Pretty Little Liars is an American slasher teen drama mystery television series created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Lindsay Calhoon Bring for Max. It is the fourth television series in the Pretty Little Liars franchise, which is based on the novel series written by Sara Shepard, and set within the same continuity as the previous series. The series features an ensemble cast, headed by Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Zaria, Malia Pyles, and Maia Reficco.
Warner Bros. announced the series' development with Aguirre-Sacasa as showrunner in September 2020. It was given a straight-to-series order by HBO Max at the end of the same month. Filming took place in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first series in the franchise not to be broadcast on ABC Family/Freeform and to be carried on a streaming television service.
The first season, titled Original Sin, premiered on July 28, 2022. In September 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, subtitled Summer School, that premiered on May 9, 2024. In September 2024, the series was canceled after two seasons.
Plot[]
Five teenage girls living in Millwood, Pennsylvania, team up after receiving cryptic messages from a mysterious person calling themselves "A", who holds their mothers responsible for a series of events that resulted in a classmate's death on New Year's Eve 1999.
Cast and characters[]
Main[]
- Bailee Madison as Imogen Adams, a resourceful pregnant teen
- Chandler Kinney as Tabitha "Tabby" Haworthe, an aspiring filmmaker and horror film fanatic
- Zaria as Faran Bryant, a determined ballerina who deals with racism in the industry
- Malia Pyles as Minnie "Mouse" Honrada, an Internet-obsessed teen with a history of trauma
- Maia Reficco as Noa Olivar, a track star freshly out of juvie
- Mallory Bechtel as:
- Karen Beasley (season 1), the queen bee of Millwood High who recently had a falling out with Imogen
- Kelly Beasley, Karen's twin sister who often is outshined by her sister
- Sharon Leal as Sidney Haworthe, a real estate agent and Tabby's mother
- Elena Goode as Marjorie Olivar (season 1), a nurse and Noa's mother
- Eric Johnson as Sheriff Tom Beasley (season 1), the local sheriff and the domineering patriarch of the Beasley family
- Alex Aiono as Shawn Noble, a popular jock and Noa's supportive boyfriend
- Lea Salonga as Elodie Honrada (season 1; guest season 2), one of Mouse's mothers, who tries to keep her daughter safe
- Jordan Gonzalez as Ash Romero (season 2; recurring season 1), Mouse's love interest
- Elias Kacavas as Greg Mantzoukas (season 2; recurring season 1), a popular jock and Karen's boyfriend
Recurring[]
- Carson Rowland as Chip Langsberry (season 1), Tabby's co-worker and best friend
- Carly Pope as Davie Adams, Imogen's mother
- Ava DeMary as teen Davie (season 1)
- Ben Cook as Henry Nelson, a ballerino and Faran's love interest
- Jennifer Ferrin as Martha Beasley, Karen and Kelly's mother and Sheriff Beasley's wife
- Derek Klena as Wes, Tabby's boss at the theater who recently graduated from film school at NYU
- Zakiya Young as Corey Bryant (season 1; guest season 2), Faran's mother and a paralegal at a Pittsburgh law firm
- Kristian Mosley as teen Corey (season 1)
- Benton Greene as Zeke Bryant (season 1; guest season 2), Faran's father
- Kate Jennings Grant as Madame Giry (season 1; guest season 2), the ballet instructor at Millwood High
- Jeffrey Bean as Mr. Smithee (season 1; guest season 2), the film teacher at Millwood High
- Kim Berrios Lin as Shirley (season 1; guest season 2), one of Mouse's mothers
- Lilla Crawford as Sandy Quinn (season 1; guest season 2), Karen's friend
- Alexander Chaplin as Steve Bowers (season 1; guest season 2), a father who seeks comfort in Mouse after his daughter disappeared
- Kristen Maxwell as teen Sidney Haworthe (season 1)
- Sarah-Anne Martinez as teen Marjorie Olivar (season 1)
- Emily Bautista as teen Elodie Honrada (season 1)
- Gabriella Pizzolo as Angela Waters (season 1), a teenager from the mothers' past who killed herself at midnight during a rave to celebrate Y2K
- Robert Stanton as Marshall Clanton (season 1), the principal at Millwood High
- Nico Kiefer as young Marshall Clanton (season 1)
- Connor Marsh as teen Marshall Clanton (season 1)
- Brian Altemus as Tyler Marchand (season 1), a student who recorded an exploitative video of Karen
- Michael Maize as Joseph England alies Crazy Joe (season 1), former classmate of Angela Waters
- Miles McKenzie as teen Joseph England (season 1)
- Charlie Hewson as Pastor Malachi (season 2)
- Annabeth Gish as Dr. Anne Sullivan (season 2), a therapist who previously helped Rosewood's Little Liars. The character was first introduced in the original Pretty Little Liars series.
- Ava Capri as Jen (season 2), Noa's fling in juvenile detention
- Antonio Cipriano as Johnny (season 2), Imogen's co-worker at Millwood's Ice Creamery and love interest
- Noah Alexander Gerry as Christian (season 2), Tabby's co-worker at the Orpheum and love interest
- Loretta Ables Sayre as Lola (season 2), Mouse's grandmother
Guest characters from Pretty Little Liars (2010)[]
- Charles Gray as Eddie Lamb (season 1), a former nurse at Radley Sanitarium who is now a maintenance manager at the Radley Hotel. Gray replace Reggie Austin who played the character in the 2010 series.
Production[]
Development[]
On September 2, 2020, it was announced that a new Pretty Little Liars series was in development at Warner Bros., with Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa taking over as showrunner from I. Marlene King. Original Sin takes place within the same continuity as the previous television series, but follows new characters and storylines in a new setting.
On September 24, 2020, HBO Max gave the series a direct-to-series order of 10 episodes and was named Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, with Aguirre-Sacasa teaming up with Lindsay Calhoon Bring to develop the series. Aguirre-Sacasa also executive produces the series alongside King, Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo. Production companies involved with the series are Muckle Man Productions, Alloy Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Television.
On September 7, 2022, HBO Max renewed the series for a second season, retitled as Pretty Little Liars: Summer School. On September 20, 2024, Max canceled the series after two seasons.
Casting[]
In July 2021, Chandler Kinney, Maia Reficco, and Bailee Madison were cast on starring roles. In August 2021, Zaria, Malia Pyles, Alex Aiono, Mallory Bechtel, and Eric Johnson joined the main cast. In September 2021, Carson Rowland, Jordan Gonzalez, Ben Cook, Elias Kacavas, Benton Greene, Lea Salonga, Sharon Leal, Carly Pope, Elena Goode, and Zakiya Young were cast in recurring roles. In November 2021, Cristala Carter, Derek Klena, Kate Jennings Grant, Robert Stanton, Jennifer Ferrin, Lilla Crawford, Brian Altemus, Anthony Ordonez, and Jeffrey Bean joined the cast in recurring capacities. In December 2021, Ava DeMary, Kristen Maxwell, and Gabriella Pizzolo were cast in recurring roles. In November 2022, Gonzalez was promoted as a series regular for the second season. In April 2023, Elias Kacavas had been promoted to a series regular for the second season. In the same month, it was reported that Annabeth Gish would reprise her role as Dr. Anne Sullivan from the original series.
Filming[]
The series was set to film at Upriver Studios in Saugerties, New York, in mid to late 2021. Filming began on August 23, 2021, in the city of Hudson, New York, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming wrapped on May 2, 2022.
The series' second season began filming in April 2023. In May 2023, it was reported that filming for the second season has been delayed due to the writers strike. However, after a deal was reached on September 27, along with the actors strike on November 9, filming for the second season resumed later that same month and wrapped on December 8, 2023.
Music[]
Film composer Joseph Bishara was hired to do the series' score. He is known for his work in horror movies, including the Insidious film series and The Conjuring franchise. A remix version of "Secret" by the Pierces appeared in the opening sequence. The original song was previously used as the opening theme in the original Pretty Little Liars, while Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists used a cover version by Denmark + Winter.
Release[]
The series premiered on July 28, 2022, with the first three episodes available, followed by two more episodes each on August 4 and 11, and then the final three episodes on August 18. The second season, subtitled Summer School was released on May 9, 2024, with two new episodes, followed by a new episode on a weekly basis until the season finale on June 20, 2024.
Reception[]
Critical response[]
Original Sin[]
The first season, Original Sin, was met with critical acclaim from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 90% approval rating with an average rating of 7.1/10, based on 20 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Boasting a tantalizing new mystery along with a refreshingly grounded crop of Pretty Little Liars, Original Sin is a gossipy good time." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 82 out of 100 based on five critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Summer School[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds an approval rating of 90% with an average rating of 7.2/10, based on 10 critic reviews. On Metacritic, the second season received a score of 78 based on four critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Bailee Madison's performance was praised by critics.
