Back when Season 1 of Big Little Lies first aired, there was a sense that it was going to be a one-and-done series. Even series production designer John Paino was under that assumption, which he recently revealed in an interview on Season 2 with CinemaBlend's Corey Chichizola.
Then came award show season for television, and after Big Little Lies scooped up a hefty amount of accolades for HBO, Season 2 was announced and Meryl Streep was brought on board to make this all-star cast even bigger. While it was great news, this created a big problem for John Paino. For him, the renewal meant recreating and finding all the things from Season 1 they assumed they'd never use again. Here's how he put it:
We didn't save anything from the first season, I was like 'We're not coming back here, we don't have to hold on.' You know most shows where they hold onto the sofa? Nothing, we held onto nothing. So it all had to be gotten again and it all had to be rebuilt.
So while fans were busy getting pumped to see Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz, and everyone else back together again, John Paino was working on recreating and finding a bunch of set pieces he probably didn't keep tabs on prior. What this means, of course, is that a lot of the familiar things audiences see in Season 2 of Big Little Lies was carefully re-constructed, fetched, or painstakingly sought out to use again.
It sounds like a pretty big deal, although John Paino assured CinemaBlend that none of what was lost or had to be re-created directly affected what could and couldn't be done for Season 2 of Big Little Lies. With that said it may seem that way in the first few episodes, as the show takes Jane, Celeste, and Madeline different places that weren't seen as much in Season 1.
We didn't do anything because we thought we couldn't recreate it, because we had all the plans, so we didn't do that. [Director Andrea Arnold] just wanted to get them out in nature a bit more. We did a lot more on the beach, we did a lot more out in nature.
John Paino also revealed Jane's got a new condo in Big Little Lies Season 2. After a rough go of it in Season 1, she has a place in an apartment complex near the water for the second season (along with a new look), and while her surroundings have changed other things haven't. Audiences will notice Jane's still sleeping on the pullout while Ziggy gets the room. For all the things that have changed, apparently some things haven't.
Big Little Lies Season 2 Reviews Are In, Here's What Critics Are Saying
Big Little Lies returns to HBO for Season 2 Sunday, June 9 at 9:00 p.m. ET. Stick with CinemaBlend to stay up to date on what else is happening in movies and television.
