TV Show review
Review basis: 2 seasons · through July 21, 2019
February 19, 2017 · TV-MA · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The series follows several affluent mothers in Monterey, California, whose seemingly perfect lives unravel after a murder at their children's school fundraiser, exposing secrets, affairs, and domestic abuse. Season 1 adapts the core events of Liane Moriarty's novel while Season 2 explores the aftermath, including new family revelations and ongoing consequences through 2019. Audience-visible elements include strong focus on female friendships formed around trauma, explicit portrayals of male domestic violence, and occasional lines about women being unfairly blamed or judged in relationships and motherhood.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Big Little Lies.
Woke representation / casting
The predominantly affluent white female ensemble fits the wealthy Monterey setting and source novel exactly, with Zoë Kravitz's role as Bonnie integrating naturally into the story world without visible diversity signaling or quota emphasis.
Woke political dialogue
Occasional lines reference gender bias in how women are blamed or judged, and domestic abuse dynamics, but these advance personal character arcs and plot rather than activist lectures or systemic ideological arguments.
Identity-driven story themes
Strong emphasis on complex women, motherhood pressures, female alliances against male abuse, and shared secrets creates a noticeable women-centered narrative that some viewers would register, though it stays rooted in individual trauma rather than intersectional or activist identity frameworks.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Specific portrayals critique abusive male entitlement and marital imbalances through characters like Perry, plus class tensions among mothers, but avoid broad modern activist framing of patriarchy, capitalism, or Western norms as institutional problems.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Minimal to no significant public complaints from anti-woke or right-leaning sources accusing the series of identity politics or agenda-pushing; reception centered on acclaim or left critiques of insufficient diversity.
Creator track record context
Core team shows limited activist history overall—David E. Kelley and Liane Moriarty focus on domestic and legal drama with little identity emphasis; Andrea Arnold has voiced support for women directors; Jean-Marc Vallée and others emphasize emotional human stories without documented political patterns.
Production
