Big Little Lies (HBO) directed by Jean-Marc Vallee

Transported from Sydney’s northern beaches to California’s Monterrey, this series is otherwise very faithful to the bestselling novel by Liane Moriarty. The casting is pitch perfect – the women, their husbands, the kids and the Greek chorus of parents commenting throughout. Showered with awards and accolades, the all-star ensemble is fabulous – Rhys Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern leading the pack. The tension of the who-is-it and whodunit aspects, building to a reveal at the end, is naturally diluted for anyone who has read the book, greatly reducing the impact. Nevertheless they are well done and the journey there is enjoyable. It departs from the book somewhat towards the end, mostly to the benefit of the drama, although it does neglect the why to some extent – it doesn’t make sense why one person in particular gets involved with the action, or why they are shielded by all the others - something that is explained clearly in the book. The choice of music to punctuate the action is particularly notable – once again pitch perfect. There has been talk of a second series and it will be interesting to see where the writers and producers take it without the strong source material of the original.