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 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.
Five teenage girls living in Millwood, Pennsylvania, come together 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. Things took a dark, twisted, brutal turn, when Imogen finds her own mother dead in the bath, with blood. And a red note saying "A" with capital letters.
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.
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.
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.
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 ' 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 somethingâÂÂs amiss, itâÂÂs probably already too late."
The Original Sin and Summer School soundtrack albums are both available on WaterTower Music.
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.
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.