[6] Big Little Lies stars Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz as five women in Monterey, California, who become embroiled in a homicide investigation.

Actresses and producers Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon were announced to have optioned the screen rights to Liane Moriarty's novel Big Little Lies on August 6, 2014, less than a month after the book's publication.

In July 2017, two weeks after the project and its cast and crew received several nominations for the 69th ceremony of the Primetime Emmy Awards, Witherspoon stated: "As of right now, I think it's pretty whole.

"[32] In December 2017, HBO officially renewed the series for a seven-episode second season to be written by Kelley, directed by Andrea Arnold,[33] based on a new novella by Moriarty,[27] and with Vallée remaining an executive producer.

[38] In response, HBO programming president Casey Bloys stated, "There's a lot of misinformation around that subject" and "the director typically does not have final creative control".

Bloys clarified that Vallée came back to "hone the episodes" after being asked by the entire producing team, including Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, and that they were clear with Arnold about how the process would work from the start.

[22][23] In December 2015, Shailene Woodley, Adam Scott, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz were announced to have been cast in lead roles, with Kathryn Newton in a recurring one.

[40][41][42][43] The following month, Alexander Skarsgård, James Tupper, and Jeffrey Nordling joined the starring cast, while Santiago Cabrera, P. J. Byrne, Kelen Coleman, Sarah Burns, Darby Camp, Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti, Ivy George, Chloe Coleman, Virginia Kull, Sarah Baker, Kathreen Khavari, Larry Bates, Hong Chau, Gia Carides, Merrin Dungey, Larry Sullivan, David Monahan, and Iain Armitage landed supporting roles.

[58] For the first season, Vallée shot the series with an Arri Alexa digital camera and preferred using natural lighting and handheld shooting style to allow actors to move freely around the set.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Bitingly funny and highly addictive, Big Little Lies is a twisty, thrilling, enlightening ride led by a first-rate cast.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Gorgeous and gripping, Big Little Lies' second season doubles down on the dark humor and gives its impressive cast even more juicy drama to chew on – especially an excellent Meryl Streep.

[75] Ben Travers of IndieWire wrote a positive review giving it a "B+" grade, concluding that Season 2 is a "wholly different beast" and "doesn't feel like a necessary addition so much as an enjoyable epilogue", yet it is "still very, very good".

[116] In October 2020, Nicole Kidman revealed during a press interview for The Undoing that author Liane Moriarty is writing the plot for a potential third season and that the cast and crew are excited to reunite for it.

[117] In a November 2022 interview with GQ, however, Zoë Kravitz expressed doubt that the series would return for a third season because of the death of director Jean-Marc Vallée.