HBO's long-awaited Season 3 of Big Little Lies began filming this week with a single day of principal photography on Thursday at Warner Bros. Studios Burbank's The Ranch Lot, featuring recurring star Merrin Dungey as Detective Adrienne Quinlan.
Full-scale production is not slated to begin until next year, and a specific start date remains unconfirmed. Insiders said the one-day shoot was arranged to preserve the series' California state tax credit, already approved, because California rules require principal photography to start within 180 calendar days of the Conditional Allocation Letter, or within 240 days for projects with a qualified expenditure budget of $100 million or more. The exact date the credit was granted to Season 3 has not been disclosed.
No director has been officially named for the third season, but sources indicated the director on set was already attached to the series and approved by the DGA. HBO declined to comment on the production's status.
Executive producer David E. Kelley has championed keeping the show in California; the first two seasons were also shot there despite lacking earlier tax incentives. Season 1 aired in 2017 and Season 2 returned in 2019.
The series stars Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern as friends in Monterey, California, with supporting roles by Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz, Alexander Skarsgård, Adam Scott, James Tupper, Jeffrey Nordling and, from Season 2, Meryl Streep.
Dungey's Detective Quinlan appears investigating the central murder and suspects the "Monterey 5" - Celeste, Madeline, Renata, Jane and Bonnie.
Talk of a third season gained momentum after Kidman hinted at a return in November 2023. In September 2025, Francesca Sloane joined to write the first episode and serve as executive producer alongside Kelley, Kidman and Witherspoon.
In August, author Liane Moriarty released Big Little Truths, a novel set a decade later that is expected to provide the backbone for Season 3's storyline.
Dungey's résumé includes recent work on Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair, Chicago Med, The Lincoln Lawyer, S.W.A.T. and Shining Vale, as well as past roles in Alias, The King of Queens and Once Upon a Time.
