Big Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon[1][2][3] family in Utah that practices polygamy. Big Love stars Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, Ginnifer Goodwin, Amanda Seyfried, Douglas Smith, Bruce Dern, Grace Zabriskie, Mary Kay Place, Matt Ross, and Cassi Thomson.
The series premiered in the United States on March 12, 2006 following the sixth-season premiere of the HBO series The Sopranos. The show ran for five seasons, ending on March 20, 2011.[4]
The show was co-created by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer, who also served as executive producers. Olsen and Scheffer spent almost three years researching the premise of the show,[5] with the intent of creating a fair portrayal of polygamy in America without being judgmental.
The theme song for the final two seasons of the series was "Home" by the band Engineers. During the first three seasons, "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys played during the opening titles. The musical score for the series was composed by Anton Sanko. Mark Mothersbaugh composed music for the first season, while David Byrne was in charge of music during the second season.
- Bill Paxton as Bill Henrickson – Husband to Barb, Nicki, and Marge. He is a practicing polygamist and, at the end of season 4, was elected as a Utah Republican state senator.
- Jeanne Tripplehorn as Barbara "Barb" Henrickson – Bill's first wife; mother of Sarah, Ben, and Tancy ("Teeny").
- Chloë Sevigny as Nicolette "Nicki" Grant – Bill's second wife, Barb's former caretaker (during her bout with cancer), and Roman Grant's daughter; mother of Wayne and Raymond (with Bill), and Cara Lynn (with J.J.).
- Ginnifer Goodwin as Margene "Margie" Heffman – Bill's third and youngest wife; mother of Lester, Aaron, and Nell.
- Amanda Seyfried as Sarah Henrickson – Bill and Barb's first daughter, struggling with her father's polygamy. She married Scott Quittman despite her parents' initial reservations.
- Douglas Smith as Ben Henrickson – Bill and Barb's son. Early in the series, he expresses his sexual attraction to Margene, his third mother, who rejects it as incestuous. He has stated his desire to follow The Principle—to practice polygamy, as his father does.
- Branka Katić as Ana Markovič – Bill's former fourth wife. She and Bill married, then she divorced the family (late in the third season). Bill and his wives recently discovered that she conceived a child with Bill prior to their 48-hour marriage.
- Jolean Wejbe as Tancy ("Teenie") Henrickson – Bill and Barb's younger daughter (replaced in Season 4 by Bella Thorne).
- Keegan Holst as Wayne Henrickson – Bill and Nicki's eldest son.
- Garrett Grey as Raymond Henrickson – Bill and Nicki's second son.
- Ailish and Julia O'Connor as Nell Henrickson – Bill and Margene's daughter. (Season 4)
- Aaron Paul as Scott Quittman – Sarah's husband.
- Tina Majorino as Heather Tuttle – Sarah Henrickson's co-worker and best friend; Ben's wife.
- Bella Thorne as Tancy Henrickson
- Shawn Doyle as Joey Henrickson – Bill's brother, Wanda's husband. Former professional football player with the Dallas Cowboys. He attempts to enter into polygamy like Bill and his forefathers, albeit relunctantly at first. (Seasons 1-4)
- Melora Walters as Wanda Henrickson – Bill's sister-in-law, wife to Joey Henrickson, and sister of Nicki's first husband, J.J. Wanda's psychological problems surface when she tries to poison people who cross her or her family. (Seasons 1-4)
- Bruce Dern as Frank Harlow – Bill's abusive and domineering father who exiled Bill from Juniper Creek at age 14. In a strong, perennial, and sometimes violent feud with his wife, Lois.
- Grace Zabriskie as Lois Henrickson – Bill's mother. In a long-time feud — and even attempted homicide — against Bill's father, Frank Harlow
- Brian Kerwin as Eddie Henrickson – Lois' younger brother, Bill's uncle.
- Aidan Gonzales and Andrew Gonzales as Joey Henrickson Jr. – Joey and Wanda's son.
- Christopher Randazzo and Zachary Randazzo as Joey Henrickson Jr. – Joey and Wanda's son. (Season 4)
- Mireille Enos as JoDean Marquart and Kathy Marquart – Kathy is Joey's second wife-to-be until her death in a car accident while being chased by Roman Grant. She lived in Joey and Wanda's home and assisted with the care of their infant son. Her twin sister, JoDean, is Frank's newest wife. (Seasons 3-4)
- Ellen Burstyn as Nancy Dutton – Barb's semi-estranged mother.
- Judith Hoag as Cindy Dutton-Price – Barb's sister.
- Patrick Fabian as Ted Price – Cindy's husband.
- Joel McKinnon Miller as Don Embry – Bill's business partner and best friend. A polygamist until two of his wives ran away, leaving him a monogamist both in spirit and in fact. He was asked by Bill to take a 'bullet' — by confessing his polygamy to a reporter — to allow Bill's state senate candidacy to move forward.
- Wendy Phillips as Peg Embry – Don's wife, Home Plus' head bookkeeper.
- Kyle Gallner as Jason Embry – Don and Peg's son, Ben's best friend. Jason isn't fond of polygamy.
- Annie Fitzgerald as Verna – Don's second wife.[6]
- Renee Albert as Julep ("Jo-Jo") – Don's third wife.[6][7]
- Lawrence O'Donnell as Lee Hatcher – Bill's attorney.
- Jim Beaver as Carter Reese – Business acquaintance of Bill.
- Jodie Markell as Wendy Hunt – Bill's secretary.
- Adam Beach as Tommy Flute – Jerry Flute's son and a manager of the Blackfoot Casino.
- Luke Askew as Hollis S. Green – Patriarch and proclaimed Prophet of a rival polygamist group. Hollis serves as one of show's antagonists. His sect frequently uses violence and kidnapping for its ends.
- Sandy Martin as Selma Green – Hollis' first wife and partner, Roman's youngest sister. A woman, but usually dressed in a man's suit with a male hairstyle and a masculine-deep voice.
- Gregory Itzin as Senator Blake Barn – The Republican Senate President of the Utah State Senate.[8]
- Harry Dean Stanton as Roman Grant – Nicki & Alby's father, self-proclaimed Prophet, and former leader of the Juniper Creek compound. He was smothered to death by Joey Henrickson to avenge Roman's involvement in the death of Joey's fiancée, Kathy.
- Mary Kay Place as Adaleen Grant – One of Roman Grant's wives and Nicki and Alby's mother. Although sixth wife to Roman, Adaleen was his most trusted confidante and was able to influence Roman's political decisions. After Roman's death, Alby sends Adaleen to be a wife of J.J., against Adaleen's and Nicki's wishes.
- Daveigh Chase as Rhonda Volmer – A young sociopath teenager who was to be married to Roman Grant. During Roman's trial, Rhonda was sent away so she would not take the stand and damage the defense's case. It remains unknown whether her "absence" led to Roman eventually being found not guilty of his crimes.
- Matt Ross as Alby Grant – Roman Grant's closeted gay son and the heir-apparent 'Prophet' of Juniper Creek.
- Anne Dudek as Lura Grant – Third and favorite wife of Alby. She helps Alby try to kill Roman in both the second and third season.
- Željko Ivanek as J.J. Percy Walker – Nicki's first husband and father of Nicki's eldest daughter, Cara Lynn. J.J. is domineering, and with Alby's pull, forces the widowed Adaleen to marry him.[9]
- Cassi Thomson as Cara Lynn Walker - Nicki and J.J.'s daughter.
- Robert Patrick as Bud Mayberry – Leader of a polygamist fringe group.[10]
- Mark L. Young as Franky – Frank's son with Nita. Despite the significant age difference between Bill and Franky, Bill considers Franky to be as much his brother as Joey is. Franky is the boyfriend of Rhonda Volmer during the first half of the third season.
- Carlos Jacott and Audrey Wasilewski as Carl Martin and Pam Martin – Neighbor of the Henrickson's.
- Sarah Jones as Brynn – Ben's ex-girlfriend.
- Carli Coleman as Brandy Thissel – Bill's ex-con cousin.
- Robert Beltran as Jerry Flute – Business representative of a Native American reservation that wants to build a casino with Bill's collaboration.
- Noa Tishby as Ladonna Flute – Jerry's assertive, opinionated wife.
- Michele Greene as Sheila Jackson White – Channel 9 TV reporter.
- Charles Esten as Ray Henry – Head Prosecutor for the Roman Grant case. Had a fling with Nicki before he learned of her involvements.
- Ben Koldyke as Dale Tomasson – Alby's lover, who hanged himself after Lura revealed his affair to his wife and family.
- Kevin Rankin as Verlan Walker – Cousin to Cara Lynn. He was kicked out when he became a teenager. It is revealed that he is married to Rhonda Vollmer with whom he has a child.
- Christian Campbell as Greg Ivey – Cara Lynn's high school math teacher and later lover.[11]
The series revolves around Bill Henrickson, his three wives (Barb, first/legal wife; Nicki, second wife; and Margene, third wife) and their (combined) nine children. Henrickson lives with his family in three neighboring houses in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City.
Season 1 introduces the main characters and revolves around the family's struggles to live their polygamous lifestyle while keeping it a secret from the outside world. While Bill goes about expanding his chain of home improvement stores ("Henrickson’s Home Plus"), he struggles to balance his three wives and his strained relationship with Nicki's father, church prophet Roman Grant. From his compound on Juniper Creek, Roman seeks to gain a greater share of the profits from Bill's business ventures. Bill, who is resentful towards Roman for expelling him from Juniper Creek as a teenager, opposes this, and joins with his brother Joey, a former NFL player who returned to Juniper Creek after alcohol addiction, to gain a seat on the Church's board of directors in order to undercut Roman's considerable influence and to maintain a level of autonomy from his controlling grasp.
Bill's first wife, Barb, is shown to be the anchor for the plural Henrickson family, but as the show progresses, it is revealed that Barb has mixed feelings about the concept of polygamy, and only her love for Bill makes her stay. Meanwhile, second wife Nicki (daughter of Roman) struggles to fit in with modern life outside the compound and her own desire for power within the family dynamic. Nicki compensates for her isolation by developing an addiction to shopping, leading her to accumulate $60,000 of debt in credit card charges. Third wife Margene, 21 years old, struggles to find her place within the family, as both Barb and Nicki look down on her, due to her youth and immaturity.
Most of season one focuses on the family's struggle to keep their secret from their friends, neighbors, and coworkers. However, things come to a head when Barb is nominated for a "Mother of the Year" Award, resulting in her marriage being outed as one of polygamy. Meanwhile, Joey's mentally unstable wife, Wanda, poisons Alby Grant (Roman's son and chief minion) when Alby discovers that Bill is using Joey as a pawn in his scheme to undermine Roman's power within the Church, and threatens the two.
Season 2 picks up two weeks after the end of season one, as Barb temporarily leaves home and then returns. Though the outing does not damage the family's reputation or the Henrickson business, it causes Bill to decide to take steps to ensure his family's financial security by trying to buy an electronic gambling company called Weber Gaming.
The second season also expands upon the political battles at Juniper Creek. When Roman and his wife inform Alby that they are willing to allow Wanda and Joey to get away with their attempt on his life in exchange for using them as leverage against Bill, Alby alerts outside authorities, who arrest Joey (who claims credit for poisoning Alby in order to protect Wanda), which ultimately leads to a raid of the compound.
Meanwhile, Roman's newest intended bride, 16-year-old Rhonda Volmer, secretly leaves the compound to live with the Henricksons. The family is quick to take Rhonda in, thinking that she is an innocent trying to escape being forced to marry the elderly Roman. However, it is quickly revealed that Rhonda is a pathological liar and sociopath who left the compound only to exploit Roman's legal troubles in order to get media coverage for her story in the newspaper and on TV.
Rhonda's departure and Alby's actions lead to Bill's manipulating Roman and the Greenes (a renegade polygamist sect that operates on the fringes of society) against each other in order to claim Weber Gaming. Roman is shot by the Greenes when the police finally try to arrest the Greenes, forcing them to flee. With Roman hospitalized, Alby quickly seizes power, and Roman is arrested by the police for violating the Mann Act. Alby's power is ultimately secured when his mother flees Juniper Creek and Bill doesn't challenge Alby's claim of prophethood.
On the home front, Nicki struggles with Bill's decision to send their son to a Catholic school (which is far enough out of the way for Bill to claim Nicki as his sole wife) while Margene and Barb wage war against each other for the "head wife" position. This is complicated when Margene befriends Ana, a Serbian waitress and dental hygienist, after witnessing Bill flirting with her at a diner. Margene encourages Bill to bring Ana into the family as a fourth wife in order to gain an ally against Barb and Nicki.
Barb, after a tearful reunion with her estranged mother and a pep talk with Roman's wife, reasserts herself as first wife by outing the family as polygamist to her nosy neighbors and informing Bill that she will finally leave him once and for all if he tries to bring a fourth wife into the family.
Meanwhile, Sarah is seeking help in dealing with her family's lifestyle through a support group for ex-Mormons, leading to her falling for a man ten years her senior. While Sarah ultimately gives up her virginity to her new boyfriend (mainly to spite her father, who is indifferent towards Sarah's growing disdain for him and polygamy), Ben gives himself over to his father's views on polygamy. At the close of the season, Ben is dating twin girls from Juniper Creek whose goal is to marry one man between them, causing Barb to consider sending him away to live with her nonpolygamist mother.
In the third season of Big Love, Bill pursues Ana, a waitress he met in season two, despite his pledge to Barb to end the affair. Barb warms to the idea after she spends time with Ana, and sees in her a confidante without Margene's childishness or Nicki's manipulativeness. After Barb agrees to allow Bill to marry her, Ana finds herself chafing at Bill's authoritarianism and sees her presence causing Nicki, Barb, and Margene to fight repeatedly. At the end of season 3, Ana "divorces" herself from the family, citing her inability to deal with the polygamist lifestyle and her fear that her staying in the marriage would destroy the already fragile bonds among Bill's three wives.
Another focus in season 3 is on Roman Grant's trial, as Nicki infiltrates the prosecution's office building as a clerical worker (using Margene's name) to uncover the identities of the chief witnesses against Roman at Adalen's request. The key witness is Joey's intended second wife Kathy, whom Roman forced to marry when she was only 14. Two of the witnesses are intimidated into not testifying, while Rhonda (who now seeks to sue Roman and Juniper Creek in civil court) is given $30,000 by Adaleen and ordered to flee town after Adaleen lies to her about Roman no longer loving her. Kathy's testimony is negated by her twin sister JoDean, who tells the court that due to the Juniper Creek policy of not celebrating birthdays, and their lack of a birth certificate due to being born at home, the sisters have never agreed on how old they are; JoDean has always believed they are older than Kathy does. The defense argues this means Kathy may not have been 14 when she married as she claims, but might have been of age. Roman is acquitted and Nicki, who was forcibly married off at 15 to an older man who saw her picture in one of Roman's "Joy Books," shoves her father down a flight of stairs. Nicki's employment leads to a flirtation with Ray Henry (Chip Esten), who is prosecuting her father without knowing Nicki's true identity.
Meanwhile, Sarah is preparing to leave home for college at Arizona State when she discovers that she is pregnant. She tells Ben and Heather, but not her parents or Scott, the 28-year old father. At first she plans to give her child up for adoption, but ultimately she decides to keep it. Then, on a family vacation, Barb finds Nicki's birth-control pills and thinks they belong to Sarah. Barb's tirade against her daughter leads to Nicki admitting that the pills are hers: she'd been on the Pill for years while lying to Barb and Bill about wanting more children. The next day, Sarah miscarries and Nicki convinces her to come clean about the pregnancy and miscarriage. While Bill attempts to be supportive of Sarah by buying her a new car and refusing to judge her decision to be sexually active, Barb's relationship with Sarah is severely damaged. Sarah decides not to attend college, much to the dismay of Heather, who had changed her future plans to attend the University of Utah to attend Arizona State to help Sarah with the baby.
Joey has announced to Bill that he, Kathy, and Wanda are getting married, and he asks Bill to seal them. Furious at Roman's acquittal, Kathy has been gathering resistance on the Juniper Creek compound against Roman, threatening his waning authority within the compound (due to Alby consolidating his own power base). Roman has Kathy kidnapped hours before her wedding in order to force her to marry rival Hollis Greene, who is revealed to be Roman's brother-in-law and who will be immediately shipped off to Mexico, where Kathy will never see Joey or Wanda again. After stabbing Hollis's wife Selma with a pitchfork, Kathy steals a pickup truck and tries to flee. Roman forcibly rams her vehicle from behind and it plows into an electrical pole. Her body is subsequently dumped in a ravine and her death staged to look like an accident. At the funeral a few days later, Joey accuses Roman of murdering his intended wife. Joey later confronts Adaleen in her hotel room and tries to coerce a confession out of her about what she knows.
While Nicki becomes entangled with her boss, due to Ray's attraction to "Margene," Bill attempts to forge an alliance to bring down Roman for his part in Kathy's death. The real Margene discovers Nicki's use of her identity and her flirtatious relationship with Ray, and eventually exposes them. Ray denounces the entire family and vows to prosecute Nicki for illegal actions during the Grant trial. Bill decides to separate from Nicki, who chooses to retreat to the compound and renew her relationship with Alby. Meanwhile, Sarah reunites with Scott and after telling him about the miscarriage, proposes marriage to him.
Elsewhere, Bill and Alby broker a deal with Bill's brother-in-law Ted, who is seeking a Mormon document implying that the LDS Church faked renouncement of polygamy in order to get Utah formally recognized as a state. This leads to a war between Bill and Barb and her family, culminating in Barb being excommunicated from the LDS Church after she visits the temple a final time, sponsored by her mother and sister. The Greenes also want the document and kidnap Ted's adopted daughter to force him to give it up. However, when they have the document they discover that it is a forgery; Alby faked the document in order to con money out of the church.
In the season 3 finale, Alby plots to kill both his parents to consolidate his power over the compound and to avenge a prior attempt on his life that Adaleen arranged. He and his wife Lura create a letter-bomb and he leaves it outside his mother's hotel room; it explodes when a maid's cart rolls over it and the maid and Alby are injured. Selma is arrested for kidnapping Bill's adopted niece and reveals evidence to police about Roman's involvement in Kathy's death; the DA plans to indict Roman for murder. Back at the compound Joey waits for Roman inside his home and appears to have suffocated him, avenging Kathy's death. Meanwhile Nicki is reunited with her former husband J.J. and their 14-year-old daughter Cara Lynn. When she learns that Cara Lynn is about to be placed in the "Joy Book" in order to be married off, Nicki returns to the family with Cara Lynn in tow. The season ends with Bill's family reunited and Bill declaring the beginning of their own church, with himself as leader.
HBO Canada premiered this season day-and-date with HBO in the U.S. on January 18, 2009.
In November 2008, the show's official site launched a massive ad campaign for the third season of Big Love, including a preview of the new season, a behind-the-scenes look at the new season, and background videos of Bill Henrickson, Barbara Dutton-Henrickson, Nicolette Grant, and Margene Heffman. In the behind-the-scenes video, Ginnifer Goodwin says, "Anything you thought could happen happens." Bill Paxton states, "I thought season 2 was vamped up, but season 3 is even more explosive." On her character, Chloë Sevigny says, "There is definitely a power struggle that goes on between the wives. You see Bill and Barb find out about some things Nicki has been hiding from them."
In January 2009, ABCnews.com reported that the series had incorporated the YFZ ranch raid into the story line.[12]
The fourth season of Big Love premiered on January 10, 2010.[13] It was further announced that Amanda Seyfried, who plays Bill and Barb's daughter Sarah, will leave the show after the completion of the season in order to pursue a film career full time. However, she did decide to come back for the show's series finale.[14]
Reuters reported that Bella Thorne will replace Jolean Wejbe who has played Bill and Barb's daughter Teeny for the first three seasons.[15] Another addition to the show is Adam Beach who plays Tommy Flute, the son of Jerry Flute (Robert Beltran), Bill's Indian gaming business partner.
In the premiere episode of season four, viewers learn that Roman Grant's body has been hidden in a freezer for several weeks by Adaleen. Alby and his wife, Lura, move the body to Idaho to the Henricksons' newly opened, but still under construction casino. Bill is able to prevent the FBI from finding Roman before he returns Roman's body to Juniper Creek for burial.
The season presents Bill with two challenges — his campaign for public office, and his growing rift with his eldest son, Ben. Bill seeks a seat in the Utah State Senate as part of a plan to legitimize The Principle — which faces renewed and widespread animosity from the public. Bill learns of Ben's growing attraction to Margene, and agrees that Ben should spend some time away from the house, which Ben interprets as being 'cast out' of the family. This shocks Bill's family, who recently discovered Bill's own criminal past after his exile, revealed to the public by Bill's political opponent. Bill must also grapple with Marilyn Densham (Sissy Spacek), a powerful and conniving lobbyist whom he likens to a common criminal.
The season also develops a plotline involving J.J. marrying Adaleen. At first resistant, Adaleen accepts being "sealed" to J.J. and soon after finds that she's pregnant. Nicki is told she's infertile, even when treated by J.J.'s son, a fertility specialist. Eventually, it is revealed that J.J. has been using eugenics and inbreeding on an isolated community in Kansas where he is a leader, and that Adaleen's pregnancy is the product of that program.
On the eve of elections, Barb unsuccessfully tries to sabotage Bill's potential win by leaking the paternity report of Ana's child thus proving Bill's extramarital affair to the media. This brings the growing rift between Bill and Barb to fore, with Barb declaring that, unlike the previous twenty years, she does not feel the need for Bill any more. To avenge J.J.'s eugenics experiments on her family with in-vitro fertilization, Adaleen sets fire to a fertility clinic office where she has trapped J.J. Walker and his cancer-stricken wife. Season 4 ends with Bill winning the election for the Utah State Senate seat and revealing to an obviously uncomfortable public that he has a plural marriage with Barb, Nicki, and Margene.
The fifth and final season is centered around Bill's service in Utah State Senate, and the trouble that comes with his new position. Because of his polygamy, Bill faces opposition from a majority in the Senate, who attempt to pass a bill to have him impeached. Bill, however, makes a deal with the President of the Senate to have the bill stricken down. Bill pushes plans of action to help Juniper Creek, but has the compound demolished after Alby attempts to murder Don. He plans to build a church where UEB members can worship in safety. However, the Senate tries to stop Bill by bringing forward charges of statutory rape against him, since Margie admitted earlier that she was only sixteen when she was married to Bill. Before he can be taken to jail, Alby attempts to murder Bill in the Utah State Capitol, but is stopped and incarcerated.
Lois develops dementia due to a sexually-transmitted disease she contracted from Frank. The Henricksons try to take care of her, but she goes on a hunger strike in order to be taken back to Frank, forcing the family to agree to take her back to the compound. Frank finds out how much the disease has affected her after he breaks his hip and Lois does nothing about it, besides give him a pillow to put under his head. She is put into a nursing home where Bill and Frank both visit her.
Barb shocks the household when she tells them she believes she had a testimony to be a priesthood-holder, and then refuses to attend Bill's church because of their differing theological views. She attends a Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS) church that recognizes and provides for female priesthood. She attempts to be baptized into her new church, but realizes it isn't what she wants because her family isn't there to witness it. She then joins the family at Bill's church for Easter service.
Nicki is now the sole parent of Cara Lynn, and wants Bill to adopt her into the family. The only catch is that for Bill to adopt her, he and Nicki must be legally married. After much discussion, Barb and Bill divorce so that Bill can be legally married to Nicki, making her his first wife. When Nicki discovers that her daughter is in a relationship with her teacher, she tries to send her to a strict boarding school without telling the rest of the family. Cara Lynn, however, runs to Barb and tells them what her mother is trying to do.
Margie becomes desperate to be around people and make new friends. She tries her hand at selling various products and, while successful, through those experiences, she finds out that there is more to life than her marriage with Bill, and decides to go on missions to help the poor.
In the final episode, Bill has been in jail for 48 hours and is released. He goes straight to the Senate and tries to push for a bill to make polygamy legal. On Easter Sunday, Bill invites everyone to his church for the service and almost 500 people from across the state show up. During his service, he sees a vision of the old pioneers and Emma Smith (Joseph Smith, Jr.'s wife), which reassures him that he is making the right decision. After his service, we find Lois in her bed at the nursing home with Frank. There are vials of medication on the bedside table and the syringes have been used. Frank talks to her until she passes away beside him.
In the final moments of the series, Bill walks outside and is confronted by his neighbor, Carl, who is angry because Bill re-sodded his yard for him as Bill had earlier promised to do. Carl distorts Bill's generous act into an implication that Carl can't take care of his wife and home himself. Carl then goes into a rant and shoots Bill several times in the chest at close range. All three wives, who were in the kitchen making dinner, hear the shots and run outside to help Bill. In his final moments, Bill asks Barb to give him a blessing, showing her that he believes she holds the priesthood also.
The next scene is set 11 months later. Sarah has had a baby and they have just come from the baby blessing. Barb was the one who blessed the baby boy, who is named Bill. Ben and Heather, who began dating at the beginning of the season, are now married and Margene is leaving on a mission. In the final scene, all the women embrace one another beside the dining room table and the spirit of Bill is sitting at the end of the table, watching them.
The show's fictional fundamentalist group, the "United Effort Brotherhood", or UEB, is similar to the actual "United Effort Plan" established by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and taken over by the state in 2005.[16] The FLDS is one of the most prolific and well-known polygamist groups and regards itself as the legitimate successor of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which officially discontinued polygamy in 1890.[17][18] Creators Olsen and Scheffer included a drive through the twin FLDS towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona, as part of their research for the show.[19] Like the FLDS, the UEB has the distinction of possessing a temple of its own on its Kansas compound. The raid on Juniper Creek is reminiscent of the Short Creek raid, an actual historic event from 1953 where Arizona state police and National Guard troops took action against polygamists in Colorado City. Many of the businesses owned by the 'UEB' are similar to businesses owned by the Latter Day Church of Christ (aka the Kingston Clan), another Mormon fundamentalist church. The concept for the cable show was influenced by a 2003 article published in Utah on the Darger family, members of the UAB.[20]
Although set in Utah, the series was primarily filmed at the Santa Clarita Studios in Valencia, California. The location used for filming "Henrickson’s Home Plus" scenes was The All American Home Center in Downey, California.
The outside scenes of the three homes that Bill owns were filmed on location on Shady Lane, in the small town of Fillmore, California.[21]
The mall scenes from season one were filmed in the Fox Hills Mall, in Culver City, California. Other exterior shots were filmed in Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah and Sandy, Utah, as well as northeast Los Angeles, California.[22]
The head writers for the series are the co-creators: Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer. The writing staff includes: Patricia Breen,[23] Dustin Lance Black, Doug Jung,[24] Eileen Myers, Jennifer Schuur, Doug Stockstill, Jeanette Collin,[25] and Mimi Friedman.[26]
Directors of the series include Jim McKay, Adam Davidson, Rodrigo Garcia, Charles McDougall, Sarah Pia Anderson, Dan Attias, Burr Steers, Michael Spiller, Alan Taylor, John Strickland, Mary Harron, Steve Shill, Julian Farino, Michael Lehmann, and Alan Poul (former executive producer of Six Feet Under).
The show's producers are Alexa Junge,[27] Ann Holm, Ron Binkowski, Bernadette Caulfield,[28] Jeanette Collins, Mimi Friedman, Shane Keller,[29] David Knoller,[30] Mark V. Olsen, Will Scheffer, Gary Goetzman,[31] and Tom Hanks.
| Season |
Episodes |
Season premiere |
Season finale |
| 1 |
12 |
March 12, 2006 |
June 4, 2006 |
| 2 |
12 |
June 11, 2007 |
August 26, 2007 |
| 3 |
10 |
January 18, 2009 |
March 22, 2009 |
| 4 |
9 |
January 10, 2010 |
March 7, 2010 |
| 5 |
10 |
January 16, 2011 |
March 20, 2011 |
David Byrne recorded a complete soundtrack to the second season, released as Big Love: Hymnal on August 19, 2008. The theme song to the series from Seasons 1 through 3 was The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows". As of Season 4, the song "Home", performed by the British band Engineers, was adopted as the show's theme song along with a new title sequence. "God Only Knows" was covered by Natalie Maines for the series finale.
| DVD Name |
Region 1 |
Region 2 |
Region 4 |
| Season 1 |
October 17, 2006 |
April 27, 2007 |
September 5, 2007 |
| Season 2 |
December 11, 2007 |
September 12, 2011 |
July 2, 2008 |
| Season 3 |
January 5, 2010[32] |
January 23, 2012 |
March 3, 2010 |
| Season 4 |
January 4, 2011[33] |
April 16, 2012[34] |
May 4, 2011[35] |
| Season 5 |
December 6, 2011 |
TBA |
TBA |
| Big Love: The Complete Collection |
December 6, 2011 |
TBA |
TBA |
Review aggregate Metacritic indicated positive critical response for all five seasons. The average scores for the first through fourth seasons were 72/100, 71/100, 79/100, and 70/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The fifth and final season received an average score of 85/100, or "universal acclaim".[36]
Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com said of Big Love, "There are elements of this new series that have a quirkiness that might seem deliberate or overly clever against a different backdrop, but that feels natural in its own gracefully odd environment."[37]
Time magazine's James Poniewozik named it one of the Top 10 Returning Series of 2007, ranking it at #5.[38]
However, the Phoenix New Times's Robert L. Pela called the show a "hot-soccer-mom fantasy" and "about as down and dirty as the old sitcom Three's Company", and said its portrayal of polygamy was "just as tidy as a deodorant commercial".[39]
In contrast, the San Francisco Chronicle's Tim Goodman called Bill Paxton a "wonderfully underappreciated actor" and the show itself "compelling, but not easy".[40]
In March 2006, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) issued a public statement citing concerns over the program's depiction of abuse, polygamy, use of stereotypes, and television's depiction of moral and civic values in general.[41] Among other things, the church stated, "Despite its popularity with some, much of today’s television entertainment shows an unhealthy preoccupation with sex, coarse humor and foul language. Big Love, like so much other television programming, is essentially lazy and indulgent entertainment that does nothing for our society and will never nourish great minds."[41] In March 2009, the LDS Church stated that HBO's writers, producers, and executives were displaying insensitivity to church members by choosing to display simulated segments of the LDS Church's Endowment ceremony in an episode of Big Love.[42][43][44] The LDS Church also stated that the show had continued to blur the distinction between the LDS Church and "the show's fictional non-Mormon characters."[42]
The second season was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series in 2007. Bill Paxton was also nominated for the Best Actor in a Television Drama Golden Globe for his role as Bill Henrickson.[45]
The third season was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.
In 2010 Chloë Sevigny won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a TV role for her portrayal of Nicolette Grant in season 3 of Big Love.
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- ^ Vince Horiuchi, "Dern turns to Utah's 21st governor for HBO role", Salt Lake Tribune, 2006-04-14.
- ^ Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa, "Mitt takes hit on 'Big Love'", Boston Herald, 2007-08-29.
- ^ Rebecca Dana, "Raise the Red-State Lantern", New York Observer, 2006-03-12.
- ^ HBO Cancels "Big Love", Variety, October 28, 2010
- ^ 'Big Love': Real Polygamists Look at HBO Polygamists and Find Sex
- ^ a b "Big Love Episode Guide Viagra Blue". HBO.com. http://www.hbo.com/biglove/episode/season1/episode02.html. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
- ^ "Episodes Cast for "Big Love"". imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421030/epcast. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
- ^ "Gregory Itzin joins Big Love"
- ^ "Big Love: Homepage". HBO. http://hbo.com/big-love#. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ "Big Love activates Terminator Robert Patrick"
- ^ Big Love Casting News, tvfanatic.com, 2011-01-05
- ^ Friedman, Emily (Jan. 18, 2009). [Juniper Creek "HBO Drama Inspired by Real Polygamist Raid"]. Juniper Creek. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ Serjeant, Jill. "HBO's 'Big Love' to Start Season 4 With a Gay Story Line." Washington Post. December 20, 2009.
- ^ 06:21 PM ET (2009-12-17). "Amanda Seyfried to leave 'Big Love' at the end of the season | EW.com". News-briefs.ew.com. http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/12/17/amanda-seyfried-to-leave-big-love-at-the-end-of-the-season/. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ Nellie Andreeva (September 4, 2009). "Big Love gives bigger role to Bella Thorne". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSTRE58318T20090904. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ "Judge rules for court supervision in UEP case". Deseret News. 2009-07-18. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705317558/Judge-rules-for-court-supervision-in-UEP-case.html. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ "Chronology of Church History". Scriptures.lds.org. http://scriptures.lds.org/chchrono/contents. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ "Official Declaration 1". Scriptures.lds.org. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/od/1. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ Adams, Brooke (2006-03-08). "The real sources behind Big Love". The Polygamy Files: The Tribune's blog on the plural life (The Salt Lake Tribune). http://blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/2006/03/real-sources-behind-big-love.htm. Retrieved 2006-08-12.
- ^ Darger, Joe; Darger, Alina; Darger, Vicki; Darger, Valerie; Adams, Brooke (2011). Love Times Three: Our True Story of a Polygamous Marriage. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-207407-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=QIJysmXOPg4C&pg=PT8&lpg=PT8#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Shady Lane, Fillmore, CA on WikiMapia
- ^ San Fernando Road: As Seen on TV, Atwater Village Newbie, June 13, 2007
- ^ Patricia Breen at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Doug Jung at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Jeanette Collins at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Mimi Friedman at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Alexa Junge at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Bernadette Caulfield at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Shane Keller at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ David Knoller at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Gary Goetzman at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ HBO: Big Love
- ^ HBO: Big Love
- ^ Big Love - Complete HBO Season 4
- ^ http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/818721
- ^ Big Love (HBO) - Reviews from Metacritic.
- ^ Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | I Like to Watch.
- ^ Poniewozik, James; Top 10 New TV Series; time.com.
- ^ Pela, Robrt L.; Big Eeeewww!
- ^ Goodman, Tim; Sex, Wives, and Religion: HBO Tries Polygamy; San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ a b "Church Responds to Questions on HBO's Big Love", press release, lds.org, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2006-03-06.
- ^ a b Jennifer Dobner, "HBO Vs. The Mormons In Battle Over Temple Ceremony", Huffington Post, 2009-03-11.
- ^ Vince Horiuchi, "LDS Temple secrets? 'Big Love' TV episode angers Mormons: TV show to air Sunday reportedly depicts faith's endowment ceremony", Salt Lake Tribune, 2009-03-12.
- ^ "LDS Church comments on 'Big Love'", Deseret News, 2009-03-09.
- ^ "Hollywood Foreign Press Association 2008 Golden Globe Awards For The Year Ended December 31, 2007". HFPA. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-12-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20071214020838/http://www.goldenglobes.org/news/id/81. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cast and crew. Big Love. Retrieved on 2007-06-20. HBO.com.
- ^ Season 1, Episode 8, "Easter" Lois (Bill's mother) tells Sarah (Bill's daughter) that Maggie drowned in Lake Mead, Nevada
- ^ Sixteen birthday referenced on Episode No. 3, Season two, broadcast June 25, 2007
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