big little lies

Laura Dern Joins Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Shailene Woodley in HBO’s Big Little Lies; ‘Bingo!’ Shouts Casting Director

Photo: Jackie Butler/2014 Jackie Butler

Hollywood’s best new power couple, Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon, who first played mother and daughter in Wild and are also working on another Cheryl Strayed project, are back together yet again. According to Variety, Dern has signed on to join Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman in HBO’s ridiculously star-studded limited series, Big Little Lies. Written by David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, Boston Legal) and produced by Kidman and Witherspoon, Big Little Lies is based on Liane Moriarty’s 2014 novel about “three mothers of kindergartners whose apparently perfect lives unravel to the point of murder.” The not-just-apparently-perfect Dern will play Renata Klein, “a powerful career woman and anti-bullying crusader who is at the center of schoolyard politics on and off the playground.” Shailene Woodley and Adam Scott have previously joined the cast, while Jean-Marc Vallée (who worked with Dern and Witherspoon on Wild) has signed on to direct. Why yes, the sound you hear over there in the corner — that is Ryan Murphy weeping in envy at this cast.

Laura Dern Joins Reese Witherspoon’s HBO Drama