This post contains SPOILERS for Big Little Lies season 1
Filming of the second season of HBO’s hit series Big Little Lies has begun and we’ve finally gotten our first look at superstar actress Meryl Streep, who joins the cast as Mary Louise Wright, the mother of the late Perry Wright played in season 1 by Alexander Skarsgård. Streep’s character arrives in Monterey “concerned for the well-being of her grandchildren” after the untimely death of her son.
It was announced back in January that the Oscar-winning actress would be joining season 2 of the series based on Liane Moriarty’s hit novel. Streep joins the stellar cast of returning characters that includes Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, Adam Scott and Zoe Kravitz. Kidman and Witherspoon are also doing double duty, executive producing the project in addition to their starring roles. The addition of Streep to the cast had fans of the series very excited to see what kind of trouble her character could stir up for the women of Monterey.
Kidman, who plays Perry’s widow Celeste (who was verbally and physically abused at the hands of her husband), released the first look at Streep in character from the set. The picture, posted on her Instagram, shows Celeste and Mary Louise watching something on an iPad with Celeste and Perry’s twin sons, Max and Josh. “First day on the set with Meryl and “my” darling boys! #BigLittleLies,” she captioned the pic. Something tells us we shouldn’t be fooled by Streep’s grandmotherly appearance, and that she will definitely be stirring up some trouble for Celeste and her friends.
For fans who have read the book or watched season 1 of Big Little Lies, Perry was the person who raped Jane, making him the father of Ziggy. Kravitz’s character Bonnie was ultimately the person responsible for Perry’s death after she protected Celeste from his very public and very vicious assault during the school fundraiser by pushing him down a flight of concrete stairs. At that point all five female characters decided to put their differences aside and form a united front, claiming Perry’s death was purely accidental. The arrival of Streep’s character, who is “searching for answers” is sure to cause some anxiety among the women, Celeste in particular. Mary Louise will no doubt find an ally in the police, especially since we saw the investigators clearly didn’t believe the story of Perry’s “accidental” death. Looks like those big little lies aren’t going away anytime soon.
Fans are thrilled to finally get their first glimpse at Streep in action. Stars Kidman, Witherspoon, Dern, Woodley and Kravitz have all been sharing some on set pictures on social media now that Big Little Lies season 2 has begun filming, yet it’s Streep everyone has really been waiting for. Fans are also excited that Moriarty will be returning to the series, despite season 1 fully encapsulating her book. According to HBO, season 1 scribe David E. Kelley will be writing the seven episode second season based on a new story written by Moriarty. Fingers crossed that will also be released in book form as well.
MORE: BIG LITTLE LIES - CHANGES FROM THE BOOK TO THE HBO SHOW
We still haven’t heard of an air date for season two, but Screen Rant will keep you up to date on all Big Little Lies news as we receive it.
Sources: Nicole Kidman/Instagram, HBO
