Carlson, Madeline's ex-husband
- Jeffrey Nordling as Gordon Klein, Renata's husband
- Laura Dern as Renata Klein
- Meryl Streep as Mary Louise Wright, Perry's mother (season 2)
Recurring
Maps Big Little Lies (TV series)
Episodes
Production
Filming
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.
Development
The show was initially conceived of and billed as a miniseries 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", 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". 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."
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. In December 2017, after the Critics' Choice Television Award and Golden Globe Award nomination voting periods were over, HBO officially renewed the series for a seven-episode second season to be written by David E. Kelley and directed by Andrea Arnold. Vallée will remain an executive producer of the series. Meryl Streep will join the cast as the mother of Alexander Skarsgård's character.
The announcement of the second season, and--specifically--its timing, enraged the producers of rival shows that are competing for award nomination in the limited series category. Immediately following HBO's decision to produce a second installment of Big Little Lies, the Producers Guild of America moved to reclassify the original installment of the show from a limited series to a drama series for the upcoming 2018 PGA Awards.
Broadcast
Internationally, the series premiered on February 20, 2017, in Australia on Showcase, and on March 13, 2017, in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sky Atlantic.
Reception
Critical response
Big Little Lies received critical acclaim. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 92% approval rating from a total of 94 reviews, with an average rating of 7.99/10 and an average episode score of 97%. The site's critical consensus reads, "Bitingly funny and highly addictive, Big Little Lies is a twisty, thrilling, enlightening ride led by a first-rate cast." Metacritic reported a score of 75 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Time magazine listed Big Little Lies as one of its top ten television shows of 2017.
Ratings
Accolades
Media
Soundtrack
A soundtrack for the series was released on Google Play and iTunes on March 31, 2017.
Blu-ray and DVD
The first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 1, 2017.
References
External links
- Official website
- Big Little Lies on IMDb
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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