About Big Love

Big Love is a gripping American television drama series that aired on HBO from 2006 to 2011. This series explores the institution of marriage, faith, and more unconventional aspects of love and relationships, through the complex portrayal of a polygamist family in Utah. It uncovers the life of Bill Henrickson, a practitioner of the fundamentalist Mormon faith, balancing his relationship with his three wives, their conjoint family, and his chain of hardware stores.

Making / Production

The creation and production of Big Love was headed by Playtone, Will Scheffer, and Mark V. Olsen. David Knoller handled the producing of the first season, with Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman executing the production for the series duration. The series was primarily filmed in West Hollywood, California.

Actors

• Bill Paxton as Bill Henrickson - The actor masterfully plays the complicated role of a man juggling his business, political ambitions, and polygamous family.
• Jeanne Tripplehorn as Barbara Henrickson - Jeanne portrays the conflicted 1st wife who grapples with her traditional Mormon values and her current situation.
• Chloë Sevigny as Nicolette Grant - Chloë delivers a stellar performance as the manipulative 2nd wife and estranged daughter of a fundamentalist leader.
• Ginnifer Goodwin as Margene Heffman - Ginnifer plays the naive and loveable 3rd wife, who balances her commercial interests with her family commitments.

Trivia / Interesting Facts

• The show faced backlash from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who claimed it misrepresented their beliefs and practices.
• During filming, Chloë Sevigny described her character's prairie dresses as a 'trial', and they became a popular conversation piece off-camera.
• The show's title, 'Big Love', was inspired by a 1989 Fleetwood Mac hit song of the same name.

Awards

Big Love won several awards and nominations during its run, including an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series and Chloë Sevigny winning a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in 2010.

Quotes

• "Even in the face of certain defeat, we've got to have the hope to go forward." - Bill Henrickson
• "I chose this life, I know what it was. I made the sacrifice." - Barb Henrickson
• "Why would I want to limit myself to just one man when I can have the love of three?" - Margene Heffman

Music, Soundtrack

• The theme song for the first three seasons is 'God Only Knows' by The Beach Boys.
• Seasons four and five feature a new theme song, 'Home' by engineer.
• Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score for the series.