LOS ANGELES — Meryl Streep will star in the second season of “Big Little Lies,” HBO said Wednesday, adding yet another high-profile lead to the Nicole Kidman-Reese Witherspoon drama. In a statement Wednesday, HBO said Streep will play Mary Louise Wright, the mother-in-law of Kidman’s character, Celeste.
Mary Louise comes seeking answers about last season’s violent death of her son, Perry, played by Alexander Skarsgard.
Kidman and Witherspoon star in and produce the series, which reaped Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards as best series. Kidman, Skarsgard and Laura Dern also collected multiple trophies.
Streep, the most-nominated actor in Oscar history, picked up her 21st nod for this year’s awards for her role in the newspaper drama “The Post.”
Streep snagged an Emmy statue for her leading role in HBO’s “Angels in America.” Her move to “Big Little Lies” will be her next big TV gig since then.
HBO says season two will focus on the the “malignancy of lies, the durability of friendships, the fragility of marriage … and, of course, the vicious ferocity of sound parenting.”
Major film stars have been lured to TV by the cable and programming boon, but Streep is the biggest catch yet — especially at a time in which the industry has been forced to pay heed to its treatment of women by the sexual misconduct scandal and pay parity criticism.
No air date has been set.
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Meryl Streep arrives for the 75th Golden Globe Awards on Sun., Jan. 7, 2018, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
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