'' Big Little Lies '' has generally been well received by critics , who praised the book 's balance of humour with more serious issues like domestic abuse . Janet Maslin of '' The New York Times '' wrote : " A seemingly fluffy book suddenly touches base with vicious reality , in ways that may give '' Big Little Lies '' even more staying power than '' The Husband 's Secret '' Moriarty 's previous book . " Roberta Bernstein of '' USA Today '' gave it three stars out of four , deeming it " a fun , engaging and sometimes disturbing read , even if the characters are more conceits than flesh and blood . " Leah Greenblatt of '' Entertainment Weekly '' gave it an A and noted that , while the book fell in the " chick-lit " category , Moriarty still offered " insights that are n’t any less wise or funny or true just because she sometimes likes a champagne metaphor or hangs her story on a shoe . " Carol Memmott of '' The Washington Post '' wrote , " It takes a powerful stand against domestic violence even as it makes us laugh at the adults whose silly costume party seems more reminiscent of a middle-school dance . " A television mini-series adaptation of the novel was produced by HBO titled '' Big Little Lies '' , filmed on location in Monterey , California . It was originally released February 19 , 2017 on HBO . The mini-series stars Nicole Kidman , Reese Witherspoon , Shailene Woodley , Alexander Skarsgård , Adam Scott , Laura Dern , and Zoë Kravitz , and won 8 Emmy Awards at the 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Limited Series . Despite being called a miniseries , HBO announced in December 2017 that the series would return for a second season , based on a novella by Moriarty
2017 Primetime Emmy Awards
69th Primetime Emmy Awards
Big Little Lies (novel)