Hello Sunshine lines up ‘Big Little Lies’ return and more ‘Elle’
Lauren Neustadter says Reese Witherspoon’s company is heading into its 10th anniversary with a crowded slate across HBO, Apple TV and Prime Video.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
4 min read
Hello Sunshine is marking its coming 10th anniversary with a very Reese Witherspoon kind of calendar: a “Legally Blonde” prequel, an Apple TV action series, more “Big Little Lies” and another helping of “Elle” already in the can.
Lauren Neustadter, president and head of TV and film at Witherspoon’s company, told Variety that the banner’s early mission was built around giving women more chances to lead on screen, behind the camera and inside the company itself.
That push now sits behind a busy run of projects. Prime Video’s “Elle,” a prequel series tied to “Legally Blonde,” debuted in July, while Apple TV’s “Lucky,” starring Anya Taylor-Joy, arrived two weeks later, according to Variety. Both come from Hello Sunshine.
The company, also behind “Daisy Jones & the Six” and “Where the Crawdads Sing,” has several 2027 projects on deck. Variety reports that HBO’s “Big Little Lies” Season 3, Sony Pictures’ “The Nightingale” with Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning, and Season 2 of “Elle” are all ahead.
Monterey is calling again
Neustadter told Variety that Hello Sunshine was not involved when the first season of “Big Little Lies” was made. She credited Witherspoon, Bruna Papandrea, Pacific Standard and David E. Kelley for that original run, and said Hello Sunshine was brought in for Season 2 and again for the upcoming third season.
The next season will draw from Liane Moriarty’s forthcoming sequel book, “Big Little Truths,” Variety reports. Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern are among the returning cast members.
Neustadter said the team is immersed in the book and discussing how to adapt the characters for television. She also pointed to the advantage of having actors involved who already know the roles well.
HBO remains a partner on the series, with Neustadter describing the new chapter as a collaborative effort among the producing team and the cast, according to Variety.
‘Lucky’ takes Hello Sunshine into action mode
“Lucky” pushes the company into more action-heavy territory than many of its earlier titles. Neustadter told Variety the team was drawn to the book, its central character and the character’s complicated relationship with her father.
Jonathan Tropper was brought in because of his experience with action storytelling, Neustadter said. She told Variety that Hello Sunshine wanted the series to keep the character’s emotional core while also delivering the bigger set pieces required by the material.
Neustadter compared the learning curve on “Lucky” to Hello Sunshine’s work on “Daisy Jones & the Six,” where music played a central role in the production.
Why ‘Elle’ raced into Season 2
“Elle” has already finished filming its second season, even though Season 1 had not aired when production wrapped. Neustadter told Variety the decision was partly practical: the show needed Seattle weather, and waiting for a more typical schedule would have pushed filming toward sunnier summer conditions.
She said Amazon’s confidence in early cuts also helped the company keep going. The creative plan is for each season of “Elle” to cover a semester, beginning with the first semester of Elle’s junior year and moving into the second.
Neustadter said reaction from “Legally Blonde” fans has matched what she hoped for, with viewers responding to the show’s upbeat tone. She told Variety the team wanted to make something joyful that spoke to younger women as well as longtime fans of the original film.
Looking ahead, Neustadter said she hopes Hello Sunshine will be in production on a third season of “Elle.” She also told Variety that Season 5 of “The Morning Show” is expected to arrive, along with “The Nightingale,” and that the company has additional films it hopes to shoot in 2027.
Witherspoon remains involved across the slate, Neustadter said, reading books and scripts, watching cuts and giving feedback while also starring in “The Morning Show.” Neustadter credited the company’s team, including staffers who began as assistants and now run sets, with helping manage the workload.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.