The second season of “Big Little Lies” is getting bigger.

Meryl Streep has been cast in the Emmy-winning HBO series, the network said Wednesday, joining Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon as television continues to attract major stars.

Ms. Streep, who received her 21st Oscar nomination this week for “The Post,” has not done much TV work over the years, though she has won three Emmys, including one last year for outstanding narrator for the Netflix documentary “Five Came Back.”

In “Big Little Lies,” Ms. Streep’s character comes to the show’s beachside California town “searching for answers” following the death of her son, Perry, played by Alexander Skarsgard. Her character is the mother-in-law of Ms. Kidman’s character.

Though HBO hasn’t announced the rest of the cast, the network said it expected that most of the actors from the first season would return. TV Line reported this week that even Mr. Skarsgard was expected to return in some way.