It's been an absolutely fantastic year for TV, as the current television renaissance is in full swing. Between streaming services, cable, and premium channels, there is a wealth of great content being produced. One of the biggest hits of this year was HBO's Big Little Lies, which cleaned house at the Emmys in the limited series categories. But now that the show has been renewed for a second season, there are some haters saying that they've been categorized incorrectly for Awards Season. HBO has just responded to these critics in an official statement. Check it out.
Big Little Lies was conceived, produced, and aired as a limited series. The implication of impropriety regarding HBO's awards submission of Big Little Lies in the Limited Series category is irresponsible and uninformed. The idea to continue the story came about only after the show aired. None of the cast or filmmakers had holdover contracts. Each deal had to be renegotiated, which is proof that no ongoing series was contemplated. Additionally, no source material beyond Liane Moriarty's novel existed. The accusation that HBO was 'gaming the system' is baseless and undeserved.
It looks like HBO is taking its critics to task, and they certainly have a point. Big Little Lies was a seven episode miniseries that was originally intended to end with its fantastic finale episode. But after the show became so massively popular and acclaimed, things changed. Author Liane Moriarty began formulating future narratives for her beloved characters, and there's certainly a wealth of material to be mined within the community of Monterey.
These criticism about gaming the system likely were inspired by some of the ways the actors were nominated for the show's first season. For instance, Shailene Woodley is competing in the supporting actress categories, which is objectively inaccurate. Jane is just as much a lead character as Celeste (Nicole Kidman) and Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), perhaps more so than the latter character. Yet she's competing alongside Laura Dern's Renata, who is actually a supporting character.
But with a second season officially on the way, HBO does seem open to being considered in a different category for Season 2. In the same statement (via THR), the network revealed how open it is to entertaining this conversation when the time comes, saying:
We conceived a limited series and that's what we produced. It feels more right to me to reclassify going into the future than to go back and redefine what we were. I know what we were, and that's a limited series. Not only was the idea of a second season not contemplated when we began this journey, the idea was pretty prohibitive --- one that we didn't consider, quite frankly.
This certainly seems like a great way to appeal to the critics, while being steadfast in the current Awards Season. After all, Big Little Lies already won a slew of Emmys, so this entire conversation is more or less null.
We'll be sure to update you on Big Little Lies Season 2 as more details become public. In the meantime, check out our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
