HBO and David E. Kelley defend Big Little Lies competing as a “Limited Series” at the Golden Globes

The Hollywood Reporter

"We conceived a limited series and that's what we produced," Kelley said on Tuesday, the day after Big Little Lies was nominated for a leading six Golden Globe awards. "It feels more right to me to reclassify going into the future than to go back and redefine what we were. I know what we were, and that's a limited series. Not only was the idea of a second season not contemplated when we began this journey, the idea was pretty prohibitive — one that we didn't consider, quite frankly." HBO also responded to the controversy, saying in a statement: "Big Little Lies was conceived, produced, and aired as a limited series. The implication of impropriety regarding HBO’s awards submission of Big Little Lies in the Limited Series category is irresponsible and uninformed. The idea to continue the story came about only after the show aired. None of the cast or filmmakers had holdover contracts. Each deal had to be renegotiated, which is proof that no ongoing series was contemplated. Additionally, no source material beyond Liane Moriarty’s novel existed. The accusation that HBO was 'gaming the system' is baseless and undeserved."