Nicole Kidman And Reese Witherspoon Will Be Earning A Staggering Amount Per Episode For Big Little Lies 2!

Reese Witherpoon and Nicole Kidman have reportedly negotiated a lucrative deal that will see them earn over $1 million (Rs 6.4 crore) per episode for the second season of HBO’s Big Little Lies. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Witherspoon’s similar deal to produce and star in a drama for Apple - the company is entering the streaming space with original shows - helped her leverage a new deal for Big Little Lies.

This is excluding their salaries as executive producers of the show and a percentage of back-end profits.

Originally planned as a limited series, the murder mystery was renewed for a second season - due to arrive in 2019 - after a slew of awards and positive reactions. Director Andrea Arnold has been tapped to helm all seven episodes, replacing original director Jean-Marc Valee.

The renewal gave the show’s stars an opportunity to negotiate for higher pay. The THR report adds that in addition to Witherspoon and Kidman (who won a Golden Globe for her performance as an abused housewife), Zoe Kravitz and Shailene Woodley will also receive significant bumps in their salaries.

But HBO isn’t holding it against Apple for driving up the salaries of the two lead stars. “I’m not going to shake my fist and say, ‘Darn it, Apple!’ HBO programming president Casey Bloys told THR. “It’s not a shock to anybody that having a second season of an ongoing series is easier to have with those deals in place,” he said, alluding to the network’s lack of foresight in putting together a deal.

This comes just weeks after it was revealed that Michelle Williams was paid a fraction of Mark Wahlberg’s salary for the reshoots the two took part in for All the Money in the World. Williams was paid less than $1000 while Wahlberg received a salary of $1.5 million for the same number of days. After a public outcry over the pay disparity, Wahlberg donated the entire sum to the Time’s Up campaign in Williams’ name.