HBO has revealed the first set of images from Big Little Lies Season 2 and if you've been waiting to see the "Monterey Five" back together, then you won't be disappointed. Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz are reunited once again in the new photos, and they've got some might fine new company -- none other than miss Meryl Streep, who's stepping in to play Mary Louise Wright, mother of Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgard), the not-so-dearly departed husband of Kidman's character.

Series creator, writer and executive producer David E. Kelley joined his cast on stage at the Winter Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California to tease new footage from the second season and talk about what's in store for everyone's favorite housewife frienemies turned literal partners in crime. While there was plenty of chatter about Streep joining the cast, they obviously kept plot details light.

big-little-lies-season-2-screengrab
Image via HBO

One major change in Season 2? As previously announced, American Honey and Fish Tank director Andrea Arnold takes over the directors chair for Jean-Marc Vallée, who directed every episode of Season 1, a change that Kidman noted brings the "female gaze" to the show. Another change is the removal of the Greek chorus of witnesses that teed up Season 1, setting the stage for the mystery that unfolded. "The biggest difference in this one is that we don't have the Greek Chorus," Kidman said, "which was very much a part of he first series. For some reason that just fell away and that I think changes some of the tone."

"We felt last year the Greek chorus, with each episode, wanted to go away a little bit," Kelley added. "We didn't want to be extraneous or distracting with it, because once the show intensifies around Episode 3 or 4, you kind of want to live in that intensity."

The cast also teased a more dramatic tone compared to the comedy-drama hybrid of Season 1, and despite the fact that they're all bonded now, don't expect total harmony between the ladies. Dern joked that Renata is thrilled to have girlfriends for the first time in her life, but Kravitz promises a dynamic that's still rife with tension, even if the gals aren't rivals anymore. "The dynamic is really interesting this season because even though we are a group, we're all going through so much, so there is conflict... watching us do this dance together because of this lie is an interesting thing to see."

They also said there are no plans for a Season 3 at the moment, but were also quick to point out that they said the same thing about Season 2 last time they attended the TCA presser. For now, check out the batch of Seaosn 2 images below. Big Little Lies returns to HBO June 2019.

big-little-lies-nicole-kidman-meryl-streep
Image via HBO
big-little-lies-reese-witherspoon-zoe-kravitz
Image via HBO
bit-little-lies-cast
Image via HBO
big-little-lies-season-2-reese-witherspoon-zoe-kravitz-nicole-kidman-shailene-woodley-laura-dern
Image via HBO