Television manages to put a new twist on the California state of mind

THERE’S SOMETHING PARTICULARLY dreamlike about the California of HBO’s new limited series Big Little Lies and the Netflix comedy Santa Clarita Diet. The two shows have divergent tones but a unified vision of the state’s suburbs as the place comfort gives way to confrontation. Lies stars Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, playing neighbors and friends in easy, jumbo-wineglass comfort.