Pretty Little Liars

The intertitle in the opening credits used since the show's inception.

Originally developed as a television series by book packaging company Alloy Entertainment, the idea was described as "Desperate Housewives for teens."[12] Alloy met with author Shepard and gave her the property to develop into a book series.[12] 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.[13] The first novel was published by HarperTeen in October 2006.[14] In June 2008, Alloy noted that it was developing a Pretty Little Liars television pilot for ABC Family,[12] with the novels adapted for television.[13] After the pilot was shot in Vancouver in December 2009, filming for the rest of the series moved to Los Angeles.[15][16] The series was primarily filmed at the Warner Bros. studio and backlot in the city of Burbank, near Los Angeles.[17] In June 2012, the series was selected by lottery for a California film and TV tax credit.[18]

ABC Family began casting for a Pretty Little Liars television pilot in October 2009.[13] Lucy Hale was cast as Aria Montgomery in the project, followed by Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings and Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz in November 2009.[19] 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.[20][21] Mitchell had initially auditioned for the role of Spencer and then tried for Emily.[22] The Hollywood Reporter also noted that Torrey DeVitto and Sasha Pieterse landed recurring roles in the pilot.[21] 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.[23] On January 27, 2010, ABC Family picked up the series for 10 episodes, set to premiere in June 2010.[24] In April 2010, the role of Aria's father Byron was recast with Chad Lowe,[25] and Holly Marie Combs was cast as Aria's mother Ella. Jenna Marshall is played by Tammin Sursok.[26]

On January 13, 2011, Tilky Jones was cast as Logan Reed.[27] On April 8, 2011, Annabeth Gish was cast for the role of Anne Sullivan, a therapist who tries to find out the main characters' secrets.[28] On May 23, 2011, Andrea Parker signed up to appear as Jessica DiLaurentis, Alison's mother.[29] On June 29, 2011, it was announced that Natalie Hall would be replacing Natalie Floyd as Hanna's soon-to-be stepsister, Kate.[30] On January 30, 2012, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Tyler Blackburn had been promoted to series regular for the third season.[31] In March 2012, Janel Parrish was also promoted from recurring to series regular for the third season.[32] On March 16, 2016, TVLine reported that, Andrea Parker was added as a series regular for the seventh season.[33] On August 8, 2016, Ava Allan was cast as Addison Derringer, appearing in two episodes of the seventh season.[34]

The music was composed by Michael Suby, who known for his work in Kyle XY and The Vampire Diaries. The series' theme song "Secret" by The Pierces, which was suggested by one of the show's stars, Ashley Benson.[35] The series also featured music from artists such as Christina Perri, Sara Bareilles, OneRepublic, McFly, The Fray and Selena Gomez & the Scene. The band, 2AM Club appeared in the first season episode "There's No Place Like Homecoming", with some of the songs appeared on their debut album, What Did You Think Was Going to Happen?[36][37] and The Strange Familiar also include the songs appeared on the third season was featured from the third album Chasing Shadows.[38] Gemma Hayes recorded a cover version of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game", was featured on the second season episode "If These Dolls Could Talk".[39] ZZ Ward performed with two songs "Til the Casket Drops" and "Last Love Song" from her debut album, Til the Casket Drops to promote the series' third[40] and fifth[41] seasons. The Pretty Little Liars soundtrack was released by WaterTower Music on February 15, 2011.[42]

Pretty Little Liars premiered on June 8, 2010 in the United States, becoming ABC Family's highest-rated series debut on record across the network's target demographics.[65] 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.[66] Subsequent episodes fluctuated between 2.09 and 2.74 million viewers.[67][68] 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.[69] 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.[70][71] The second half of season 2 aired on Mondays at 8/7c, beginning on January 2, 2012.[72]

On November 29, 2011, ABC Family renewed the show for a third season, which consisted of 24 episodes.[73][74] On October 4, 2012, ABC Family announced that the show was renewed for a fourth season, again comprising 24 episodes.[75] The second half of the third season began airing on January 8, 2013 and finished March 19, 2013. Pretty Little Liars returned for Season 4 on June 11, 2013. On March 26, 2013, it was again announced that Pretty Little Liars had been renewed for a fifth season scheduled for a 2014 air date and a new spin off show entitled Ravenswood would begin airing after the season four annual Halloween special in October 2013.[76] The second half of season four premiered on January 7, 2014.[77] It was announced on June 10, 2014 that Pretty Little Liars was renewed for two seasons, making the show ABC Family's longest running original hit series.[78] On August 29, 2016, I. Marlene King announced that Pretty Little Liars would be ending after the seventh season had aired. The second half of the seventh season will begin airing later than previous season, in April instead of January.[79]

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".[80] ABC Family encouraged fans to host a "Pretty Little Premiere Party" for the show by sending the first respondents a fan kit,[81] and selected applicants to become part of an interactive "Secret Keeper Game" played with iPhones provided by the network.[82] The show's official Facebook and Twitter accounts also promoted special fan features, including a "Pretty Little Lie Detector".[83] Los Angeles department store Kitson showcased the show in their shop window.[84]

A tie-in edition featuring the Season 1 poster and logo of the 2006 first novel in the Pretty Little Liars series was released on the date of the show's premiere,[85] as was the final book of the original book series, "Wanted".[86] "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" featuring an altered Season 3 poster was released on December 28, 2012. Another book titled The Amateurs (2016), was written by Shepard is appeared in a local book store scene from the seventh season episode "The Talented Mr. Rollins", was aired on July 5, 2016.[87]

Pretty Little Liars opened with mixed reviews. Metacritic gave the pilot episode 52 out of 100, based upon 14 critical reviews.[88] 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."[89] 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."[90] 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."[91] 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."[92]

Entertainment Weekly had a less favorable review, giving the show a letter grade of "D−", saying, "Imagine the pitch for Liars: It's I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Gossip Girl, but like not so subtle." It went on to say that the plot "hits every racy teen entertainment 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."[93] 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."[94]

Since the series premiere, Pretty Little Liars has remained popular. In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that the show's "popularity is tilted toward women more than any other show in the data — over 94 percent of 'likes' come from women".[95]

The series earned its highest rated episode with 4.20 million total viewers, ranking among ABC Family's top 5 telecasts in adult viewers 18–34, total viewers and women viewers.[96] The highest rated episodes include season one's finale, with 3.64 million, and season two's premiere and finale episodes, each yielding nearly 3.7 million viewers.[97][98][99] The show stands as the most watched series on ABC Family, maintaining a steady viewership of over 2.5 million and currently standing as the only show to yield an average of over 2 million viewers.

Pretty Little Liars : U.S. viewers per episode (millions)

Audience measurement performed by Nielsen Media Research.[115]

Ravenswood is a supernatural teen drama mystery-thriller series and taking place during the original series' fourth season. Set in the fictional town of Ravenswood, Pennsylvania, the series follows five strangers whose lives become intertwined by a deadly curse that has plagued their town for generations. They have to dig into the town's dark past to solve the mysterious curse. It stars Nicole Gale Anderson, Tyler Blackburn, Steven Cabral, Brett Dier, Britne Oldford and Merritt Patterson.

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists is a crime thriller mystery drama series, based on the novel The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard, which serves as a sequel to the original series. Set in another fictional town of Beacon Heights, Washington, where everything seems perfect, from their top-tier college to their overachieving residents and the stress of needing to be perfect leads to the town’s first murder. Sasha Pieterse and Janel Parrish returned for their roles as Alison DiLaurentis and Mona Vanderwaal. The series also stars Sofia Carson, Sydney Park, Eli Brown, Hayley Erin, Graeme Thomas King and Kelly Rutherford.[142]

Pretty Dirty Secrets is a web series, which taking place between the events of the third season episodes "The Lady Killer" and "This Is a Dark Ride". Set in the Rosewood Halloween Spooktacular Store, as the people of Rosewood prepared for Halloween.[143]

On May 15, 2020, through a Looped app, TV Guide author Damian Holbrook aired a virtual cast reunion for the series' 10th anniversary and a charity fundraising effort during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Pretty Little Liars reunion supporting Feeding America. All of the original cast participated, with the event dedicated to those who affected with the pandemic. In addition to the cast, Ian Harding and Tyler Blackburn and the series' creator I. Marlene King is also present.[144] A second virtual reunion premiered on May 29, 2020, as a part of Wizard World Virtual Experiences, hosted by Mike Gregorek. This edition which includes with more cast members from the series including the appearences by Pieterse and Parrish. As they discuss about behind the scenes and moments of the series.[145]

In May 2020, Lucy Hale talked about a possible feature film with the cast of the original series. She also explained about another spin-off series which will feature new characters, and Hale will serve as a producer.[146][147]