<Tr> <Th> No . </Th> <Th> Title </Th> <Th> Directed by </Th> <Th> Written by </Th> <Th> Original air date </Th> <Th> U.S. viewers (millions) </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> "Somebody's Dead" </Td> <Td> Jean - Marc Vallée </Td> <Td> David E. Kelley </Td> <Td> February 19, 2017 (2017 - 02 - 19) </Td> <Td> 1.13 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="6"> At a public school in Monterey, a murder suddenly occurs on trivia night, but neither the victim nor the murderer are revealed . Backtracking to the first day of school, the families of five first - graders are introduced . Madeline Martha Mackenzie is a strong - willed, wealthy, and feared alpha female in town with a first - grade daughter and teenage daughter from an earlier marriage . Her friend, retired lawyer Celeste Wright, is the mother of twin sons who are also beginning at that same school . New to town is Jane Chapman--a young single mother raising her son, Ziggy . Renata Klein's daughter Amabella accuses Ziggy of attempting to choke her, which he denies . Madeline and Celeste befriend Jane . Secrets are revealed, including that Madeline is struggling to cope with her ex-husband Nathan's marriage to a yoga instructor named Bonnie and also trying to build a relationship with her older daughter . Celeste appears to have a very happy life with her husband Perry, but he starts to show signs of being violent . Jane's motives for moving to Monterey are unknown . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> "Serious Mothering" </Td> <Td> Jean - Marc Vallée </Td> <Td> David E. Kelley </Td> <Td> February 24, 2017 (2017 - 02 - 24) (online) February 26, 2017 (2017 - 02 - 26) (HBO) </Td> <Td> 0.56 </Td> </Tr>

Where does the show big little lies take place