By Ryan Flaherty

According to Indiewire, the HBO drama had a series of issues with its production concerning a sudden shift in power unbeknownst to its director.

Andrea Arnold was hired to direct season 2 of the series when Jean-Marc Vallée, the director of season 1, was unable to direct due to a commitment to ‘Sharp Objects’. Unfortunately, her version was altered to fit the style of the Vallée’s first installment. Indiewire includes that besides this change of course for Arnold, there were also numerous problems with how the show was filmed. Arnold and Vallée had no form of communication, showrunner David E. Kelley was only on set for an hour at a time, and the executive producers made no effort to change how Arnold was filming. After the season wrapped, the stars of the series praised Arnold as she returned home to Europe under the assumption she was still involved in the project.

Once Vallée finished his work on Sharp Objects he returned to Big Little Lies and regained control within the editing room. Indiewire says of the shift in power, “a show dominated by some of the most powerful actresses in Hollywood hired a fiercely independent woman director – who was now being forced to watch from the director’s chair as scenes were shot in the style of her male predecessor.”

The final product is a Jean-Marc Vallée project with choppy editing and hints of Andrea Arnold. You can read the full story by IndieWire here.