Will there be a Big Little Lies season 3? Everything we know so far

Will there be a Big Little Lies season 3? For those who'd lost hope for a third instalment, there's been a very exciting development.

With it's all-star cast, haunting theme tune and riveting storylines, Big Little Lies has to be one of the best shows about motherhood and family of the last decade. Based on the 2014 Liane Moriarty novel of the same name, the show was originally billed as a limited series on its 2017 debut. Following its roaring success and eight Emmy wins, an equally successful second season was released in 2019. Featuring some of Hollywood's hottest actresses, pulling them all together for the second outing had been no mean feat - a third time seemed impossible. 

Fans had all but lost hope that the show could return for a further outing, but one of the cast members has dropped a major hint about the future of season three. Elsewhere on TV, fans have also been hoping for season seven of The Crown, and You season five. Those tuning into the addictive, genre-bending Netflix show are awaiting Bodies season two news too. Now, let's delve into what we know about the future of Big Little Lies.

Will there be a Big Little Lies season 3?

Big Little Lies season three hasn't been confirmed, but Nicole Kidman appears to have dropped a major hint that the popular show will be returning for a third season.

According to E!, Kidman dropped the bombshell while speaking onstage at a Ladies Professional Golf Association Q&A event during the CME Group Tour Championship, on November 17 last year. "I love Big Little Lies," the actress began, following up with "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." 

Kidman continued "And then this situation came along, where Reese Witherspoon and I were able to produce that show and create that show. And then all of you watched it and made it a massive success."

The exciting revelation about the show's future came when she added "And we will be bringing you a third one, just FYI." 

Just a couple of weeks after Kidman's hint, Laura Dern was asked about her thoughts on the show returning. The actress told Today "Well, let’s just say we’re best friends in art and in life. And there would be nothing more fun for all of us. You know, we would have the time of our lives."

After a four year hiatus and multiple reports there was no future for the show, news of a possible Big Little Lies return is very exciting. 

HBO President Casey Bloys had previously weighed in on the possibility of season three, and the difficulties of getting it off the ground. Speaking to Deadline in 2019, he said "I think the thing with Big Little Lies is you have a group of people who all really love working together, but obviously they’re some of the most high-profile people working in entertainment."

He added "Reese, Nicole, Zoe, Laura, everybody is so busy. It would be great to get the band back together at some point but right now everybody is so busy and there’s no idea, where we’re all saying 'that makes perfect sense.' I think it’s more of one of those 'someday.'" If Kidman's comment is anything to go by, "someday" might finally be upon us.

What happens at the end of season 2 of Big Little Lies?

For those in need of a reminder about what happened in Big Little Lies season two, here's a quick recap: Following the death of the dreadful Perry, his equally awful mother, Mary Louise, arrived in town. Set on removing her twin grandsons from their mother Celeste, the season two finale saw the final showdown between the pair in court, as Celeste fought to keep her children.

Celeste claimed the upper hand when she brought up the death of Perry's brother Raymond. Perry had always maintained Mary Louise’s temper was responsible for her son's death, something Mary Louise had always vehemently denied. Topped with a video played in court that one of the twins had secretly filmed of Perry beating Celeste, Mary Louise's arguments about her son's good character crumbled. The judge rules not to remove the boys from their mother, and Celeste won.

Madeline and Ed’s marriage woes finally came to a head - not in the way audiences expected. Just when it appeared Ed might be about to leave forever, he actually suggested a vow renewal. In between supporting Celeste at the custody hearing, Madeline pulled together a wildflower-filled ceremony and headed into her happily-ever-after.

Jane also ended up with Corey, given the seal of approval from Ziggy. Renata donned a red jumpsuit and smashed up her cheating husband's man toys. She is seen offering her daughter encouraging words, and their relationship seems back on track.

Bonnie fares the worst of the crew, dealing with her abusive mother's illness and the trauma of having been the one to finish Perry off. She also decided she isn't in love with Nathan, telling him so following her mother's death.

The series culminated with Bonnie admitting she can't live with her guilt anymore, texting the remainder of the Monterey Five to let them know she's heading to the police station to confess. The final scene depicts the five victimised women supporting Bonnie as they head towards an unknown fate. 

Is Big Little Lies based on a true story?

Big Little Lies isn't based on a true story, but on various sources of inspiration author Liane Moriarty picked up. The character of Perry is based on a real person from her life.

In an interview with the Guardian, Moriarty recalled a friend hunting obsessively for the right accessories to wear to a school event. This formed the basis for the competitive PTA themes running through the story. She said of her friend "She was spending every spare minute searching online for accessories to wear to a school trivia night with the theme of 'Audrey and Elvis.' She became obsessed with trying to get the right pearls! I thought that would be a lot of fun visually, and a good anchor for the events of the book."

Moriarty also spoke about the impact a particular radio interview had on her, in which a woman recalled the trauma of having a father who abused her mother. "Towards the end of the interview, she described returning home as a grown woman and going to hide under the bed when her parents began to argue," she said, adding "Everything that that signified about the kind of childhood she’d had spoke to me. I wound up using that scene in this novel."

Hitting close to reality was the character of Perry. Alexander Skarsgård won an Emmy for the role of a person based on someone Moriarty knew in real life. "It came from a really horrible ex-boyfriend," the author told Elle, continuing "Who I took great pleasure in killing off. First in the book, and then it was very nice to see it happen in the series. Then Nicole took it from there."

For more on the future of your favourite shows, here's what we know about Lupin season four and what is happening with hit show Sex Education after season 4 concluded. Elsewhere, we've looked at what The End We Start From is based on, the new film about motherhood starring Jodie Comer.