JAMES TUPPER, JEFFREY NORDLING AND IAIN ARMITAGE RETURN FOR SECOND SEASON OF HBO'S "BIG LITTLE LIES"

BIG LITTLE LIES

HBO Drama Series

Logline:

The subversive, darkly comedic drama BIG LITTLE LIES will explore the malignancy of lies, the durability of friendships, the fragility of marriage and, of course, the vicious ferocity of sound parenting. Relationships will fray, loyalties will erode... the potential for emotional and bodily injury shall loom.

Credits:

Executive Producer/Star: Reese Witherspoon through Hello Sunshine

Executive Producer/Star: Nicole Kidman through Blossom Films

Executive Producer/Writer: David E. Kelley through David E. Kelley Productions

Executive Producer: Bruna Papandrea

Executive Producer: Per Saari through Blossom Films

Director/Executive Producer: Andrea Arnold

Executive Producer: Jean-Marc Vallée

Executive Producer: Nathan Ross

Executive Producer: Gregg Fienberg

Producer: Liane Moriarty

David E. Kelley will write all seven scripts based on a story by Liane Moriarty, and executive produce; along with executive producers Kidman and Per Saari through Blossom Films, Witherspoon through Hello Sunshine, Bruna Papandrea, Jean-Marc Vallée, Nathan Ross, Gregg Fienberg and Andrea Arnold, who will also direct all seven episodes.

Newly Added Cast:

James Tupper as Nathan Carlson: Nathan copes with a complicated turn of events in his marriage and with his eldest daughter Abby.

Jeffrey Nordling as Gordon Klein: Gordon faces the consequences of a big mistake and risks losing everything along the way.

Iain Armitage as Ziggy Chapman: Ziggy starts second grade and continues to be the light of Jane's life.

Previously Announced Cast:

Nicole Kidman as Celeste Wright: Reeling from her husband Perry's death, Celeste is adrift, but determined to fight for her family and find the woman she once was.

Reese Witherspoon as Madeline Martha Mackenzie: Finding that good intentions don't always yield good consequences, Madeline confronts the truth of Perry's death, while coming to terms with her own marriage and traditional notions of family.

Shailene Woodley as Jane Chapman: While processing Perry's sudden death, Jane is trying to build a new life for herself and Ziggy.

Laura Dern as Renata Klein: The epitome of control, Renata is now faced with new challenges in her marriage.

Zoë Kravitz as Bonnie Carlson: Bonnie struggles with Perry's death and is forced to face demons in her past.

Meryl Streep as Mary Louise Wright: Concerned for the well-being of her grandchildren following her son Perry's death, Mary Louise arrives in Monterey searching for answers.

Adam Scott as Ed Mackenzie: Ed is forced to confront major challenges in his marriage to Madeline.

Background Information:

Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Bruna Papandrea and Per Saari optioned the film and television rights to Big Little Lies by best-selling author Liane Moriarty. The novel debuted #1 on the New York Times best seller list.

BIG LITTLE LIES, which debuted on HBO in February 2017, received 16 Emmy nominations and won 8 Emmys, including, among others, Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Lead Actress (Nicole Kidman) in a Limited Series or Movie, Outstanding Supporting Actor (Alexander Skarsg�rd) in a Limited Series or Movie, Outstanding Supporting Actress (Laura Dern) in a Limited Series or Movie, and Outstanding Directing (Jean-Marc Vallée) for Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special. BIG LITTLE LIES also garnered 4 Golden Globes for Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Nicole Kidman), Best Performance by an Actor in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Alexander Skarsg�rd), and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television (Laura Dern); as well as 4 Critics Choice Awards for Best Limited Series, Best Actress in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series (Kidman), Best Supporting Actor in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series (Skarsg�rd), Best Supporting Actress in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series (Dern). Nicole Kidman also won the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series SAG Award.

Director Andrea Arnold studied directing at the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles; and, after making several short films, won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for Wasp. In 2006, her feature film debut, Red Road, won the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA Carl Foreman Award. Her second film, Fish Tank, won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival; and also won the 2010 BAFTA for Best British Film. Her subsequent films include Wuthering Heights, which premiered in competition at the 2011 Venice Film Festival; and American Honey, which won Arnold her third Jury Prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. She has directed episodes of Transparent and I Love Dick. Arnold was awarded an OBE by The Queen in 2011.

Hello Sunshine is a media brand and content company dedicated to female authorship and storytelling across all platforms. Hello Sunshine is producing feature films, television shows as well as unscripted series, audio storytelling and social series under the Hello Sunshine brand, all anchored by a singular mission: to use storytelling as a means of charting a new path forward for women. Hello Sunshine is also the home for Reese's Book Club, fast-growing in reach and influence. Some of the film and TV projects that have already been announced by Hello Sunshine include a 10-episode comedy series for Apple executive produced by and starring Kristen Wiig that was created by Colleen McGuinness (30 Rock) and inspired by Curtis Sittenfeld's upcoming short-story collection You Think It, I'll Say It; Are You Sleeping, executive produced by and starring Octavia Spencer, which is based on true-crime novel by Kathleen Barber that is created and written by Nichelle Tramble Spellman (The Good Wife, Justified) for Apple; an Untitled Morning Show Project produced by and starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, which was given a two-season, straight-to-series order by Apple and is written and executive produced by Jay Carson (House of Cards), who will serve as showrunner; Delivery, a family drama set in a high-risk perinatology unit, in development at NBC from writers Kristin Newman (The Muppets) and Rob Wright (Lethal Weapon); a film for Fox 2000 based on Catherine Steadman's novel Something in the Water, being adapted by Julia Cox; and A White Lie, a psychological thriller for TriStar Pictures being produced by and starring Zendaya based on Karin Tanabe's critically-acclaimed novel The Gilded Years, which will be adapted by Monica Beletsky (Fargo, The Leftovers).

Blossom Films, created by Nicole Kidman and Per Saari, executive-produced the Emmy-winning limited series BIG LITTLE LIES for HBO. In 2010, they produced the feature film Rabbit Hole, which earned Nicole Kidman both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, as well as films The Family Fang and Monte Carlo. Among Blossom's development titles are an adaptation of the literary sleeper hit The Silent Wife, an adaptation of best-seller Reconstructing Amelia, an adaptation of Janice Lee's best-seller The Expatriates, and an adaptation of off-Broadway vampire hit Cuddles. With their BIG LITTLE LIES co-producers Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea, Blossom Films is also adapting Liane Moriarty's new novel Truly Madly Guilty into a limited series.

Moriarty, who will also serve in a producing capacity on the series, is an Australian novelist with such best-sellers as What Alice Forgot, Three Wishes, The Hypnotist's Love Story, The Husband's Secret and Truly Madly Guilty under her belt, as well as a line of children's books.

Representation:

James Tupper is represented by UTA; Untitled; and Jackoway, Tyerman

Jeffrey Nordling is represented by APA

Iain Armitage is represented by Abrams Artists Agency; and Jackoway, Tyerman