Pretty Little Liars is an American slasher teen drama mystery television series created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Lindsay Calhoon Bring for HBO Max. It is the fourth and final 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, ending on an unresolved cliffhanger.
Contents
Plot
The lives of 5 teenage girls living in Millwood, Pennsylvania, begin intersecting as they all receive cryptic text messages from an anonymous stalker calling themselves A, as they are the targets in a plan of revenge for the actions of their mothers committed that resulted in the suicide of a classmate of theirs at a New Years Eve Party back in 1999.
Cast and characters
Main
Bailee Madison as Imogen Adams, a resourceful pregnant teen and leader of the Little Liars
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
Recurring
Carson Rowland as Chip Langsberry (season 1), Tabby's co-worker and former best friend who is revealed to have sexually assaulted not only Imogen but also Tabby
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
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 replaced Reggie Austin who played the character in the 2010 series.
Episodes
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. The series 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 cancelled 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 for Original Sin. 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. In the second season, this time was covered by Transviolet.
Composer Ronit Kirchman was brought onto the Summer School season to score the original music. Kirchman's music, known primarily for her work on The Sinner, was recognized twice by IndieWire as a Best TV Score, where they state that "Kirchman is so deft at dialing up the dissonance in a way that, by the time anyone realizes that something's amiss, it's probably already too late."
The Original Sin and Summer School soundtrack albums are both available on WaterTower Music.
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
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".
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season, Summer School, 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.
