Big Little Lies already had one of the best casts on television, and it just got even better.
News broke yesterday (January 24) that A-listers Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern are about to be joined by the queen of Hollywood herself — that’s right, Meryl Streep. She’ll star alongside the returning cast for the seven-part second season of the HBO drama, based on the novel by Liane Moriarty.
Reese posted a photo of the two together at last year’s Emmy Awards, which saw Meryl win a third Emmy for her narration of Five Came Back, while Big Little Lies picked up a whopping eight gongs:
Beyond thrilled to have the one, the only, Meryl Streep joining the cast of #BLL for season 2. Get ready for more wine, secrets, and Big Little Lies. Monterey better watch out!!! pic.twitter.com/VWYcUl7rzd
— Reese Witherspoon (@RWitherspoon) January 24, 2018
….not to mention the FIVE Golden Globe awards it won earlier this month.
It’s a casting masterstroke for BLL, and a clever move on Meryl’s part: what better way to herald your return to television, as a multi award-winning actress, than stepping into a show that’s already winning awards left, right and center?
She’ll be playing the mother of Perry Wright, the abusive husband played by Alexander Skarsgård, who, well, let’s just say, didn’t have a great season one. Apparently her character, Mary Louise Wright, is “concerned for the well-being of her grandchildren” and arrives in Monterey “searching for answers.” (Fan fact: “Mary Louise” is also Meryl’s real name.)
Of course that means that she’ll share scenes with her son Perry’s wife Celeste, a.k.a. Nicole Kidman, which got some people’s minds whirring on Twitter:
can julianne moore follow meryl streep steps and join the big little lies cast SO WE CAN HAVE THE “THE HOURS” REUNION WE DESERVE??? pic.twitter.com/xqy71RJuuZ
— 🥀 (@nicolskidman) January 24, 2018
And it wasn’t long before everyone got out their favorite Meryl gifs:
Meryl Streep joining #BigLittleLies season 2!
Twitter:https://t.co/gVUk7AeSan pic.twitter.com/issd93aOvO— Jillian Sederholm (@JillianSed) January 24, 2018
Some people started thinking up potential storylines straight away:
….but wait, in “Mamma Mia,” Meryl Streep played a woman who had an affair with Stellan Skarsgard. Is this all connected? Is this the launch of the “Mamma Mia”-verse?
— The Playlist
(@ThePlaylist) January 24, 2018
(@ThePlaylist) First off, we love the idea of a Mamma Mia-verse. Someone get that commissioned immediately. But then some people really got carried away, imagining which of the new crop of The Crown stars will be up against Meryl at future awards:
Meryl Streep vs. Helena Bonham Carter in Best Supporting Actress in a Drama
— Ira Madison III (@ira) January 24, 2018
Yeah, we think it’s fair to say people’s response to the news got quite heated:
Some memories are so visceral, you realize as they happen that they’ll be with you forever. I’ll always remember where I was when I heard about Meryl Streep joining Big Little Lies.
— Ben Platt (@BenSPLATT) January 24, 2018
Phew. Clearly it’s been an emotional day.
Big Little Lies season two is due to hit our screens in 2019, leaving TV actors one year to win awards before Ms. Meryl sweeps them all.
Are you excited to see Meryl in this?