Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman Talk Potential Second Season of ‘Big Little Lies’

Big Little Lies was an instant hit when the limited series debuted on HBO earlier this year, and fans instantly began clamoring for a second season, something series stars Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman would be happy to provide.

Witherspoon spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about potential Season 2 plans, sharing that she’s “optimistic” about a fresh season of the show, which was based on Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same name.

“Honestly, it’s totally in Liane Moriarty’s court,” Witherspoon said. “The ball is definitely in her court because these characters were born of her mind and her imagination, and we just want to see if she’s interested in creating more story about these characters. She really created an incredible road map for us that we followed almost to a T. Right now, we’re happy if this is all there is. We’re optimistic that there might be more.”

The actress noted that a good story is a crucial part of deciding whether or not to move forward with a second season.

HBO’s programming president, Casey Bloys, revealed at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in July that he has asked Moriarty to “take a crack” at coming up with a storyline for a potential second season, TV Line shares.

If a second season is greenlit, Kidman told The Hollywood Reporter that she’d like to see her character, Celeste, heal from the abuse she suffered at the hands of her now-dead husband, Perry.

“I would like to see her heal, of course,” the actress said. “But there’s the idealized version and then there’s the truthful version. Her life had an enormous amount of truth in it even though it was wrapped in a very sort of I suppose sugary, frosty kind of presentation. When you dig underneath that, the truth is what’s compelling and scary at times — sort of rigorously honest. I would hope that that’s the way we would continue to take it.”

Kidman added that she was “amazed” at the response Celeste received from viewers.

“I was just amazed at how people emotionally responded to her, really felt protective and attached to her,” she said. “The thing with Celeste and the way in which her story unfolds — it takes time in a series. So initially I think people were like “Hmm, OK” — it’s not until the end of episode two where you start to delve and dig deep into her psyche. A lot of it was more just taking the time, waiting.”

Photo Credit: HBO