Pretty Little Liars is a series of young adult novels by Sara Shepard and a TV series airing on ABC Family (now “Freeform”) since 2010. The show premiered on June 8, 2010, on ABC Family. The rating success of the first 10 episodes prompted the book series to be extended beyond the initial eight novels.

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Pretty little liars plot summary

The series follows the lives of four teenage girls — Aria Montgomery, Emily Fields, Hanna Marin, and Spencer Hastings — whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader, Alison DiLaurentis. Three years later, after the discovery of Ali’s body, they begin receiving text messages from an anonymous source, “A,” who threatens to expose their secrets — including long-hidden ones they thought only their close friend Alison knew. Four estranged friends are reunited because of mysterious messages that suggest their missing friend is watching them. No longer just wanting to sit by and wait for “A’s” latest cruel attack, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer take matters into their own hands and try to finally put a stop to their tormentor. As relationships are put to the test, new and old secrets are revealed and the stakes are raised higher than ever before as the Liars come closer to the truth. Will all of their sacrifices be worth it in the end?

Main cast and characters

Troian Bellisario portrays Spencer Hastings. Spencer is an extreme perfectionist who likes to please her wealthy family and her friends. She is very competitive, and an overachiever. Spencer is strong willed, smart, and kind towards everyone around her, but isn’t afraid to take down someone who is a threat to something she cares about.

Lucy Hale portrays Aria Montgomery. Aria is the artsy chameleon who is very intelligent, caring and has a good sense of style. She’s the one who keeps her family together.

Ashley Benson portrays Hanna Marin. Hanna used to have an eating disorder. She was overweight, with the nickname ‘Hefty Hanna’.

Shay Mitchell portrays Emily Fields. Emily is the sporty one in the group. She is the best swimmer on the swim team, and she’s very sweet and loyal.

Sasha Pieterse portrays Alison DiLaurentis , former “Queen Bee” of her clique and the most popular girl in school before her disappearance. She enjoys using people’s deepest secrets against them to keep them in line.

Janel Parrish portrays Mona Vanderwaal, the original and first “A”. She is the person who stalked Alison before her disappearance, and did this as revenge for Alison crowning her “Rosewood’s biggest loser”.

Ian Harding portrays Ezra Fitz Rosewood High’s new English teacher is every girl’s fantasy. He’s cute, young – and totally off-limits. Ezra knows better than to get involved with one of his students but the heart wants what it wants. He is a love interest for Aria.

Tyler Blackburn portrays Caleb Rivers is the bad boy with a soft side that has swept Hanna off her feet. He is known for his great computer hacking skills.

Keegan Allen portrays Toby Cavanaugh Keegan Allen portrays Toby Cavanaugh, a tortured young man with a checkered past. He is later shown as spencer’s love interest.

Production

Alloy met with author Shepard and gave her the property to develop into a book series. With Alloy and Warner Horizon Television interested in producing Pretty Little Liars as a television series for years, it was first planned for The WB in 2005 with a different writer until the network shut down in early 2006 and reestablished as The CW later that year. The first novel was published by HarperTeen in October 2006. In June 2008, Alloy noted that it was developing a Pretty Little Liars television pilot for ABC Family, with the novels adapted for television. After the pilot was shot in Vancouver, filming for the rest of the series has since moved to Los Angeles The series is primarily filmed at the Warner Bros studio and backlot in the city of Burbank (near Los Angeles).

Critical reception

Pretty Little Liars opened with mixed reviews. Metacritic gave the pilot episode 52 out of 100, based on 14 critical reviews. The New York Daily News gave the show a positive review, commenting that it “makes most popular vampire romances look anemic” while concluding, “Pretty Little Liars could go in several directions, including mundane teen clichés. It’s got an equally good shot at making us care about these imperfect pretty girls.” A writer on Terror Hook has stated that ” ‘Pretty Little Liars’ gets off to a very promising start. Great production all around, the writing keeps the viewer on their toes, and the acting just reinforces it. The overall mystery of the show, in the end, is dark and unpredictable, even stepping into the slasher film realm.”

If you are a fan of Thrillers and mystery, this is a perfect show for you. So how many of you would be watching the show after reading the review? Please let us know in the comments below.