Big Little Lies season 2 author talks Meryl Streep as inspiration
The path to a Big Little Lies season 2 wasn’t necessarily easy, even with the show’s enormous success the first go-around and all of its awards show nominations and wins. Everything ultimately came down to whether or not series author Liane Moriarty would be interested in continuing the story of these characters — no one, including executive producer David E. Kelley, wanted to move forward without her version. At first, Liane seemed to be hesitant about going forward, but one person seemed to change all of that. That person is none other than the incomparable Meryl Streep.
As you may know at this point, Streep is on board the second season in the role of Mary Louise, Perry’s mother and someone who is going to mix things up with a number of different characters from season 1. This was a role that was apparently written with Streep in mind, and it was the actress that ultimately inspired Moriarty to start writing this character in the first place. Speaking via The Hollywood Reporter, here is some of what the author had to say:
“When I was sort of agonizing over whether or not I should do it, it was actually my sister who said to me, ‘Only do it if it would be fun and, why not create a role for your favorite actor?’ And that’s when I came up with this role for Meryl Streep, to be Perry’s mother. And it was really from there that it all came together, because you bring this new character in and the storylines just emerge.”
Moriarty goes on to say that season 2 is really all about the aftermath of Mary Louise’s arrival — think of it as a big story domino effect, where one event impacts the next and the next.
Meanwhile, Streep also told the publication that she didn’t even need to read the role before deciding to come onboard Big Little Lies season 2. Why? It’s really just a matter of her loving the first season of the show and having confidence in the story. Clearly, she thought that they wouldn’t be coming back unless they had a truly extraordinary idea.
While it is FAR too early to ultimately tell whether or not season 2 is going to be great, you got to have a little bit of confidence in it … right? In between Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz, Meryl, and everyone else in the cast, this really is a who’s who of extremely famous and talented people. We will have a chance to see Big Little Lies in action very soon, but we’re certainly optimistic for what it brings to the table.
If you missed it…
Be sure to check out some more news at the link here all about the series and its future!
Are you excited for Big Little Lies Season 2? Is Meryl Streep a big part of the reason why? Let us know in the attached comments. (Photo: HBO.)
This article was written by Jessica Carter and you can follow her on Twitter here.