Meryl Streep Makes Her Big Little Lies Debut; Plus More Cast Members Announced
Filming has commenced on the second season of HBO’s Big Little Lies and star Nicole Kidman shared on Instagram a sneak peek of multiple Oscar winner Meryl Streep on the series’ set.
Streep has joined the cast as Mary Louise Wright, the mother of Alexander Skarsgard’s deceased character Perry (aka the mother-in-law of Kidman’s widow Celeste).
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TVLine reports that Merrin Dungey is set to return for Season 2 of the HBO drama. Dungey’s Detective Adrienne Quinlan will be a recurring guest star next season.
Also returning: Robin Weigert, who plays Celeste and Perry’s therapist Dr. Amanda Reisman; Kathryn Newton, who plays Madeline’s oldest daughter Abby; and Sarah Sokolovic, who plays Tori, the wife of theater director Joseph, who Madeline had an affair with in Season 1. Weigert will be a recurring guest star, while Newton and Sokolovic will be series regulars.
Joining the cast are: Crystal Fox (The Haves and the Have Nots) as Bonnie’s mother Elizabeth Howard, and Mo McRae (Empire, Pitch) as Michael Perkins, a teacher at the kids’ school who has a beef with Renata.
Season 2 of the Emmy-winning HBO drama will bring back headliners Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern, as well as co-stars Shailene Woodley, Adam Scott and Zoe Kravitz.
Big Little Lies‘ seven-episode second season is slated to premiere in early 2019.
Big Little Lies Season 2 In Early Development
Our girls are getting ready for an encore!
HBO is close to officially announcing a Season 2 for Big Little Lies. The premium cabler’s programming president Casey Bloys confirmed during the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour on Wednesday that he has asked author Liane Moriarity to “take a crack at” coming up with a story for a potential second season. “I’ll be very curious to see what she comes up with,” he added.
Emmy Award nominees Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon have both expressed interested in continuing the story. But, executive producer / director Jean-Marc Vallée, who directed all seven Season 1 episodes, has been the sole naysayer.
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Vallée: “There is no way; there’s no reason to make a Season 2. 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.”
Bloys is a bit more positive that Vallée can be swayed. “I know [Jean-Marc] said that… but Nicole and Reese can be very persuasive. First we have to see the material and see if it’s worth everyone’s time. And if it is, [we’ll have a] conversation about directors.”
Maybe those 16 Emmy Award nominations and the boffo ratings Season 1 received might make for a convincing argument?
H/T: TVLine