Meryl Streep Joins ‘Big Little Lies’ Season 2
Big Little Lies Season 1 was full of powerful leading women, and things just got a little more intense as arguably one of the biggest powerhouses in entertainment just joined the bunch. Meryl Streep has been confirmed for Season 2 of the hit HBO limited-series, which now can scratch the limited.
HBO made the announcement, via Vanity Fair, this afternoon that the three-time Oscar winner would join Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman in Monterey. Negotiations are still underway for Laura Dern, Shailene Woodley, and Zoë Kravitz who helped build the star-studded cast in Season 1. Alexander Skarsgård is also rumored to return, most likely in flashback scenes.
According to HBO, Meryl will play Mary Louise Wright, Perry Wright’s (Skarsgård) mother. Mary arrives in Monterey to figure out the cause of Perry’s death as she is concerned for her two grandchildren now that he’s mysteriously gone. Fans can expect major tension between Celeste (Kidman) and Mary, as Perry’s true murderer was never revealed to detectives in Season 1.
Variety is also reporting that Meryl will earn an astounding $800,000 per episode of Big Little Lies Season 2, which has been greenlit for another seven episodes season.
Witherspoon and Kidman both welcomed Meryl to their BLL family on Instagram, sharing photos alongside Streep.
Streep is fresh off her 21st Academy Award nomination for The Post and continues to be the most nominated actress in history. She has earned three Oscars out of those nominations for Kramer vs. Kramer (1980), Sophie’s Choice (1983), and most recently, The Iron Lady (2012).
This isn’t the first time Streep will cross over to television, having starred in HBO’s fellow miniseries Angels in America in 2003. She nabbed the Golden Globe and Emmy for her performance. Streep also won an Emmy for her role in Holocaust, a four-part miniseries on NBC in 1978.
Season 2 of BLL found a new director the second time around, replacing Jean-Marc Vallée with Andrea Arnold (American Honey). Vallée will stay on to produce the series, alongside Witherspoon and Kidman. Season 1 earned the show eight Emmy’s and six Golden Globes.
Big Little Lies Season 2 is set to premiere in 2019 on HBO. To see if Streep lands her fourth Oscar, watch the 90th Academy Awards on March 4.
