Big Little Lies 2017

     This series is based on a novel by Liane Moriarty.  Madeline Martha Mackenzie meets single mom Jane Chapman on the orientation day of first grade.  Jane and her son Ziggy are new in this Monterey community.  There is an incident at the school and another student chokes one of the first grade girls.  The red marks can be seen on her neck.  Amabella says it was Jane’s son Ziggy but he denies the accusation.   Madeline goes on the warpath against Amabella’s mom Renata because of the accusation.    

     This series is filled with ex-husbands and their relationships with present and past wives.  Also there are current marriages and their relationships.  It’s about problems in the classroom and the schoolyard with school personnel and first grade students.  Mainly it’s about the lies we tell to ourselves and the lies we tell each other.  How can we face the next day without these lies?  All the hair products, makeup, expensive homes and cars can’t change the inside of a person!!  I thought this series was very good and I did succeed in figuring out who was hurting Amabella and what would happen with the adults in the ending.  4 1/2* (I loved this series)

7 episodes, 3 discs, TV mini-series, Crime directed by David E. Kelley with Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgard, Adam Scott, Zoe Kravitz, James Tupper, Jeffrey Nordling, Laura Dern, Ian Armitage, Santiago Cabrera, Darby Camp, Kellen Coleman, Larry Bates, Kathreen Khavari, Sarah Baker.

Note:  Imdb 8.6 out of 10, 92% critic 94% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 541 reviews, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*,  Metacritic 75 out of 100 with 42 critics 8 out of 10 with 215 ratings.

Special Note:  Filmed in Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Carmel Highlands, Malibu and Los Angeles, California.  Witherspoon and Kidman are also the producers of the series.  Nicole Kidman was once engaged to Lenny Kravitz, the father of Zoe Kravitz.  There was a bidding war for the filming rights between HBO and Netflix.  Witherspoon and Kidman became close during filming and Witherspoon bought the residence next to Kidman’s home in Nashville.  Witherspoon withdrew from Downsizing of 2017 to make this film.  Kidman turned down Wonder Woman 2017.  Witherspoon and Kidman also obtained the rights for an adaptation of Truely Madly Guilty, also a novel by Liane Moriarty.  In the novel, the setting is in a seaside suburb of Sydney, Australia. 

Titles for Episodes:  Somebody’s Dead, Serious Mothering, Living the Dream, Push Comes to Shove, Once Bitten, Burning Love, You Get What You Need.

BOOKS:  Big Little Lies 8/11/2015, (4.5* out of 5* 15,248) Three Wishes, The last Anniversary, What Alice Forgot, The Hypnotists Love Story, the Husband’s Secret.