Is Big Little Lies getting a second season? Should it?

HBO’s hit adaptation of the bestselling novel Big Little Lies won eight Emmys in September and rumors of a season 2 have been rife ever since.

Adding fuel to the flames, Variety reports that one of the show’s main stars (and producers) Reese Witherspoon has now parted ways with Fargo creator Noah Hawley on his movie Pale Blue Dot, potentially due to scheduling conflicts.

Pale Blue Dot was expected to start filming in early 2018, which would clash with the spring slot eyed up for Big Little Lies, as reported by TVLine earlier this week.

For the moment, HBO are playing it close to their chest as to whether a second season is actually on the cards, but it seems likely now that Witherspoon may be on board.

According to TVLine, the show’s writer David E. Kelley said that “lassoing the talent”, which includes the highly-sought-after Nicole Kidman, Zoë Kravitz and Laura Dern, as well as Witherspoon, would be one of the show’s main issues if season 2 came to fruition.

Do we want a second season?

But perhaps HBO is so preoccupied with whether or not it can do a second season, it haven’t stopped to think about whether they should. The show’s director, Jean-Marc Vallée, was unconvinced when he spoke to The Hollywood Reporter at the end of the first season in April.

“To do a season two, I’m not for it,” he said. “Let’s move on and do something else! If there’s an opportunity to reunite with Reese, Nicole and these characters of course, I’ll be a part of it, but Big Little Lies One is a one-time deal. Big Little Lies Two? Nah. The end is for the audience to talk about.”

Indeed, it seemed pretty wrapped up. Having got rid of Celeste’s (Nicole Kidman) abusive husband Perry (Alexander Skarsgård), we last saw the previously warring women playing on the beach happily with their kids — is there anything more to say?

Where the show could go next

It could follow where the novel leaves off. Celeste has gone back to work and is now running a family law firm and has set up a trust fund for Madeline’s (Shailene Woodley) son Ziggy.

Could the show take a more courtroom drama route, like the dearly departed The Good Wife, mixing the personal fallout from the end of the first season with the politics of the workplace?

Celeste speaks publicly in the book about domestic abuse — how could her experiences affect her as she tries to negotiate a life without Perry?

The end of season 1 also showed a detective watching the women as they enjoyed their day on the beach. Could things not be as wrapped up as they seem? Another mystery seems out of place in Big Little Lies’ realistic (if a little idyllic only in setting and financial situation) world, where playground politics play as much of a role in the plot as marital affairs.

Perhaps that’s Big Little Lies’ niche — the mystery of the first season was incredibly well-done, but come for the suspense, stay for the characters. Had our leads not been incredibly engaging, our attention wouldn’t have been kept over eight episodes and we wouldn’t have been so completely drawn into their lives.

Whether we get a second season or not, it’s hard to lament the return of a show led by five incredible women. We’ll be waiting to see where the show goes next, but with an exceptional cast like this one, we think we can afford to be a little optimistic for now.

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