Yes, There Will Be Big Little Lies Season 2

By Maggie Panos
HBO
HBO

Update: Big Little Lies season two is a go!

Big Little Lies is HBO's breakout hit of 2017, and it's a damn shame that it has ended forever . . . or has it? Supposedly, the miniseries concluded with episode seven, "You Get What You Need." (Side note: we were correct to assume the excellent soundtrack would wrap up with a version of the classic Rolling Stones tune "You Can't Always Get What You Want.") In May, Reese Witherspoon posted a VERY teasery picture with her Big Little Lies buddies, implying that more episodes may be on the way.

Spending #SundayFunday with these ladies ... working on some new lies 🙈🙉🙊

A post shared by Reese Witherspoon (@reesewitherspoon) on

On April 11, Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty told Sydney Morning Herald that she's been approached by producers about a possible second season. "I have started to think about ways this could continue," she said. "The producers have asked me to see if I can come up with some ideas. I wouldn't write a new book but perhaps a new story, and then we'll see what happens."

Moriarty also noted that leaving out the book's storyline about Bonnie's abusive father may open up a door for a second season: "My original reaction was, 'What have they done? How have they left that out?' But a lot of people have said that they could tell, there had been little hints. It's implied in her performances and some little lines. I think I might have preferred to have had it in there, but I wouldn't argue against it either. It also leaves open the possibility of season two." Then after the Emmys, the author also called season two "a beautiful possibility".

Then again, director Jean-Marc Vallée spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the finale, and he made it clear that he isn't in favor of continuing the story. When the interviewer mentioned the final open-ended shot, a view of the women on the beach through the lens of a detective's binoculars, Vallée said:

"The detective doesn't want to let go and that's how we finish that. And we think, 'Did they do the right thing? What will happen?' Now it's up to the audience and their imagination to figure out. To do a season two, I'm not for it. Let's move on and do something else! If there's an opportunity to reunite with Reese, Nicole and these characters of course, I'll be a part of it, but Big Little Lies One is a one-time deal. Big Little Lies Two? Nah. The end is for the audience to talk about. Imagine what you want to imagine and that's it. We won't give you a season two because it's so good like this. Why spoil it?"

However, it now looks like season two could really be happening. On Thursday, Variety reported that Witherspoon dropped out of the upcoming Pale Blue Dot film to make room for the second installment of Big Little Lies. While HBO has yet to confirm that a season two is in the works, TVLine also reported that HBO is looking to begin production in the Spring of 2018. "We're kicking around ideas and trying to lasso the talent [and] get the band back together," writer David E. Kelley told the publication. "It's just a lot of logistical things. But I'm optimistic because everyone wants to do it. We feel we still have storytelling to do. No decision has been made yet, but we're hopeful. Where we left it, I felt like it did open the opportunity for a lot more storytelling."

Given the fact that Big Little Lies swept this year's Emmys, you have to imagine that HBO would really want to replicate the success. Guess we will have to wait and see!