HBO’s Emmy-Winning Show Gets a Promising Season 3 Update—For Real This Time

HBO’s hit series Big Little Lies is moving closer to a third season with some big news for fans. Francesca Sloane, co-creator of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, has been hired to write the first episode of Season 3 and will also serve as executive producer.

She will work alongside series creator David E. Kelley and stars Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman. According to Deadline, Sloane’s involvement is part of a two-year overall deal she has signed with HBO.

Sloane joins HBO after leaving Amazon MGM Studios, where she had been under an overall deal since 2020. She co-created the drama series Mr. & Mrs. Smith with Donald Glover and served as its executive producer and showrunner.

Her hire comes as a boost for fans, signaling that Season 3 is moving forward after previous delays.

Casey Bloys, HBO and HBO Max’s Chairman and CEO of Content, had said last fall that the network was waiting for Liane Moriarty’s sequel book before officially greenlighting a third season. With Sloane now on board, that process seems to be underway.

Big Little Lies is based on Liane Moriarty’s 2014 novel and was created by David E. Kelley. The series originally aired on HBO from 2017 to 2019, covering two seasons and 14 episodes. Jean-Marc Vallée directed the first season, and Andrea Arnold directed the second. Nicole Kidman confirmed in November 2023 that a third season is planned.

The show has faced behind-the-scenes challenges before. IndieWire reported in 2019 that director Andrea Arnold lost creative control after filming Season 2, with Vallée taking over editing to unify the style between the seasons.

Additional photography and reworking of episodes were done under Vallée’s supervision, though Arnold was still involved. HBO programming president Casey Bloys explained, “There’s a lot of misinformation around that subject. The director typically does not have final creative control.” He added that Vallée returned to hone the episodes at the request of the producing team, which included Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.

With Francesca Sloane now writing and producing, Big Little Lies fans can finally be optimistic about Season 3 moving forward. What do you think about this update? Share your thoughts in the comments.