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Female Driven Drama “Big Little Lies” Delves Deep

Based on the acclaimed novel of the same title by Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies is the epitome of a prestige project. The HBO limited series is written by TV legend David E. Kelley, who racked up dozens of nominations and almost as many Golden Globes in the eighties and nineties as the creator of smart network fare like LA Law, Chicago Hope and Ally McBeal. It is directed by French Canadian Jean-Marc Vallée whose Dallas Buyers Club won two Globes and features a cast of extraordinary actresses with an amazing Globes record: Reese Witherspoon (four nominations, one win), Laura Dern (five noms; three wins) Nicole Kidman (11 nominations; 3 Globes) and Shailene Woodley, nominated for The Descendants. The seven-part drama plays like a procedural mystery told in flashback after a murder is uncovered in a wealthy California coast community. But the narrative is really a deconstruction of the façade of a wealthy seaside community and the seemingly perfect marriages of a three women and a newcomer whose lives fatefully intertwine as their children attend the same elementary school. A gripping story told in a female driven production (Kidman and Witherspoon are among the producers). Mirai Konishi and Margaret Gardiner caught up with co-stars Woodley and Zoë Kravitz and asked them about it.