Big Little Lies Season 3 Moving Forward, Kelley Confirms

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- David E. Kelley told People that Big Little Lies Season 3 is moving forward, saying 'we're getting the band back together' and 'it should be a good run again' — though he noted he's 'not allowed' to reveal specific details yet.
- Francesca Sloane, co-creator and EP of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, was hired in September to write and executive produce Season 3 under her exclusive two-year overall deal with HBO.
- HBO chairman Casey Bloys said in 2024 the network was waiting for author Liane Moriarty's sequel novel before moving forward with a third season.
- Moriarty's follow-up book, expected August 25, will feature a 10-year time jump finding the Monterey women as mothers of teenagers — a structure Moriarty told USA Today 'always made sense' because the characters 'had been through so much.'
- The original BLL ensemble — Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Zoë Kravitz, Laura Dern, and Shailene Woodley — are expected to return, with Meryl Streep having joined in Season 2; Season 1 won 8 of its 16 Emmy nominations.
- Outside of BLL, Kelley created Margo's Got Money Troubles, an Apple TV dramedy starring Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Nick Offerman, premiering April 15.
Why it matters: After years of stalled development, Big Little Lies Season 3 now has both a writer (Sloane) and its source material locked in with Moriarty's August 25 novel, giving HBO a concrete creative path forward for a series whose first season won 8 Emmys. The 10-year time jump lets the Monterey women return as mothers of teenagers without retreading the original homicide storyline.




