DISCLAIMER: this article contains major spoilers from Big Little Lies seasons one and two…
Big Little Lies season three is reportedly in the works, with news of the highly-anticipated sequel first coming in 2023. And with executive producers Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman confirming that S3 is now in development, the news has been dominating the headlines.
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The HBO drama series is an adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s best-selling novel, following Madeline Mackenzie, Celeste Wright, Jane Chapman, Renata Klein and Bonnie Carlson, after their lives become intertwined through their children.
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And while seasons one and two aired in 2017 and 2019, respectively, a third instalment is finally in progress.
“We’re just sort of in early talks,” Reese Witherspoon announced this week, while opening up about the project to USA TODAY.
“[We’re] communicating with Liane Moriarty, who has a lot of ideas about where these characters would be now,” she continued. “The children have grown up, they’re now teenagers, it’s been about 10 years… as you can imagine, parenting those age children’s got its sets of challenges.”
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Witherspoon’s comments have unsurprisingly gone viral, with fans eager for details about the highly-anticipated next instalment.
From casting to plots, here’s what we know so far about Big Little Lies season three…
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Big Little Lies season three plot
Big Little Lies season two saw the ‘Monterey Five’ struggle with the lies and secrecy around Perry Wright’s death, pushed down a flight of stairs by Bonnie Carlson during a violent altercation with his wife Celeste in the season one finale.
The season two finale saw the five mothers turn themselves in, led by Carlson, with the final scene seeing them enter the police station together.
Therefore, it would make sense if season three picked up at the end of season two, following the aftermath of their confession. However, given the passing of time, with the child actors now teenagers, it will likely pick up years down the line.
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Big Little Lies season three cast
Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, both also executive producers, will be returning for season three, joined almost certainly by fellow leads Laura Dern, Zoë Kravitz and Shailene Woodley.
Not to mention, the original wider ensemble, including Adam Scott, Kathryn Newton, Jeffrey Nordling, Sarah Burns, Darby Camp and Iain Armitage.
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Big Little Lies season three adaptation
The first season of Big Little Lies was adapted from Liane Moriarty’s eponymous novel, with the episodes staying true to the source material. Season two however, was not based on a novel, with Moriarty not writing a sequel to Big Little Lies, therefore it simply expanded on the original source material.
The same will reportedly be true of season three. And while it will not be adapted from Moriarty’s work, it is believed that the author will play a major role in the plot creation and development process.
According to Deadline, Francesca Sloane has been chosen to write the first episode of season three, also coming onboard as an executive producer.
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“You want to capture the essence of the book, and some people are very loyal to the manuscript, but I think you have to have room to make things a little more cinematic,” Witherspoon has explained of the adaptation process in general at Hello Sunshine. “We’re very upfront with them about that we might need to change a few things to fit the format of a movie or television structure. Filmmaking is more of a collaboration as opposed to writing a novel, which is more of a solo effort.”
Big Little Lies season three release date
There is not yet a release date for Big Little Lies season three. However, given the fact that the project is only just in development, it is not expected for at least a year.
We will continue to update this story.