The new HBO series Big Little Lies is full of rumors, secrets, betrayals, and lots and lots of sex. You may also have noticed that it's full of premier California-coast real estate.
The series' producer and locations manager Gregory Alpert recently walked New York magazine's Vulture through the luxurious locations where the seven-episode show was shot. Big Little Lies, adapted by David E. Kelley from the Australian novel by Liane Moriarty, is set in Monterey, but most of the show was filmed in and around Los Angeles — like in Malibu, with its stunning coastline and huge mansions.
First, we have the home of Madeline and Ed Mackenzie (played by Reese Witherspoon and Adam Scott): Even though Madeline mentions in the first episode that she's not as wealthy as all the other mothers in her daughter's elementary school, the four-bedroom Malibu mansion is valued at $14.8 million — the most expensive on the show.
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"The people who live up there — they are going to know that one," Alpert told Vulture. "We scoured the entire coastline looking for this house and settled on staying in Southern California because I can count on one hand the houses up in the central coast that are actually on the beach. So this is your standard Malibu beach house, and besides that beautiful view, it also has a beautiful interior, that beautiful island in the kitchen, which [director Jean-Marc Vallée] used a lot."
Then, we have the house of Renata and Gordon Klein (Laura Dern and Jeffrey Nordling). Also located in Malibu, it's valued at $12.4 million. Celeste and Perry Wright's (Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgård) house is located on the Monterey Peninsula, and is a cool $6 million. Celeste's huge bedroom and closet, however, were built on a stage.
Bonnie and Nathan Carlson’s (Zoë Kravitz and James Tupper) home is in Calabasas and is valued at $2.6 million. Because Nathan owns a landscaping business and Bonnie loves nature, "it is only fitting that their house be located in a wooded and beautifully secluded area," Alpert said.
Jane Chapman's (Shailene Woodley) Pasadena house, at $520,000, is the most modest. It was chosen for the show because of the tree canopy on the street, and it "looked better on film than it actually was," said Alpert.
Check out more photos and inside information about Big Little Lies on Vulture.