Even bigger LITTLE LIES!

It swept the board at the Emmys and Golden Globes thanks to the compellingly disturbing performances from two of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Now TV’s raciest thriller is coming back...

Ascintillating tale of sex, snobbery and secrets set among the yummy mummies of ruggedly beautiful and seriously affluent Monterey on the Northern California coast, Big Little Lies was the TV event of 2017. The Sky Atlantic series, revolving around a group of women whose outwardly perfect lives mask deceit, domestic violence and adultery, won eight Emmys and four Golden Globes, with Nicole Kidman taking Best Actress at both for her portrayal of battered wife Celeste Wright.

Filming on series two wrapped last summer and it promises more seduction, scandal and amazing scenery – as well as Meryl Streep joining the cast – when it returns.

The show is the brainchild of Hollywood A-listers Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, both keen champions of women in drama, who brought their production companies together to get it made. This adaptation of the 2014 bestselling book by Australian author Liane Moriarty, who is a producer on the series, was their first project together. Reese read the novel first and immediately sent a copy to Nicole. ‘I read it overnight,’ says Nicole. ‘I couldn’t put it down. Because I was in Sydney where Liane lives I had coffee with her. I said, “If you let us option the book, I promise we’ll get it made.” She said, “I’ll give you the rights as long as you promise to play Celeste.” So she cast it as well as writing it!’

It was initially intended to be a movie until Nicole and Reese realised two hours wasn’t enough to squeeze in all the plotlines, so they turned it into a one- off mini-series.

But so gripping were the twists and turns, which began with a murder but did not unmask the victim or perpetrator until the finale, that viewers wanted more. With no book sequel to base it on, however, Reese and Nicole insisted the decision lay with the author. Fortunately, Liane said yes. ‘She wrote a novella of new stories for us,’ the show’s screenwriter David E Kelley has said, ‘but the genius idea was casting Meryl as Celeste’s mother-in-law. It’s a delicious character, and bringing her in was both liberating and daunting. Daunting because she sets a high bar and you have to measure up, but liberating in that now the show won’t be compared to the last one.’

The drama revolves around five mothers whose children attend an exclusive primary school, but whose lives are not as polished as their stunning homes would lead us to believe. The first series opened with a murder during the school’s Hepburn & Elvis themed fundraising ball, before rewinding to show the chain of events that led up to it.

Nicole plays lawyer Celeste who gave up her career to raise her family, with Reese cast as her best friend Madeline Martha Mackenzie. Laura Dern is neurotic businesswoman Renata and Zoe Kravitz takes the role of free-spirited yoga teacher Bonnie. Shailene Woodley plays Jane, a single mother new to the area who was taken under the wing of Madeline and

Globes and said, “I hear your show’s really struggling” – it wasn’t – “so I’ll join it and make it even better!”’

Three-time Oscar winner Meryl plays Mary Louise Wright, Celeste’s motherin-law, who comes to Monterey after the death of her son Perry to get to the bottom of what happened. ‘She comes in not believing how it’s been set up and she wants to know the truth,’ says Nicole, who offered fans a glimpse of her first day on set with Meryl in a scene they were shooting with Celeste’s sons (left). Meryl is set to be involved in a showdown with Madeline, and Reese has been pictured pelting her with an ice cream cone in a scene. ‘It’s true I threw an ice cream cone at Meryl Streep,’ she says, ‘I really chucked it at her, and I nailed it. It was a top-five moment in my career, for sure.’ Meryl, 69, settled in fast as part of the tightknit cast. When they weren’t filming, the group were spotted at a bowling alley and playing pool together in a bar. ‘There are no bells and whistles,’ says Nicole. ‘She’s just there.’