Two 'Big Little Lies' Performances Were So "Delicious," They Made It Into Liane Moriarty's Sequel

It's been 12 years since the publication of Big Little Lies, a novel so enthralling that it inspired an Emmy-winning HBO adaptation and sent author Liane Moriarty's career into orbit. Now, Moriarty is publishing the sequel fans have long begged for—and if you're excited about season 3 of the show, it doubles as a sneak peek: The plot of the third season, currently "in process," per Reese Witherspoon, will be rooted in Moriarty's sequel, Big Little Truths.

As Moriarty clarifies in her author's note: "Big Little Truths is a sequel to the book, not the series. It follows the book's narrative." That said, the series' award-winning performances did impact Big Little Truths, out August 25. Mary-Louise, Perry's mother, was nowhere to be found in Moriarty's original novel—but was "played so deliciously by the extraordinary Meryl Streep...that [the sequel] had to feature Mary-Louise, albeit an Australian version of her," the author writes. Additionally, while Renata was a small character in the book, Laura Dern's Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Renata Klein was so magnificent, Moriarty writes, "that I had no choice but to give her more prominence in Big Little Truths."

Ahead, we speak to Moriarty about how the HBO adaptation made itself felt during her writing process, moving through life alongside her cast of characters, and how she manifested Streep as Mary-Louise.

Marie Claire: First, I wanted to ask about bringing Mary-Louise to life in Big Little Truths. I'd love to hear about that process for you—seeing Meryl Streep on-screen, and then creating the character of Mary Louise in your sequel.

Liane Moriarty: I actually created the role of Mary-Louise for Meryl Streep. When I was first writing [a continuation of the Big Little Lies story], I ended up calling it a novella for season 2. [In 2019, that novella was adapted by David E. Kelley into the screenplay for the second season of the HBO series.]

I had always said, "I'm not going to write a sequel." But then they started talking about season 2, and I had ideas; I was saying, "Maybe you could do this, or that." Eventually I said, "Okay, I'll write something." So I ended up writing 50,000 words. But before that, I was talking to my sister [the author Jaclyn Moriarty] and saying, "Should I do it?" And she said, "You should only do it if you'd have fun with it. You could write a role for your favorite actress."

And that's when I said, "Okay, well, I'm going to write a role for Meryl Streep." I thought, "I will find out Meryl's middle name, and I'll call the character by her middle name." And I looked her up, and that's when I found out that her real name, or her given name, is Mary Louise. And Mary-Louise worked perfectly for the character.

When I finished it, I told the producers about my audacity in creating a role for Meryl Streep. They were joking with me, "Oh, look at you, Liane. You've become so Hollywood! You're on the phone saying, Get me Meryl!" So we were all just laughing about it. But then, a few months later, I got a text message saying, "We got you Meryl."

It was an unbelievable career highlight: That I asked for Meryl and got Meryl.

If they had written the Mary-Louise role and it was nothing to do with me, even if she was wonderful, I don't think I would have felt I could put her in my book. She wouldn't have felt like she belonged to me. But because she still felt like my Mary-Louise, even though she was created for the show, and because people loved her so much, I put her in the [second] book. And of course, because I'd written her always with Meryl Streep in mind, I never saw any version of her except as Meryl.

MC: You published Big Little Lies 12 years ago. Are the characters in Big Little Truths exactly 12 years older now?

LM: I'm calling it a decade.

MC: The series hadn't come out when I first read the first book [when it was published in 2014]. But when I read this book, I imagined a lot of those characters as the actors who played them. As you were writing the sequel, how did you imagine those characters? From the show, from the first book, or a combination?

LM: I think they became morphed versions—except for Renata, because Renata played such a small role in the first book. And Laura Dern made that character her own—even though she was so much more attractive than my imagined Renata! So I allowed Laura Dern to just take over.

But with the other three, I kept seeing my original characters. So, for example, my Madeline had dark hair. Obviously, Madeline [on-screen, played by Reese Witherspoon] had blonde hair. And so I made a point of not mentioning her hair, because I knew readers would be doing that same thing.

And I could tell I was letting the actors into my head a bit. I had a line where Celeste's talking to Jane, and Jane says, "You can't hide behind a bush because you're too tall." And I thought, "Oh, that's your scene, Nicole [Kidman], now," because I don't think I ever particularly made a point of [Celeste's height].

I always make a point with other books: I'm not thinking of a potential adaptation at all. But with Big Little Truths, I wanted to own the fact that the show affected my writing.

MC: You mentioned Laura Dern. Renata had a role in the first book—but it's so magnified in the second book.

LM: Just because I loved Laura's portrayal so much. In a way, it was annoying because I have too many characters in my books, and readers find it hard to keep track of them. I know readers, and I do understand that. So ideally I would not have had Renata playing such a big role—but Laura just took over, and I could not resist.

MC: And in the second book, Renata has the same impact on the narrative as she does in the show. She stomps in and makes her presence known.

LM: I should give credit there to not just Laura Dern, but to David E. Kelly, who gave Laura Dern so many wonderful lines.

MC: When it came to the first book, you've said that the inspiration came from a few different sources. A friend who attended an Audrey and Elvis trivia night; another friend who found bite marks on her kid's arm. What inspired the sequel's themes?

LM: I'd actually started writing another book set in a high school with different characters. I'd written two or three chapters of that—and that probably would have been a different book.

But then, all this talk—Should there be a Big Little Lies sequel? There would always be surges of interest in it. And it came up again that they really wanted to do a new season of Big Little Lies. And that's when I suddenly thought, "I could give that storyline to the Big Little Lies world."

But I can still remember those first few chapters. I remember those characters.

MC: One throughline of Big Little Truths is about the sandwich generation—squeezed by the needs of both your parents and your children. The mothers are 10 years older than in the first book, so they have teenagers, and some have aging parents. Do you feel like you've grown up with them?

LM: It's a throughline in all my books. My first book [Three Wishes] was written in my early 30s, and the characters were in their early 30s. All my characters have just gotten older along with me. And other authors, like Margaret Drabble—as I was reading her books, I was realizing that the characters are getting older. So I'm just doing exactly the same thing.

I remember reading books when I was in my 30s and reading about women in their 50s and thinking, "Oh, that's interesting." They're still sort of real. As in, that they still have a rich inner life—a woman in her 50s. And I think—obviously I would never have said that out loud—but I think I subconsciously thought, "They're just sort of blobby people."

My mother is in her early 80s. She had me when she was 24. You always feel, "I'm catching up to her." I can clearly remember her 60th birthday. And now my 60th birthday is coming up. All my school friends and I, we all can't believe we're turning 60. It's hilarious that we're turning 60. And I find that fascinating. I find women in their 60s fascinating. So now I'll keep writing about them.

MC: I know you likely can't share much about Big Little Lies season 3, but are you excited?

LM: I am excited. I don't think there's anything to share yet—but it'll be based on this book. And it's by the writer of Mr Mrs Smith [on Prime Video], Francesca Sloane. She'll do her own thing with this book. She'll make it fit with the last two seasons. I'll be interested in seeing it; I quite enjoy seeing some plots that I have nothing to do with. Because then I'm just watching as a viewer. Whereas, if they're sticking to my plot, then I'm thinking, "Oh, no, that's not quite right."

I always joke about this: In the first scene of Big Little Lies, Madeline does her ankle. And when I first saw it, I thought, "No, that's not how you do your ankle." Because I'm always doing my ankle, and my ankle flips in this particular direction—and [Reese Witherspoon] flipped forward. It's of no consequence. But if I did allow myself to be really involved, that's when I'd be saying, "Reese, your ankle flips like this." [Laughs] Which is why it's good that I'm very hands-off.

MC: The books and the show are such different and incredible products, in many ways.

LM: I think that's the way to look at it. I think some people think, "Oh, but it's not the same as your book." Or, "I hope they don't change your book." And I always say, "But nobody can change my book. There's my book, and there's your experience of reading the book. Which is a tiny bit different in every single person's experience."

This interview has been condensed and edited.