Nicole Kidman is a big name in showbiz thanks to her long list of starring roles in big screen flicks, and she's shown such range as an actress that she probably often has her pick of major roles. But not long after taking on her first major small screen role, Kidman is taking her talents right back to TV as she's officially joining the cast of the critically acclaimed Australian drama Top of the Lake for its second season.
Nicole Kidman only officially signed on to take part in Top of the Lake on Thursday, according to The Daily Telegraph. She's already flown into Sydney to begin rehearsals, and she's set to spend five weeks filming. There are no details yet about what part Kidman will play in the series, but her participation has reportedly been in the works for over a year. The second season will officially be known as Top of the Lake: China Girl.
Top of the Lake: China Girl will reunite Nicole Kidman with director Jane Campion, who helmed Kidman's 1996 film The Portrait of a Lady. Kidman's collaboration with Campion on a project has been confirmed since September of 2015, although Kidman was not attached to Top of the Lake at that point.
The first season of Top of the Lake aired way back in 2013 and followed the journey of a detective as she investigated the disappearance of a 12-year old girl who happened to be pregnant. It ran for six 60-minute episodes of sixty minutes each on BBC networks and seven 45-minute episodes each on Sundance in the U.S. Season 1 aired as one complete story with a beginning and end, so Season 2 will start fresh on a blank canvas.
Season 1 starred Elisabeth Moss of Mad Men fame as Detective Robin Griffin, and she'll return to star in Season 2. David Wenham endeared himself as the head of the local police station who gave a helping hand to Griffin in Season 1, and he too will be back again in Season 2. Nicole Kidman's role remains a mystery, but we can bet that she'll have an important part to play if she'd been courted for over a year to join the cast.
Personally, I'm interested to see how Nicole Kidman plays in what should be a supporting role on a small screen project. She's a movie star in her own right; hopefully, she can share the spotlight on the series without stealing it. Elisabeth Moss was fabulous as Detective Griffin in the first season, and she deserves to shine once more in the second. The two actresses may be able to play off of each other exceptionally considering their individual acting chops. You'll be able to find Kidman starring opposite Reese Witherspoon for the upcoming HBO project Big Little Lies.
Nicole Kidman has only just started filming for Top of the Lake: China Girl, and she still has more than a month ahead of her on the project. It'll be a while before we get to see how she plays off of Elisabeth Moss in Season 2. To see what you can watch to pass the time until Top of the Lake returns, check out our summer TV premiere schedule.
