HBO’s Big Little Lies will be returning to TV this month, and the stars showed up and showed out for the Season 2 red carpet premiere earlier this week, according to a report from Pop Culture .
Big Little Lies was created by David E. Kelley and is based on a novel penned by Liane Moriarty. The story follows five women, Celeste Wright, played by Nicole Kidman; Madeline Martha Mackenzie, played by Reese Witherspoon; Jane Chapman, played by Shailene Woodley; Bonnie Carlson, played by Zoe Kravitz; and Renata Klein, played Laura Dern, who become bonded by the accidental murder of Celeste’s abusive husband, Perry Wright, played by Alexander Skarsgard.
During the Season 1 finale, Perry and Celeste got into a heated argument that soon turned physical. The women quickly rallied to defend their friend but were unable to overpower him. Bonnie, who was watching from a distance, eventually saw an opportunity to help and dashed in to push Perry away from Celeste but ended up pushing him down a flight of stairs, causing his death. After the incident, the five women became known as the “Monterey Five,” and were believed to be responsible for Perry’s untimely demise.
While chatting with reporters on the red carpet, Skarsgard addressed the possibility of his character’s return to Season 2, according to a report from Variety .
“I’m just here for the free alcohol and snacks,” the actor said. “I’m very dead…unless I come back as a zombie. He was pretty badly impaled. I’m afraid he did not survive that.”
Alexander Skarsgård jokes that he’s just at the #BigLittleLies premiere for the free alcohol and snacks pic.twitter.com/GrNXt7cfTX
— Variety (@Variety) May 29, 2019
Season 2 will bring a host of new faces, including Meryl Streep as Perry’s mother, Mary Louise Wright, who comes to Monterrey in search of answers regarding her son’s death.
Skarsgard went on to say he had the final say on the decision to cast Streep as his mother.
“I had casting approval, and I said, ‘Yeah, Meryl can play my mom,’” he joked. “That’s all right. She’ll do.”
The True Blood alum said he hasn’t seen the new episodes, but he has read them and is “very excited for people to see it. The way [Streep] comes in to the dynamic of the group, asking some hard questions. It creates a lot of tension. There’s great drama in that, so I’m excited to see it.”
And Skarsgard wasn’t the only actor singing Streep’s praises on the red carpet. Laura Dern also chimed in, calling Streep an amazing team player who works tirelessly to ensure the story being told is as relatable as possible for those consuming, according to a report from Pop Culture .
Adam Scott, who plays Madeline’s husband, Ed Mackenzie, said he was incredibly shocked to learn that Streep had been added to the show’s already star-studded cast. The actor went on to admit that he was little star-struck during his first meeting with the Hollywood legend. Luckily, he had help from Dern, who assured him it wasn’t as bad as he imagined it to be.
Big Little Lies premieres on HBO June 9.