Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman Will Tell ‘Big Little Lies’ in New HBO Limited Series

Reese Witherspoon has translated her successful acting career into a successful producing career, backing a crop of female-driven projects including Gone Girl and Wild. Her next project takes Witherspoon to the small screen, as producer and star of a new HBO limited series called Big Little Lies, co-starring Nicole Kidman.

Per Deadline, HBO has given Big Little Lies a straight-to-series order, although the exact number of episodes are unknown. Big Little Lies is based on Liane Moriarty’s 2014 novel, adapted for the new series by Boston Legal vet David E. Kelley.

The dark comedy also serves as a murder mystery, and centers on three moms whose children all attend the same school. Here’s more about the lead characters from the official synopsis at Amazon:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).
Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Madeline definitely sounds like the Witherspoon role, while Kidman has to be playing Celeste. The third mother in the series has yet to be cast. Kidman and Witherspoon are both producing Big Little Lies for HBO, and while a release date has yet to be formally announced, we’ll likely see the series arrive sometime next year.