Big Little Lies Season 3 Films for One Day in Burbank, With Full Production Set for Next Year
Big Little Lies Season 3 has started filming, but only for a single day. According to Variety, the shoot took place on Thursday at The Ranch Lot, the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank site.
Merrin Dungey was on set. She plays Detective Adrienne Quinlan, a character she also played in the first two seasons. Season 1 aired in 2017 and Season 2 in 2019, and both were filmed in California.
Why only one day? The shoot kept the show's California state tax credit in place. That is a financial incentive, a rebate on some filming costs, which the show had already been approved for. Filming in one day was enough to keep it.
Full production is not expected to start until next year, and no start date has been locked. A director for Season 3 has not yet been confirmed. The director on the Thursday shoot was someone already involved with the series and approved by the Directors Guild of America, the union for film and TV directors.
HBO, the network that airs the show, has not officially announced the return of production. It declined to comment.
The creative team has been taking shape for some time. Francesca Sloane joined in September 2025 to write the first episode and executive produce the season, alongside David E. Kelley, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. Witherspoon's company, Hello Sunshine, also produces Lucky and Elle, according to a July report from Variety.
Kidman first said in November 2023 that a third season could happen. In June 2024, she said the season was in "good shape" and moving "fast and furious."
The story is expected to draw on Liane Moriarty's novel Big Little Truths, released in August. The book moves the action forward by a decade, and Variety reported it is expected to form the backbone of the new season.
No release date has been announced. For now, the one filming day is the only production news on the show. The next real milestone will be the start of full production, which is not scheduled until next year.
