Pretty Little Liars Information

Pretty Little Liars is an American teen drama mystery-thriller television series loosely based on the popular series of novels written by Sara Shepard. The show premiered on June 8, 2010 on ABC Family. After an initial order of 10 episodes on June 28, 2010, ABC Family ordered an additional 12 episodes for season one. These episodes began airing on January 3 and ended on March 21, 2011. The ratings success of the first 10 episodes prompted the book series to be extended beyond the initial eight novels. On November 29, 2011 ABC Family renewed the series for a third season, consisting of 24 episodes (still airing). The third season premiered on June 5, 2012.

On October 4, 2012, ABC Family renewed the show for a fourth season. Filming began on March 14, 2013.

Plot

Set in the fictional town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, the series follows the lives of Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson), Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario) and Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell), four girls whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their queen bee, Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse). One year later they begin receiving messages from a mysterious figure using the name "A" who threatens to expose their secrets. At first they think it's Alison herself, but after she is found dead, the girls realize that someone else knows their secrets"?including long-hidden ones they thought only Alison knew. Alison was also stalked by A, and the girls continue to find more and more information about A and Alison's disappearance - all while risking their lives.

Cast

See List of Pretty Little Liars characters for more information

• Lucy Hale plays Aria Montgomery, the "artsy girl" of the group who moves back to Rosewood with her family after spending a year in Iceland. At a bar, she meets Ezra Fitz and kisses him, only to discover on her first day of school that he is her English teacher. They decide to continue their relationship in secret and do so for some time, until eventually making their romance public.

• Troian Bellisario plays Spencer Hastings, the "smart girl" of the group. She is an extreme perfectionist who always tries to please her wealthy parents who are clearly more affectionate and caring towards her older sister Melissa. Spencer was the only person who was brave enough to stand up to Alison, and may have been one of the last people to see her alive.

• Ashley Benson plays Hanna Marin, the "It girl" of the group who struggles with self-image issues and bulimia. A "loser" while Alison was alive, Hanna subsequently transformed herself into the most popular girl in school along with her best friend, Mona Vanderwaal. She falls in love with Caleb Rivers, a phone hacker and relative newcomer to Rosewood.

• Shay Mitchell plays Emily Fields, the "jock girl" of the group. Emily was closest to Alison before her disappearance and was also in love with her. A closeted lesbian, Emily was later outed by "A". She falls in love with and dates Maya St. Germain. During this time, she also befriends Toby, Jenna Marshall's step-brother, even though she was distrustful of him at first.

• Sasha Pieterse plays Alison DiLaurentis, former "Queen Bee" of her clique and the most popular girl in the school before her disappearance and death. Although she cared for her friends, she enjoyed using their deepest secrets against them to keep them in line. Charming and manipulative, Alison was skilled at finding ways to blackmail everyone, and was hated by many people. She was killed a year prior to the beginning of the series. The show's main premise revolves around the mystery of Alison's murder.

Episodes

See List of Pretty Little Liars episodes for more information

Production

Originally developed as a television series by book packaging company Alloy Entertainment, the idea was described as "Desperate Housewives for teens." Alloy met with author Shepard, and gave her the property to develop into a book series. With Alloy and Warner Horizon interested in producing a Pretty Little Liars television series for years, it was first planned for The WB in 2005 with a different writer until the network shutdown in early 2006. The first novel was published by HarperTeen in October 2005. 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. In June 2012, the series was selected by lottery for a California film and TV tax credit.

Casting

ABC Family began casting for a Pretty Little Liars television pilot in October 2009. Lucy Hale was cast as Aria Montgomery in the project, followed by Troian Bellisario and Ian Harding (as Spencer Hastings and Ezra Fitz, respectively) in November 2009. In December 2009, The Futon Critic confirmed the casting of Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin and Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields, as well as the addition of Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin, Nia Peeples as Pam Fields,Roark Critchlow as Tom Marin, and Bianca Lawson as Maya. The Hollywood Reporter also noted that Torrey DeVitto and Sasha Pieterse landed recurring roles in the pilot. The Alloy website later confirmed that Pieterse would be playing Alison DiLaurentis and DeVitto would be Melissa Hastings, also mentioning the casting of Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal. On January 27, 2010, ABC Family picked up the series for 10 episodes, set to premiere in June 2010. In April 2010, the role of Aria's father Byron was recast with Chad Lowe, and Holly Marie Combs was cast as Aria's mother Ella.

On January 7, 2011, Tilky Jones was cast as Logan Reed. On April 8, 2011 Annabeth Gish was cast for the role of Anne Sullivan, a therapist who tries to find out the characters' secrets. On May 23, 2011, Andrea Parker signed up to appear as Jessica DiLaurentis, Alison's mother. On June 29, 2011, it was announced that Natalie Hall would be replacing Natalie Floyd as Hanna's soon-to-be stepsister, Kate. Series star Chad Lowe directed the tenth episode of the second season titled "Touched by an 'A'-ngel". On January 30, 2012, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Tyler Blackburn had been promoted to series regular for the third season. In March 2012, Janel Parrish was also promoted from recurring to series regular for the third season.

Promotion

Pretty Little Liars was called one of the most spectacular new shows of summer 2010 thanks to heavy promotion by ABC Family, including "spicy promos and hot posters". ABC Family encouraged fans to host a "Pretty Little Premiere Party" for the show by sending the first respondents a fan kit, and selected applicants to become part of an interactive "Secret Keeper Game" played with iPhones provided by the network. The show's official Facebook and Twitter accounts also promoted special fan features, including a "Pretty Little Lie Detector. Los Angeles department store Kitson showcased the show in their shop window.

A tie-in edition of the 2006 first novel in the Pretty Little Liars series was released on the date of the show's premiere, as was the final book of the original book series, "Wanted". Wanted later decidedly became the eighth book of the series, as Shepard later confirmed she would extend the series. A TV tie in of the second book "Flawless" was released on December 28, 2010.

Music

The theme song for Pretty Little Liars is "Secret" by The Pierces, which was suggested by one of the show's stars, Ashley Benson. The pilot episode made use of music from artists such as The Fray, Ben's Brother, MoZella, Orelia, and Colbie Caillat. It has also used music from Passion Pit, Pink, [[Florence + The Machine]], Selena Gomez & the Scene, and McFly. Music from Katie Herzig and can be heard multiple times throughout the show. A few songs being "Hey Na Na" and "Where the Road Meets the Sun". Madi Diaz has been heard on the show with her song "Heavy Heart", as well as Joy Williams with "Charmed Life" and Foreign Slippers with "What Are You Waiting For?". The last episode of season one featured a song by Alexz Johnson that she originally recorded for the soundtrack of the Canadian hit TV show Instant Star. On June 14, 2011, "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri was featured in the first episode of the second season. The song "Follow Suit" by Trent Dabbs has also been featured on the show. In the episode "The Perfect Storm", Lucy Hale sings a cover of the song "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" by British band Fairport Convention. The official soundtrack (cover) was released on February 15,2011.

Broadcast

Pretty Little Liars premiered on June 8, 2010 the United States, becoming ABC Family's highest-rated series debut on record across the network's target demographics. It ranked number one in key 12"34 demos and teens, becoming the number-one scripted show in Women 18"34, and Women 18"49. The premiere was number two in the hour for total viewers, which generated 2.47 million unique viewers, and was ABC Family's best delivery in the time slot since the premiere of The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

The second episode retained 100% of its premiere audience with 2.48 million viewers, despite the usual downward trend following a premiere of a show, and built on its premiere audience. It was the dominant number one of its time slot in Adults 18"49, and the number one show in female teens. Subsequent episodes fluctuated between 2.09 and 2.74 million viewers. The August 10, 2010 "Summer Finale" episode drew an impressive 3.07 million viewers.

On June 28, 2010, ABC Family ordered 12 more episodes of the show, bringing its total first-season order to 22. On January 10, 2011, ABC Family picked the show up for a second season that premiered on June 14, 2011. During the summer of 2011, Pretty Little Liars was basic cable's top scripted series in women aged 18"34 and viewers 12"34. The second half of season 2 will air on Mondays at 8/7c, beginning on January 2, 2012.

On November 29, 2011, ABC Family renewed the show for a third season, which will consist of 24 episodes or more, it is till being decided. On 4 October 2012, ABC Family announced that the show was renewed for a fourth season, again comprising 24 episodes. The second half of the third season began airing on January 8th, 2013.

International broadcasting

• on Viva and after mid season on MTV (until season two finale)
• Arab World on MBC 4 (Middle East)
• on MNET Series
• on Fox Life
• on AXN and AXN Spin HD
• on MTV Spain and AXN White
• on Fox8
• on Doma TV
• on Boomerang (Latin American TV channel)
• on Boomerang (Latin American TV channel)
• on Boomerang (Latin American TV channel)
• on Boomerang (Latin American TV channel)
• on Boomerang (Latin American TV channel)
• on Boomerang (Latin American TV channel)
• on TV Markiza
• on Warner Channel and 8TV
• on TV2
• on MTV
• on Prima Love
• on Orange
• on Star Channel
• on DigiPlus
• on Mya
• on TV3
• on HOT3
• on Glitz*
• on Much Music
• on Zee Café
• on bTV (Bulgaria)
• on AXN White
• on Stöð 2
• on MTV Russia
• on ETC
• on FEM
• on Sub (TV channel)
• on VIJF
• on ABC and Boomerang (TV channel)
• on Channel 4 and 7'eren

Critical reception

Pretty Little Liars opened with initially mixed critical reviews, although the series has gotten more positive critique over its progression.. Metacritic gave the pilot episode 52 out of 100, based upon 14 critical reviews. The New York Daily News gave the show its highest score, with 80/100, 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." The New York Post gave the show three out of five stars, stating, "OK, so we've established that there is no socially redeeming value in this series and that your kids shouldn't watch it if they are too young and impressionable. But if you can distract them enough to miss the first 15 minutes, the show isn't half-bad. Actually, it is half-good, if that makes sense." The Los Angeles Times wrote that the series is "one of those shows that manages to mildly, and perhaps unintentionally, spoof its genre while fully participating in it, and that's not a bad thing at all."

Entertainment Weekly had a less favorable review, giving the show its lowest score of 16 out of 100, saying, "Imagine the pitch for Liars: It's I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Gossip Girl, but like not so subtle. The new ABC Family drama, based on the popular young-adult book series about a high school clique whose missing leader continuously causes problems and she ends up dead comes back to haunt them via locker-room notes, IMs, and text messages, hits every racy teentertainment mark so hard (everyone's hair is so full"?of secrets!) that it feels like the only thing missing is a visit from the ghosts of Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze, Jr." The Hollywood Reporter compared the show to those on The CW and noted, "Sure, there's a lot here that sustains more eye-rolling than interested stares, but a little patience might be warranted."

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Outcome
2010
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Summer TV Show	Pretty Little Liars
		Choice Summer TV Star: Male	Ian Harding
		Choice Summer TV Star: Female	Lucy Hale
2011
	NewNowNext Awards	TV You Betta Watch	Pretty Little Liars
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Obsession
	Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association	Outstanding Drama Series
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Summer TV Show
		Choice Summer TV Star: Female	Lucy Hale
			Troian Bellisario
		Choice Summer TV Star: Male	Ian Harding
			Keegan Allen
	Banff Television Festival	Best Continuing Series	I. Marlene King, Lesli Linka Glatter and Lisa Cochran-Neilan
2012	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Cable TV Drama	Pretty Little Liars
	Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association	Outstanding Drama Series
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Show: Drama
		Choice TV Actor	Ian Harding
		Choice TV Actress	Lucy Hale
		Choice TV Villain	Janel Parrish
		Choice Summer TV Star: Female	Troian Bellisario
	Do Something! Awards	TV Show	Pretty Little Liars
2013	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Cable TV Drama	Pretty Little Liars
		Favorite TV Fan Following	Little Liars

DVD releases

Season	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4	Ep #	Discs #	Additional information
Season One	June 7, 2011	December 6, 2011	November 2, 2011	22	5	Pretty Little Liars: Two Truths and a Lie"?Discover some fun facts and fictional fallacies about the cast of Pretty Little Liars. It All Started with a Little Lie: Making Pretty Little Liars"?Discover how the pages and characters of Sara Shepard's novel became this can't miss TV series Little Secrets from the Set"?Catch up with the cast and crew of summer's hottest show as they bring us several juicy behind-the-scenes secrets from the Pretty Little Liars set Deleted Scenes and extras
Season Two	June 5, 2012	TBA, 2013	September 5, 2012	25	6	Fashion's Guilty Pleasure: Check out Aria's edgy bohemian looks, Hanna's rock 'n' roll glamour, Emily's laid back sporty style and Spencer's prepster perfection Men of Mystery: Brooding brows, soulful smiles and mysterious minds... get ready for the heart-melting guys of Rosewood Deleted scenes and extras
Season Three	June 4, 2013	TBA	June 26, 2013	24	6	Featurette: "The 'A' Network" Deleted Scenes Bonus Webisodes