We’re Not Taking These Pretty Little Liars Secrets to the Grave

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One thing for certain that Lucy Hale won’t keep a secret: Her deep appreciation for the seven seasons she spent on “Pretty Little Liars“.

Speaking to TopMob News during the premiere of Diane Von Furstenberg: Woman In Charge in June 2024, she admitted that being away from it now has made her appreciate it even more. She added that if there were ever a reunion, she would be there instantly.

It’s not false that she maintains close relationships with her ABC Family/Freeform costars Shay Mitchell, Ashley Benson, Troian Bellisario, and Sasha Pieterse.

In an interview with TopMob in April 2024, Hale said, “I communicate with each one of them,” implying that their paths have crossed at various times throughout their lives, and they maintain contact.

As a lifestyle guru, I’d say it’s quite common that people tend to guard the nitty-gritty details of their group chats more diligently than what their online personas might portray.

Sara Shepard’s novels revolve around a group of four friends who were once inseparable, and the suspense began when their leader went missing a year prior. The series, which first aired on June 8, 2010, has kept fans hooked right from the start.

Just like many other fans of the mystery series, we found ourselves actively sharing our thoughts and speculations on social media throughout its initial broadcast, regarding the unpredictable storylines and passionate love affairs that unfolded.

To mark the anniversary of the premiere of PLL, we thought it would be fun to dust off some interesting backstage details about this beloved series that concluded in 2017, leading to a few spin-offs like Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.

For example, weren’t you aware that one of the main characters almost didn’t get the role due to another actress? Or that Pietrse was initially considered for Hannah’s role until executive producer I. Marlene King found out she was too old? Moreover, can you believe it when an actor took a minor role on the show in order to win back his girlfriend?

Check out these surprising secrets you might not know about Pretty Little Liars.

Sara Shepard worked as a ghostwriter at Alloy Entertainment, the powerful publishing house responsible for “Gossip Girl,” when she conceived the idea for the “Pretty Little Liars” book series. The series centers around four friends trying to cope after their group’s leader goes missing. Interestingly, Shepard was motivated by two real-life instances of women who had been kidnapped. As she shared with Cosmopolitan, her fear of being kidnapped herself led her to ponder, “What happens when someone takes you? What comes next?

2. To catch everyone off guard, including Shepard, the showrunner, Marlene King, chose to compress the storyline from the initial book into merely the pilot episode. This paved the way for the rapid tempo that characterized the rest of the series.

King shared with Cosmo that Sara Shepard crafts fantastic, shocking chapter endings that leave readers breathless with anticipation. He aimed to replicate this suspenseful tone in each episode of our series, confident that if we did so, the book’s fans would be drawn to follow the story on television.

3. The initial cast for the show “The Liar” featured Lucy Hale, who didn’t need to audition due to her connection with the studio from the cancelled CW series “Privileged”. King mentioned that she had a substantial fanbase. However, Hale was initially attracted to a different character, as she expressed in an interview with “Cosmo”, “I was quite intrigued by Aria, but I also loved Hanna; that type of character was one I hadn’t portrayed before.

As a die-hard fan, I can tell you that during the casting process, King revealed, “We experimented with pairing Hale with various actors for chemistry tests. It was then that she had her ‘Ah-ha!’ moment, realizing she truly yearned to embody Aria.

4. Initially, I thought another actress had the part of Emily that I eventually played in “Pretty Little Liars,” but during the audition, something remarkable happened. As the creator of the show confessed to Cosmopolitan, we struggled immensely to find the perfect Emily. We’d seen two contenders on tape, and my initial lean was towards the other one. However, in that very room, Shay Mitchell stepped in and embodied the character of Emily so convincingly that she managed to change our minds on the spot and secure the role.

5. Troian Bellisario initially felt she wasn’t suitable for the character Spencer, as the original script portrayed Spencer differently: “The scene I tried out for had Spencer slipping away from a family dinner to smoke a cigarette with her sister’s fiancé, which unfortunately didn’t make it into the pilot because it was considered too racy!

6. One of King’s biggest disagreements with the studio revolved around a scene involving a character smoking a cigarette, as she shared with Cosmo. Citing Disney’s disapproval of on-screen smoking, she said, “The main argument was about Wren lighting up! However, they permitted us to show him extinguishing the cigarette in a pot plant holder, which was our boldest move.

As a lifestyle expert looking back on my journey, I must admit that I initially aimed for the role of Spencer during the audition process for “Pretty Little Liars.” After securing a few callbacks, I didn’t manage to land the part, leaving me feeling quite disappointed since I was captivated by the script. However, fate had other plans as they invited me back for the character of Mona just about a month later. Needless to say, it was a dream come true, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about embodying this intriguing character.

8. Sasha Pieterse, later known for her role as Alison DiLaurentis, almost secured the part of Hanna, but the producers found out that she was merely 12 years old at the time.

King stated in an interview with Variety, “I foresaw what Hanna would carry out, and I found myself thinking, ‘Isn’t it too much for a 12-year-old?’ However, they can only work a specific number of hours before turning 16. So, we decided to rename her Alison. She practiced reading with some of the other girls as Alison. Despite being several years younger than everyone else, she gave everyone quite a fright, in a positive manner.

As a devoted fan, I recall being captivated by the news that I joined the main cast as the last one to be selected. In an interview with Variety, creator Marc Guggenheim shared, “I remember her walking in for her audition and she was in tears because her show Eastwick had been canceled, and so she came over to this audition.

King went on to say, “We had been searching for a suitable blonde actress for this role, as it was one of the final characters left to cast, and apart from Alison, there were no blondes in our show. We hadn’t found the perfect fit until she walked in…there’s an enchanting quality about her, combined with how the camera catches her and those captivating eyes. In that moment, we all realized that we had discovered our Hanna.

10. The PLL theme song, titled “Secret” by The Pierces, was proposed by Benson following her discovery of it during the filming of the pilot. According to Bellisario, Benson said, “I’d like to share this with Marlene because I truly believe it could make an excellent theme song.

11. Aria’s famous shush gesture in the initial promotions turned out to be a spontaneous idea that unexpectedly made it into the final version, as Hale shared with Cosmo. Previously, she had expressed her frustration about this move on Twitter, saying “Have you noticed my finger isn’t perfectly aligned when I’m ‘shushing’ the camera in the opening scene? It bothers me too.

During the initial season, our captivating group shoot set in a cemetery with each of us looking grubby sparked quite a buzz among viewers who mistakenly believed our series might be titled “My Dirty Little Secrets,” as I recall King mentioning later on.

13. Although Keegan Allen’s portrayal of Toby made him a beloved character, it was James Neate who first played the role in the pilot episode. Interestingly, both roles were recast during the series, as Drew Van Acker replaced Parker Bagley as Jason DiLaurentis in season two.

14. In the novels, Toby took his own life, and the creator initially planned to eliminate the television version of Toby during the first season. However, after observing the audience’s reactions to Toby and Allen, as well as the popularity of the Spencer-Toby relationship, she decided to alter her original plan.

15. Since many of her scenes in earlier seasons were flashbacks, Pieterse often wore the same yellow ruffled tank top as Alison. In an interview on The Talk in 2016, she openly expressed her dislike for the shirt, stating that she would love to destroy all 13 copies of it if she could.

16. Kylie Jenner, who frequently expressed her enthusiasm for the program, was initially offered a guest role in 2015. However, this opportunity didn’t materialize because of a disagreement between Kylie and her manager, Kris Jenner, as depicted on an episode of ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’.

17. Ever since it debuted in 2010, PLL has been one of the hottest topics on social media, with its final episode being the most tweeted-about TV show in 2017.

18. Known for its unexpected turns and surprising plot points that sometimes seemed illogical, the cast and team were encouraged not to ponder too much. As production designer Jakub Durkoth explained to Cosmo, “I installed a ‘question box’ on the art department wall. If you dared to ask a logical question, you had to deposit a dollar in it.

19. Following an early split, Patrick J. Adams landed a minor part in the series Pretty Little Liars, hoping to regain Bellisario’s affection.

[Originally], such a role wouldn’t have been my usual choice at that stage of my career, given it was just a one-day gig on ‘Pretty Little Liars.’ However, my determination to work with her again took over. I threw all my professional resources into pursuing this opportunity on ‘Pretty Little Liars.’ I made calls and had everyone involved in my industry vouching for me, saying, ‘We’re going to land this role, we’re going to land this role.’ My preparation for this audition surpassed anything I’ve ever prepared for before in my life.

I reaped the rewards of my diligence when the actor, known for his role on Suits, secured a part in the second season. Moreover, our relationship mended, and we exchanged vows and became husband and wife in 2016.

20. Throughout the series, various characters were portrayed as “A”, but in the final episode, it was unveiled that “A.D.” (also known as “Uber A”) was actually Spencer’s long-hidden twin sister, Alex Drake, played by Bellisario. In an interview with Elle magazine, the actress admitted she had been keeping this secret since season five, having learned of the twist ahead of time.

For quite some time, people would inquire, “Who is A.D.?” To which I’d respond, “It’s me!” And they would just chuckle. It’s rather delightful to possess a secret that only a select few—Marlene and a few others at the time—were privy to. This way, you can blend in inconspicuously among the crowd.

21. After introducing two brief spin-offs – Ravenswood and The Perfectionists – that didn’t last long, PLL underwent a reboot in 2022. Riverdale’s creator, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, was the brain behind Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, which is set within the same universe but centers around a new group of individuals being tormented by a fresh take on “A.”

22. The reboot was formally scrapped in 2024, yet the original cast’s friendship remains eternal. Back in 2016, the six main actresses got identical finger tattoos as a tribute to the conclusion of “Pretty Little Liars.”

Here’s what transpired, as expressed by Hale in an Instagram post alongside a picture of the group: “We’re grateful to @shamrocksocialclub for their hospitality. We simply couldn’t resist getting tattoos to remember the show! And, needless to say, on our ‘secret-keeping’ fingers.

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2025-06-08 13:17