HBO’s Big Little Lies debuted in 2017 as a limited series. This not only hard-launched the TV-heavy phase of Nicole Kidman’s career — including The Undoing, Expats, and Nine Perfect Strangers — but also snagged both a voluminous audience and critical acclaim as engineered by David E. Kelley.
So, the show continued for a second season, which made those lies bigger and officially moved beyond Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same name. In the end, the so-called “Monterey Five” — Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Kidman), Renata (Laura Dern), Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz), and Jane (Shailene Woodley) — turned themselves in at the police station for their combined involvement in Perry’s death. This could have been the end, albeit slightly ambiguous, after it was revealed that Bonnie had flown into a rage and killed Celeste’s abusive husband, Perry (Alexander Skarsgård).
Prior to these ladies landing in a ^^ lineup, Perry’s insufferable mother (Meryl Streep) had been ratcheting up the tension among the friends, and she was the lone character who had a semi-happy ending. Was that all the series was destined to write? Nope. Kidman and Witherspoon began putting out feelers, and Laura Dern further stoked flames regarding her desire to tell more Lies. Let’s talk about what we know so far and what might happen next.
Plot
To start, is a third season really possible? There’s momentum, and that’s also how the second season happened. As Dern previously told us, “[The decision] was solely based on how excited the audiences were,” and “our novelist had another idea for a continuation and sort-of wrote a novella-style bible of where these characters went from there. It was certainly hard for any of us to not want to continue because we love each other so much, and we really love our characters. I could have no more fun than playing Renata, my god.”
Renata is a trip, for sure, and ideally, we’ll see more of her being fabulous while dancing in her back yard. HBO/Max head honcho Casey Bloys has revealed that he is privy to the chatter going on about a storyline, and he knows “a little bit about the idea. I think it could be great.”
Oh, and Kidman’s daughter believes that Celeste has much more work to do to move forward in life. She’s not wrong:
“My daughter is the one who watched both of the [seasons] and went, ‘OK, there’s just no question, there has to be a third,’” Kidman explained. “She’s like, ‘Celeste, she’s not coping in the second one, what is she doing? I could kind of see the point of view of Mary Louise.’”
From there? Well first, the ladies need to get out of jail and off the hook for the Perry situation. Presumably, Bonnie’s actions could turn out to be proven as justified in a court of law, but the group coverup does not look good. From there, hopefully Liane Moriarty can send these ladies into the biggest lies ever.
Cast
The series would not be complete without all five stars, including Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, Zoe Kravitz, and Shailene Woodley. Their three living husbands are portrayed by Jean Marc-Vallée, Jeffrey Nordling, and Adam Scott. Alexander Skarsgård portrayed the late Perry Wright, husband to Kidman’s Celeste. Meryl Streep barreled in as Perry’s passive-aggressive mother, who won’t take anything for an answer.
Release Date
Given how enthused the cast seems to make this go, we can bet that — if it happens — mid-to-late 2025 is possible.
Trailer
There’s no telling what the cast and David E. Kelley will cook up, but for now, enjoy “Bonnie’s dancing.”