Don't expect smooth sailing for Jane, Madeline and Celeste. Photo / Supplied
Don't expect smooth sailing for Jane, Madeline and Celeste. Photo / Supplied
Warning: Potential spoilers below
There's something strangely alluring about rich people with problems money can't solve.
Throw in a breathtaking location and several Hollywood heavyweights and it's easy to see why so many people were gripped with the sudsy drama of Big Little Lies and how Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman) and Jane's (Shailene Woodley) seemingly perfect lives unravelled to the point of murder.
So what's the skinny on season two, we hear you cry?
Let's kick off with the good news. Everyone is back. And we mean everyone.
Now that's out of the way, time for some spoilers.
Jane has a new love interest
Shailene Woodley is looking forward to seeing what lies ahead for her character Jane, whose abuser turned out to be Celeste's husband Perry (Alexander Skarsgard). But don't expect Jane's trauma to necessarily be a thing of the past.
"I think there's an assumption that these things are quick to heal once you begin therapy or once you have that closure. But these are lifelong pains that you're constantly working through," she told Marie Claire.
Let's hope things work out with her new co-worker, surfer Corey Brockfield (Douglas Smith from The Alienist), who's rumoured to be a new love interest.
It's a rocky road ahead for Madeline. Photo / Supplied
Madeline's marriage is in trouble
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Madeline's karaoke singing hubbie Ed (Adam Scott) "will confront major changes in his marriage to Madeline".
Will he discover her affair and finally grow a pair? Let's hope so.
The one and only Meryl Streep will join the cast as Celeste's mother-in-law Mary Louise Wright. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she "is described as a woman concerned for the wellbeing of her grandchildren following her son Perry's death". She arrives in Monterey searching for answers and we bet it's not long before she smells foul play.
Streep as a snooping mother-in-law? Who doesn't want to see that?
Perry will rise from the dead ....in some form or another. Photo / Supplied
Is Perry really dead?
So you thought you saw the last of Perry did you? Well, think again.
While you'd think it would be safe to assume he met his demise after Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz) pushed him down that flight of stairs, several reliable sources have said the despicable douche is "expected to return in some capacity".
If we could put money on it, we reckon he'll appear via flashbacks, hallucinations or dream sequences.
Understandably, Alexander Skarsgard isn't giving anything away.
"I don't even know if I'm really dead or not," he joked to People.
New cast members
Expect a whole host of new, yet oddly familiar, faces in Monterey.
Crystal Fox joins the cast as Bonnie's controlling and emotionally abusive mum Elizabeth; her dad will be played by Martin Donovan (Weeds); Mo McRae (Empire) will play Michael Perkins, a new second-grade teacher who gets on the wrong side of Renata (Laura Dern) after his lesson on global warming throws her little munchkin into a state of panic. Poorna Jagannathan (The Night Of) and Denis O'Hare (American Horror Story) will also play recurring roles.
Witherspoon and Kidman have reportedly negotiated a substantial pay rise and will be earning a sweet $US1 million per episode for season two of Big Little Lies.
That's a sizeable jump from the paltry $250,000 per ep they banked in season one — but don't stress, we have a feeling everyone scored sizeable pay increases too.
Season one of Big Little Lies is available to stream on Neon.
