Big Little Lies Season 3 has been given the green light, and the HBO series will return in the future. Originally released in 2017, Big Little Lies was based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, and though the first season followed a miniseries format, it received a second season in 2019. There had been rumors about a possible series return, but nothing official was announced until now. Francesca Sloane, of Atlanta, Fargo, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith fame, is coming on board to executive produce, as part of a new two-year deal with HBO.
According to the report by Variety, Sloane is in charge of writing the first episode of Big Little Lies Season 3 as well. Original showrunner David E. Kelley is also returning as executive producer. Series stars Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon have also joined the third season as executive producers.
After Moriarty wrote the source material for Season 1, she came up with a treatment for Season 2, which actually continued the story and gave it some resolution. Plot details for Season 3 remain a secret, but Variety reports that the author will release a sequel novel in 2026. Kidman had already teased a new book back in 2024, but a few months later, Moriarty herself confirmed that she was working on a new entry set in the Big Little Lies universe. She also said that the book would feature a significant time jump.
Big Little Lies follows a group of women living in a cozy, posh town on the California coast. They all lead different lives within a tight-knit society. The group also become suspects after Perry, Celeste’s husband, turns up dead during a celebration, and they make a deal to never reveal what really happened. Per the Rotten Tomatoes synopsis:
Based on the same-titled bestseller by Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies weaves a darkly comedic tale of murder and mischief in the tranquil beachfront town of Monterey, Calif. Amidst doting moms, successful husbands, beautiful children, and stunning homes exists a community fueled by rumors and divided into haves and have-nots, exposing fractured relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, and friends and neighbors. Told through the eyes of three mothers–Madeline, Celeste and Jane–the series’ narrative explores society’s myths regarding perfection and its romanticization of marriage, sex, parenting and friendship. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley star as the three prominent “mothers of Monterey.”
Is the Original Cast of ‘Big Little Lies’ Returning in Season 3?
Naturally, the question on everyone’s mind is whether the original cast will return. Witherspoon and Kidman are confirmed to return, but so far, they’re the only ones in a group that also includes Meryl Streep, Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz, Laura Dern, Adam Scott, and Kathryn Newton, among others. If we take into account Moriarty’s comments about the sequel, then Season 3 of Big Little Lies will be the highly anticipated reunion we’re all thinking of. She said the following one year ago:
“I’m writing a sequel with all the children as teenagers, so now the women are the parents of teens. It’s still early stages, so I can’t really tell you anything much except that they’re parenting teens. I’ve got them [all the main women], they’re all there for sure.”
