--- title: HBO Lands 'Big Little Lies' Starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon description: The adaptation of Liane Moriarty's book was the subject of a bidding war with Netflix canonical: https://time.com/3852384/hbo-big-little-lies/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-08T18:51:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:03:56.903Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: HBO Orders Up 'Big Little Lies' Starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon og:description: The adaptation of Liane Moriarty's book was the subject of a bidding war with Netflix og:url: https://time.com/3852384/hbo-big-little-lies/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5eae8b88b5aa2362/6987ef02524fc07774df0a03/464178362-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Reese Witherspoon (L) and Nicole Kidman arrive at the 87th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood on Feb. 22, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: HBO Orders Up 'Big Little Lies' Starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon twitter:description: The adaptation of Liane Moriarty's book was the subject of a bidding war with Netflix twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5eae8b88b5aa2362/6987ef02524fc07774df0a03/464178362-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon to Star in _Big Little Lies_ for HBO > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Lesley Goldberg / The Hollywood Reporter](https://time.com/author/the-hollywood-reporter/) ## Lesley Goldberg / The Hollywood Reporter May 8, 2015 6:51 PM UTC  Reese Witherspoon (L) and Nicole Kidman arrive at the 87th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood on Feb. 22, 2015. Reese Witherspoon (L) and Nicole Kidman arrive at the 87th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood on Feb. 22, 2015.Gregg DeGuire—WireImage/Getty Images by [Lesley Goldberg / The Hollywood Reporter](https://time.com/author/the-hollywood-reporter/) ## Lesley Goldberg / The Hollywood Reporter May 8, 2015 6:51 PM UTC HBO may have found its next _True Detective_. Following a bidding war with Netflix, the premium cable network has landed David E. Kelley’s Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman limited series _Big Little Lies, The Hollywood Reporter_ has learned. Based on Liane Moriarty’s book _Big Little Lies,_ Kelley penned the script for the limited series — which was taken out to premium cablers and streaming services in November. Published in July, Kidman and her Blossom Films banner, as well as Witherspoon and her Pacific Standard shingle, optioned the rights to the No. 1 _New York Times_ best-seller as a potential starring feature film in August. The novel and subsequent TV series centers on three mothers of kindergartners whose seemingly perfect lives unravel to to the point of murder. Kelley, who most recently served as showrunner on CBS’ Robin Williams-Sarah Michelle Gellar comedy _The Crazy Ones_, is attached to pen the series via his David E. Kelley Productions banner. Kidman and Witherspoon will both exec produce alongside Kelley, who currently is exploring the marketplace free of a studio-based overall deal. Exec producers include Kelley, Witherspoon and Pacific Standard’s Bruna Papandrea, Kidman and Blossom Films’ Per Saari. Australian novelist Moriarty will serve as a producer on _Big Little Lies._ She previously penned best-sellers _What Alice Forgot_, _Three Wishes_, _The Hypnotist’s Love Story_ and _The Husband’s Secret_. Witherspoon’s Pacific Standard and Kidman’s Blossom Films have both been active in acquiring literary projects. Pacific Standard just produced _Hot Pursuit,_ _Wild_ and David Fincher’s _Gone Girl_; its slate also includes Mitch Larson’s fantasy book series _Pennyroyal’s Boot Camp_, set up at Summit/Lionsgate, _The Engagements_ and _Ashley’s War_ at Fox 2000, _Luckiest Girl Alive_ at Lionsgate and S.J. Watson’s _Second Life_ with Warner Bros. Blossom Films recently completed _The Family Fang_ and produced _Rabbit Hole_ as well as Fox 2000’s Monte Carlo. The company is developing _The Silent Wife —_ based on best-seller _Reconstructing Amelia_ — at HBO as well as a biography of singer Dusty Springfield. For Oscar winners Kidman (_The Hours_) and Witherspoon (_Walk the Line_), _Big Little Lies_ will mark their biggest TV roles to date. _Big Little Lies_ comes as A-list talent have been flocking to TV as limited fare serves as a way to segue to the small screen with a reduced time commitment while still juggling feature films. Broadcast and cable networks have found both ratings and awards season cache with limited fare/anthologies including HBO’s _True Detective,_ starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson — and [season two cast](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/rachel-mcadams-taylor-kitsch-kelly-742220) Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams as well as _Fargo_‘s second season starring Kristin Dunst. Oscar winner Halle Berry also segued to TV last year with CBS’ Steven Spielberg-produced summer drama [_Extant_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/halle-berry-star-cbs-steven-643458)_,_ which was renewed for a second season. CAA, LBI Entertainment and Hansen Jacobson brokered the deal for Pacific Standard; CAA and attorney Alan Werthheimer brokered the deal for Blossom Films. Ten-time Emmy winner Kelley, whose credits include _Ally McBeal_, _Boston Public_ and _L.A. Law,_ was repped in the deal by CAA and Gendler & Kelly. Moriarty is with Intellectual Property Group and attorney Matt Sugarman on behalf of Fiona Inglis at Curtis Brown Australia and Faye Bender in the U.S. For HBO, _Big Little Lies_ arrives as murder mysteries continue to be all the rage. The network will return anthology _True Detective_ in June and found critical and ratings success with documentary series [_The Jinx_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/andrew-jarecki-robert-durst-killed-781646)_._ _Big Little Lies_ joins an HBO miniseries roster that includes J.K. Rowling’s [_The Casual Vacancy_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jk-rowling-hbo-bbc-team-698313), as well as David Simon’s [_Show Me a Hero_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/catherine-keener-oscar-isaac-star-722343). _This_ [_article_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hbo-lands-david-e-kelleys-789059) _originally appeared on_ [_The Hollywood Reporter_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com)_._ _More from The Hollywood Reporter:_ * [TV Pilots 2015: The Complete Guide to What Lives, Dies and Still Has a Pulse](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-pilots-2015-complete-guide-764707) * [TV Shows That Failed to Survive the 2014-15 Season](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/canceled-tv-shows-792877) * [Broadcast TV Scorecard: Complete Guide to What’s New, Renewed and Canceled](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/broadcast-tv-renewed-canceled-765684) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3852384/hbo-big-little-lies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3852384/hbo-big-little-lies/"},"headline":"Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon to Star in Big Little Lies for HBO","datePublished":"2015-05-08T18:51:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:03:56.903Z","description":"The adaptation of Liane Moriarty's book was the subject of a bidding war with Netflix","url":"https://time.com/3852384/hbo-big-little-lies/","keywords":["Television","HBO"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5eae8b88b5aa2362/6987ef02524fc07774df0a03/464178362-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lesley Goldberg / The Hollywood Reporter"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5eae8b88b5aa2362/6987ef02524fc07774df0a03/464178362-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Reese Witherspoon (L) and Nicole Kidman arrive at the 87th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood on Feb. 22, 2015.","caption":"Reese Witherspoon (L) and Nicole Kidman arrive at the 87th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood on Feb. 22, 2015.","creditText":"Gregg DeGuire—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3852384/hbo-big-little-lies/","name":"Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon to Star in Big Little Lies for HBO"}}]}] ```