Nicole Kidman Seems to Confirms 'Big Little Lies' Season 3

Big Little Lies

Is HBO's Big Little Lies Season 3 a go? That seems to be the case, according to an unexpected bombshell from Nicole Kidman.

“I loved Big Little Lies because it sort of came along at a time in my life when I had my children, and I was thinking I was going to retire, and then this situation came along, where Reese Witherspoon and I were able to produce that show,” Kidman said during a Q&A at the CME Group Tour Championship, clips of which later emerged via DeuxMoi on Instagram in November. “And then all of you watched it and made it a massive success.” She then ended with quite the mic drop when she added: “And we will be bringing you a third one, just FYI.”

So that feels like a pretty unambiguous confirmation that Season 3 is happening.

After the series wrapped up its Emmy-sweeping first season back in 2017, it was clear there was plenty of appetite for a second season. Although the show’s central murder mystery had been resolved in the finale, viewers fell so deeply in love with the Monterey Five—played by Witherspoon, Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and Zoë Kravitz—that seven episodes in their company just wasn’t enough. And so, even though the show was originally conceived as a limited series (and won its Emmys in that category), a second season was greenlit.

Season 2, which aired in 2019, focused on the aftermath of Perry’s (Alexander Skarsgård) death, and brought Meryl Streep into the fold as his formidable mother, who goes head to head with Kidman’s Celeste in a brutal custody battle. The second season drew much more mixed reviews than the first, and although it wrapped up on a cliffhanger, there was no indication that the story would be continuing.

And yet continue it will. From cast to plot, here’s what we know so far.

Is Big Little Lies Season 3 happening?

Although Kidman’s statement makes it clear that some serious conversations are happening, there has been no official confirmation from HBO that a third season has been greenlit, or that it’s even in development. In the past, executives have seemed doubtful that it would ever happen.

“It’s hard to imagine aligning everybody’s schedule again,” HBO CEO Casey Bloys told The Hollywood Reporter after Season 2 ended. “The fact that we were able to get Season 2 together is a small miracle.”

The series creator, David E. Kelley, echoed this sentiment at the Season 2 premiere. Asked by Variety whether there would be a third season, he responded, “I suppose there's always a chance but that's not the plan… We wrote this season as if this were the end.”

What is Big Little Lies Season 3 about?

Unsurprisingly, no plot details have yet been released since it’s still such early days. But Season 2 ended on a dramatic climax that certainly gives us some indication of where the third season might be heading. Just in case you need a quick refresher on what’s happened up to this point, the Monterey Five banded together to conceal the truth about Perry’s death at the end of Season 1. Perry was not only a horrifically abusive husband to Celeste, but was also revealed to have raped Jane several years prior, and he was ultimately pushed to his death by Bonnie (Kravitz) in a moment of well-earned fury.

Throughout Season 2, the truth looms large over all five women, especially because Perry’s mother clearly has a lot of questions about the way things played out that night. The weight of the lie finally became too much for them all in the season finale, which concluded with all five women walking into the Monterey police station together, seemingly to turn themselves in.

This presents a pretty big storytelling challenge for the third season, since it’s hard to imagine Big Little Lies turning into a prison drama. Season 3 could feasibly focus on a potential criminal trial, but Season 2 was already so courtroom-heavy that going back to that well seems like a bad idea. Given how much time will have passed off-screen by the time anything is filmed, a significant time jump seems like the most likely scenario.

Who is in the Big Little Lies Season 3 cast?

Since the season hasn’t been officially confirmed, there’s no word yet on who will (and won’t) be returning. It’s also unclear who will be involved behind the scenes. Jean-Marc Vallée, one of the key creative forces behind the series, died in December of 2021. Vallée directed the first season, was an executive producer on both, and allegedly stepped in to re-edit much of director Andrea Arnold’s work on Season 2.

But with all of that being said, it’s hard to imagine a third season going ahead without any of the core cast members—that is, the Monterey Five. Here’s what each of the actresses has said about the possibility of returning.

Reese Witherspoon

Witherspoon seemed open to reprising the role of Madeline Mackenzie when she discussed the future of the show during a 2020 Instagram Live with co-star Laura Dern. “We want to do it, we're just kind of waiting," she said, per People. “We're trying, guys. We're trying to come up with the right story—and how do we end after that cliffhanger?”

Witherspoon has also made it clear just how close the BLL cast has remained over the years, revealing to Vanity Fair in 2022 that they discuss the show on a regular basis. “I talk to Nicole Kidman about it all the time, too,” Witherspoon said, before naming her fellow co-stars. “And Laura Dern. And Zoë Kravitz. And Shailene Woodley. Somebody asked me the other day, ‘What co-stars do you talk to more than any other?’ It’s absolutely the Big Little Lies cast. We’re always talking and texting.”

Related: 25 Best Reese Witherspoon Movies

Nicole Kidman

Given her comments at the recent Q&A, it seems clear that Kidman is very much on board to reprise her role. She and Witherspoon were both executive producers on the series, alongside Kelly and Vallée, so it’s safe to assume they’re both a big part of any conversations that are taking place.

In a previous interview with back in 2020, Kidman revealed that Liane Moriarty, who wrote the bestselling Australian novel that Season 1 is adapted from, was working on a new novel which would be the basis for Season 3. “There’s a story being concocted,” she said. “Liane Moriarty is working on a book. Our group of women all want to do it. It’s more the kernel of ideas that just need to be solidified.”

Related: Love in the Land Down Under! All About Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s Long-Lasting Romance

Shailene Woodley

Woodley plays single mom Jane Chapman, whose arrival in Monterey is the inciting event for much of the drama that unfolds during Season 1. Like her fellow cast members, Woodley has expressed a desire to return for another season. “We all constantly say, ‘When are we doing season three? How do we make that happen?’” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’d like to say, knock on wood, that it is happening.”

Laura Dern

Dern, whose cutthroat Renata started out as a supporting role but proved to be such a fan favorite that she became much more prominent in Season 2, is also in. Just this summer, she told ET that she was “keeping hope alive” for a third season. “I'm gonna be shy about it," she teased. "I mean, we would all love nothing more, we're like family—just very lucky. Let's keep asking, it might just come true."

Zoë Kravitz

Kravitz, who plays the most mysterious of the core characters, Bonnie, was asked about the prospect of a third season in 2022. At that time, she suggested that the absence of Vallée made it hard for her to imagine returning. “We talked about doing a Season 3 a lot,” she confirmed, per Variety. “Unfortunately, Jean-Marc Vallée, our incredible director, passed away this last year. It’s heartbreaking. I can’t imagine going on without him. He really was the visionary for that show. Unfortunately, it’s done.”

How to watch Big Little Lies Season 3

If Big Little Lies Season 3 happens, it will surely air on HBO in the prized Sunday night primetime slot, and should be available simultaneously on the cable network’s streaming platform, Max.

Next, The 44 Best HBO Series of All Time