A 'Pretty Little Liars' Reboot Is Reportedly Happening, With A 'Riverdale' Spin
When Pretty Little Liars debuted back in 2010 on ABC Family (now Freeform), it was a sensation. The mystery featured four high school girls — Spencer Hastings, Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, and Emily Fields — trying to figure out who knows their deepest secrets after their clique leader, Alison DiLaurentis, disappeared. It ran a remarkable seven seasons, but its time off the air apparently won't last long, because a Pretty Little Liars reboot is reportedly happening. And there's a big twist: it's reportedly being spearheaded by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the man best known for Riverdale. (Elite Daily reached out to Aguirre-Sacasa for confirmation of these reports but didn't hear back in time for publication.)
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the decision to revive the series comes from Warner Bros. Television, which produced the initial series, even though it ran on a Disney-owned channel. Going with Aguirre-Sacasa is a case of keeping things in the family, as Riverdale and its recent spinoff, Katy Keene, are both WBTV productions on The CW, which is half-owned by parent company Warner Media. The series is reportedly being eyed to stream on HBO Max, but that's not a lock, meaning The CW or Netflix (or even Freeform) could bid for it. The original series creator, I. Marlene King, is no longer with Warner, having moved to Disney last year, and as of now, it's not clear whether she will be involved with the new series.
The reported details about the show suggest she might not. The ABC Family/Freeform series was loosely based on the Pretty Little Liars novels by Sara Shepard, using the same characters of Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Emily, and the same scenario of a mysterious blackmailer who may or may not be their former friend Alison. According to THR, this reboot of Pretty Little Liars plans to toss all that out the window a feature a new roster of characters and a new plot.
That said, Aguirre-Sacasa is not a bad choice for the over-the-top mystery drama, which was defined by dark and soapy, sometimes hard-to-believe turns. Aguirre-Sacasa's current hit Riverdale is a show that treads that same path, so this could be a marriage made in television heaven.
This reported revival of PLL comes after two attempts at sequels fell by the wayside. Both Ravenswood and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists were canceled by Freeform after only one season each. Hopefully this reported revival will not suffer the same fate.
It's still too early to say when this reported show will come to the small screen, but it probably won't be until at least 2022.
