Big Little Lies season 2 renewal official; Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman returning

For many out there, the news of a Big Little Lies season 2 renewal is tremendous news. Yet, you also have to wonder if it was needed at all.

Today, HBO confirmed that their critically-acclaimed at-point-point limited series will be back for seven new episodes, with both Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman confirmed to return. HBO notes that “most of the cast is expected to return,” and that negotiations are underway to secure most of them. (There’s obviously one character from season 1 we don’t expect to see back, mostly because that character is dead.) We would hope that we’d see Shailene Woodley back, at the very least.

David E. Kelley is going to return in order to write the entire second season; there is a change at director, with Andrea Arnold coming in to replace Jean-Marc Vallée. (It doesn’t appear as though there is any negative reason for the switch in director, so don’t assume the worst there.)

In a statement, the network’s programming head in Casey Bloys had the following to say:

“I’m excited to announce the return of Big Little Lies … 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.”

Obviously, if season 2 turns out to be as good as the first season there is absolutely nothing to worry about here. Big Little Lies season 1 was remarkable and a show that really pushed the limits of great television. Our fear moving into the second season is simply that it’s going to be fairly difficult to replicate that magic, especially since the first season tied everything together so neatly. There’s zero reason to make more of the show. This is a huge risk. If it works out, we’ll do a victory dance all around the CarterMatt office. If it doesn’t, HBO will probably be second-guessed for some time moving past the original Liane Moriarty source material.

As of right now, what is your Big Little Lies season 2 renewal reaction? Do you think that we needed it? Share in the comments below!

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