Les Fabian BrathwaiteIf you haven't read or seen Big Little Lies: A.) that sucks for you, B.) get your literal life, and C.) there are spoilers ahead so...sorry not sorry.
But if you have seen Big Little Lies: A.) there aren't enough Emmys to go around, B.) Can We Talk About Nicole Effing Kidman?, and C.) there might be a second season of HBO's acclaimed miniseries.
Though director Jean-Marc Vallee is not here at all for a second season, recently telling The Hollywood Reporter he'd rather leave it open-ended and go out on a high note, Reese Witherspoon ain't trying to hear that.
"We've been talking with the writer, and you guys should Facebook (Big Little Lies author) Liane Moriarty and tell her how much you want to see Big Little Lies 2, Witherspoon told InStyle. "That would be good. She's thinking about ideas, and so we would love to hear ideas."
According to Moriarty, "a lot of people have obediently done" as the Oscar-winner suggested, with "99 percent" enthusiastic about a sequel but a few siding with Team Vallee. Still, Moriarty is as obsessed with the series as the rest of us—she stayed up till 3 am one night binge-watching an advanced copy—and has no shortage of ideas for continuing the story.
"The obvious thing is, first of all, I think we could bring in more of Bonnie's story from the book," Moriarty told The Sydney Morning Herald.
The book included more direct references to Bonnie's (Zoë Kravitz) childhood and the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. Moriarty was originally dismayed at the omission of this backstory from the series, but she concedes there are "little hints" and "little lines" that reference it—and this "leaves open the possibility of season two."
Vallee, for his part, didn't find Bonnie's backstory that relevant, explaining that it's not about her own history of abuse but rather about standing up to a man abusing another woman. "We had a line from the detective and it was too much explaining. We decided not even to shoot the line," Vallee said, referring to Bonnie's childhood abuse. "It's not about that. Whether or not she has been abused, she is going to push this motherfucker."
One of the biggest mysteries from the Big Little Lies finale was Celeste's (Nicole Kidman) fate, something Moriarty also wants to explore: "That's the question that's also a really interesting thing, when you've been through a relationship like that, how do you feel now? How would she feel? She's grieving. She's still grieving for the end of a terrible relationship and I think that would be a really interesting thing to explore. So there's a whole lot of different storylines."
The author doesn't believe in writing sequels to her books and would instead be open to penning an original script for TV. But is it really necessary? Sure, it would be foolish not to want to reunite Witherspoon, Kidman, Kravitz, Laura Dern, and Shailene Woodley. And I'd have no problem with just watching them be sister-friends hanging out at the beach all day with their kids.
But so much of the appeal of Big Little Lies was in seeing how these five very different women came together and the gradual revelation of the secret they share. Would we simply follow the women as they try to escape this secret, and how it affects their day to day? Or would we have new women and new secrets? Here's where Reese Witherspoon has a rather brilliant idea.
"We thought maybe J.Lo should be in Big Little Lies 2," Witherspoon said, "because I'm a huge fan of J.Lo."
Why not? Throw Jennifer Lopez in there along with Mariah Carey and maybe season two of Big Little Lies can be about killing Alex Rodriguez/Ben Affleck/Tommy Mottola/any and everyone they've ever dated. That's enough material for at least another five seasons right there.
Big Little Lies Author Exploring Material for a Second Season (!!!)
00Big Little Lies Author Exploring Material for a Second Season (!!!)