Big Little Lies season 2 confirmed, but could it spark rule changes for the Emmys?

A second season of Big Little Lies appears closer than ever, with Reese Witherspoon dropping out of a movie role ahead of what has been rumoured as a spring start date for filming.

The Liane Moriarty adaptation, which received universal acclaim earlier this year, saw Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley as three friends in a wealthy California community struggling through stories of domestic violence, marital infidelity and small-town politics.

While initially designed as a mini-series adaptation, it has long been speculated that broadcaster HBO were eager to reunite the cast and crew for a sequel.

Now TVLine are reporting that the show's stars are clearing their schedules ahead of filming next spring, with Witherspoon departing the sci-fi thriller Pale Blue Dot in order to shoot new episodes.

One person believed not to be returning will be the show's director Jean-Marc Vallée, with the show's producers believed to be searching for a female director to succeed him.

Vallée previously expressed his lack of interest in a second season, telling Vulture that the series had a "perfect ending."

"There's no reason to make a season two," he said. "That was meant to be a one-time deal, and it's finishing in a way where it's for the audience to imagine what can happen. If we do a season two, we'll break that beautiful thing and spoil it."

If Big Little Lies does indeed receive a second season, it will also undoubtedly lead to a restructuring of the Emmys, which this year awarded the series eight trophies in the Limited Series or Movie categories. The show walked away with the Outstanding Limited Series award, along with acting awards for Kidman and costars Laura Dern and Alexander Skarsg?rd.

While Emmy rules stipulate that series that change its entire premise every season (like American Horror Story) still fall under the Limited Series banner, it's unprecedented for a series promoted as a limited series to become a regular series the following year, and may lead to rule changes.