Mindy Kaling Reveals the ‘Problem’ With ‘Big Little Lies’: ‘It Shouldn’t Have Been a Series’
Mindy Kaling has a long list of credits to her name, some being her own productions. She, therefore, seems to know a thing or two about creating a show that would captivate the masses. With Big Little Lies wrapping up in 2019 after a two-season run, Mindy Kaling took to Twitter to address one of the show’s pain points — and it has a connection to Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise.
‘Big Little Lies’ had a star-studded cast
Big Little Lies kicked off with a murder, but the victim and the murderer weren’t readily named. The show opens with a flashback of the first day of school with Madeline Mackenzie, a wealthy, strong-willed but nosy alpha female struggling with accepting her ex-husband’s new marriage to a yoga instructor.
She meets the new-in-town Jane Chapman, who is taking her son Ziggy to school. After getting to school, Madeline introduces Jane to Renata, Celeste, and their kids. The show presents some tension between the women as their children start first grade together.
In the first season, violence became a recurring theme, with the children also playing a part. Viewers immediately learned that someone had been hurting Amabella, Renata’s daughter, at school. After being forced to name her bully, she blames Jane’s son Ziggy causing friction between the two mothers.
Each of the mothers has their own secrets. Celeste experiences violence in her marriage to Perry, which, as viewers learn, acts as a fuel to their passions. Jane has frequent flashbacks of a time on a beach, hinting of a secret past involving rape.
Madeline’s marriage to Ed is also on the rocks, and the situation is worsened when she and her former lover get into a car crash together. Likewise, Renata’s attempts at creating a perfect life for her daughter fail when she finds more bruises on Amabella’s body.
The series starred some of Hollywood’s big names, including Reese Witherspoon, who played Madeline and Shailene Woodley, who played Jane. Nicole Kidman played Celeste, while Alexander Skarsgaard took on the role of Celeste’s husband Perry. Meryl Streep played Perry’s mother and Zoe Kravitz played Nathan’s yoga instructor wife, while Laura Dern played Renata.
Mindy Kaling’s hilarious tweet pointed to the problem ‘Big Little Lies’
The Never Have I Ever creator recently took to Twitter to share her thoughts about the show. Mindy Kaling pointed out that the issue with Big Little Lies was that it wasn’t a franchise. She tweeted, “The problem with Big Little Lies is that it shouldn’t have been a series. It should’ve been a franchise like Housewives where now you follow different groups of dysfunctional hot moms all over the U.S.”
The tweet gained much traction from her fans, with many seemingly agreeing with the star about the observation. Andy Cohen, who is heavily associated with Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise, even commented saying, “That show WAS housewives.”
Another fan replied, “Felt this statement in my bones.” One user said, “All I want is to watch different rich moms covering up a different murder year after year. Yes,” with other users urging Kaling to “make it happen.”
‘Big Little Lies’ was meant to be a miniseries
When the show first aired, it was billed as a miniseries. However, with its success, the creators decided to make a second season, with Screen Rant reporting that a third season was in the works. However, season 2 saw many fans feeling that some characters, such as Woodley’s Jane, were left without an arc or motivation to their story.
The second season’s ending also received flack for contradicting the character’s motivations for their actions throughout the season. As E! News reports, the show won’t be returning for a third season as speculated before, ending the show’s two-season run.
