HBO has acquired its next series, as the channel has given a straight-to-series order to Big Little Lies. The show, being billed as a limited series package in the vein of True Detective, is written by prolific TV scribe David E. Kelley, marking his first return to television since the cancellation of the Robin Williams sitcom The Crazy Ones.
The show, notably, also has two big names already signed to the cast, as Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon will be playing two of the leads. The series will mark Kidman’s first television role since 1985, and Witherspoon’s first television starring role.
Big Little Lies is an adaptation of the novel by Liane Moriarty, and shares a name with its source material. The synopsis of the novel, from publisher Penguin Random House, is as follows.
Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal. . . .
A murder… . . . a tragic accident… . . . or just parents behaving badly?
What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.But who did what?
Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).
Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.
New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.