Will there be a Big Little Lies season 3? Release date speculation

There has been loads of speculation, but while a third outing hasn't been ruled out, neither has one been confirmed, and it seems that if there is to be another series we could have to wait a while yet.

Find out everything we know about Big Little Lies season three below.

Has Big Little Lies been renewed for season 3?

Nothing has been confirmed about a third series at this stage and, according to executive producer David E. Kelley, fans shouldn't be expecting any news in the immediate future.

“I’m not sure logistically how it could be done because everyone is so busy,” he recently told TVLine. “It [certainly] couldn’t be done right away."

However, Kelley did leave some hope for fans, adding that a third series could "maybe" be done at some point "down the road".

Last year, star Nicole Kidman appeared to give a huge hint that we could be seeing the Monterey Five on our screens once again.

Speaking on iHeart Radio's Jam Nation podcast, Kidman said that Lianne Moriarty, who wrote the book on which HBO's award-winning series was based, is "working on a book" which will serve as the treatment for season three.

"There's a story being concocted," she added. "Our group of women all want to do it. It's more the kernel of ideas that just need to be solidified."

However, it’s worth remembering that the original run of seven episodes was meant to comprise an entire, self-contained mini-series. In fact, there were more than a few raised eyebrows from fans, critics and even the novel’s author at the possibility of a second season.

But then the skilful introduction of Meryl Streep, as a mother obsessed with getting to the bottom of her son’s murder, extended the scope of the original series. If season one explained how and why Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgård) died, season two explored what happened after the fatal blow.

And let’s not forget that season two ended on a real, bona fide cliffhanger as the Monterey Five walked into the police station. Would they confess?

HBO president Casey Bloys has expressed a real desire to return to the moneyed shoreline of Monterey, but scheduling conflicts between such top-tier actors means that it’d take some form of planning miracle for those stars to align again.

“I love this group of people – I would do anything with them,” said Bloys.

“But the reality is that they are some of the busiest actresses working in Hollywood. If they all came to me and said, ‘We worked out all of our schedules!’ then sure, but I don’t think it’s realistic.”

That said, Nicole Kidman is exploring the possibility of a third season of Big Little Lies with Reese Witherspoon, so don’t write anything off just yet.

Kidman previously said she would "love to" make a third series but that it would be very difficult to get the full cast together again.

Should we hear anything more, we'll update this page accordingly.

When will Big Little Lies season 3 start filming?

Production for season two started in March 2018 for a June 2019 premiere, so, even if schedules align, it’ll still be a decent wait before seeing the Monterey Five return to your screen.

Nicole Kidman has also explained that a third season would need to have both author Lianne Moriarty and showrunner David E Kelley onboard. "David E Kelley constructed this show with Liane Moriarty," she told Deadline. "They built it from the ground up, and it’s their show, and we’ll see if they’re ignited into building a life for these women, and which way they would go next. We’ll find out."

Is there a trailer for Big Little Lies season 3?

As there’s no firm promise of a third season, there’s no trailer yet. Bookmark this page and we’ll keep you posted if a third instalment of Big Little Lies gets the green light.

Who will be in the cast for Big Little Lies season 3?

If it all falls into place, you can expect Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz and Laura Dern, at a minimum. These five comprise the heart of the show, and it’s difficult to see how 14 episodes’ worth of intricately linked plot and character co-development could be left to die on the vine.

Nicole Kidman has said that a third season would absolutely have to include the whole cast. “I think we would love to do a season three, because there are certainly ideas,” she said. “But we would not do it without all of the same people involved... even the kids.”

Reese Witherspoon said that, “I never say never. You don’t know. And [season two] was a surprise.”

Meryl Streep could return, but her arc seemed pretty open and shut by the end of season two. Should the third season come off, we’ll more likely see Skarsgård appear in flashbacks, and the still-breathing husbands in present tense.

Screenwriter David E Kelley has proven form with extended drama series like Chicago Hope and The Practice, so we’re interested to see where it could go. But he seems perhaps the least upbeat about a third Big Little Lies outing.

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“We like where our closure is at the end of season two,” said Kelley, “so that will probably be it.”

Then again, he said something pretty similar after the first season...

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