Some TV shows and series you think about and are considered “classics” for millennials, and centennials are usually what we would consider “teen” series.
Although we are millennials and can fall under this category of people who love them, we are not that close to the age of loving the common teen dramas and romances, but hey, plot twist: We do love them.
We know that for way too many people, series like “Vikings,” “Game of Thrones,” and “Sherlock” are more appealing due to the audience they are actually for and all the topics and genres they cover.
However, if you take the time to watch some of the “cheesy” series out there like Pretty Little Liars, you will have a great time even if you aren’t a big fan.
In fact, we have been trapped for many in the same genres and kind of similar themes, including the one we will be reviewing today.
The show is very popular even after finishing in 2017, and for many, it is almost of a heretic action to not know the series at all or having watched at least a couple of episodes.
If you haven’t watched any, don’t worry, we won’t tag you as a heretic, but we want to do our best to convince you, in this case, to give it a try.
Thus, let’s get down to business and review this show without potential spoilers, shall we?
Falling in the Plot: An Expected Theme?
Does it have romance in its genres? Yes. What about drama? Absolutely.
As we mentioned before, we are dealing with one of those teen dramas you might hate or love; there’s no middle point, so you will need to keep your mind open for this to dive into the plot.
What we can tell you in advance is: It may have more than what you would expect.
Where to start? Never trust a pretty girl with a dark secret.
Based on the young adult novels by Sara Shepard, and set in the fictional town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, we are at Rosewood High with a group of five high school girls: Aria, Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Alison, who you guessed right, are all quite pretty.
Alison was known as the “Queen Bee” and fell into the category of being a popular high school student who was the group leader.
With Alison as the center and confidence of the other four girls, they shared all their secrets with their queen. They wouldn’t expect that Alison disappeared one Labor Day night while the girls were celebrating a party.
The four girls split up with their relationship estranged after Alison’s disappearance. However, when they begin receiving messages from “A” sent to each girl one year later, in which each of them contains secrets only Alison knew, things start to change.
Scared of what could happen and with their deepest secrets on the verge of being disclosed (or not?), the four girls reunite and wonder: Could this be Alison? If not, who is it?
The girls meet up to discover who “A” is and stop them from divulging their secrets to keep their perfect lives intact, though they are far from being ideal. Will they succeed or continue remaining estranged friends while a mysterious figure seems to follow them?
Cast Members & Production: Bringing the Lies to Life
With the series running from 2010 to 2017, we have a total of 7 seasons to cover for a total of 160 episodes, and for such a successful teen drama, you sure need a cast that can meet its part, and it sure did.
But before we get to this point, what about going over the team behind cameras that made it possible as well?
The team involved six members as executive producers: I. Marlene King (who is also the creator), Charlie Craig, Oliver Goldstick, Joseph Dougherty, Leslie Morgenstein, and Bob Levy.
We can find the popular Lisa Cochran-Neilan, Maya Goldsmith, Carol Dunn Trussell, Bryan M. Holdman, and Hynndie Wali as producers. At the same time, the cinematography was handled by Dana Gonzáles, Larry Reibman, Buzz Feitshans IV, and Geoffrey Haley.
For the production companies, we have Warner Horizon Television as the main one, while Alloy Entertainment, Long Lake Productions, and Russian Hill Productions took part as well.
With Warner Bros. Television Distribution being the only company in charge of the distribution, we are set with Freeform’s original platform for airing.
With all the team in the production done, let’s jump to the members you are interested in the most:
- Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings.
- Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin.
- Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery.
- Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields.
- Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis
- Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery.
- Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz.
- Bianca Lawson as Maya St. Germain.
- Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin.
And many more had appearances in all the 160 episodes of the series. In contrast, others like Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings and Torrey DeVitto as Melissa Hastings had recurring appearances on the show.
You might know some of them from new shows like “Chicago Med,” in the case of Torrey DeVitto.
Popularity & Numbers: How Popular Was It?
Suppose we have to base our opinion on the regular channels for critics like Metacritic, Daily News, and Rotten Tomatoes. In that case, we will have a hard time coming with actual levels of popularity and rates.
For the first episode, Metacritic wasn’t too gentle since it gave it a 54 out of 100, and this remained for the rest of season one.
Meanwhile, Rotten Tomatoes set the show at 69% out of 100% to bring it a bit higher than the previous one.
But what about the public?
Fans of the young adult novels were ecstatic for the release, and although the first episode was a bit slow for what most people expected, it did bring good critics and reviews with it.
In fact, some individuals rated it quite well right after the first episode. For season one, they remained with these imperfect pretty girls’ opinion of being an “imperfect yet perfect” story.
A bit confusing, but you get the point.
Fortunately, critics improved from season two to the finale season when Rotten Tomatoes gave a solid 80%+ and with 100% for the fourth season.
Meanwhile, Metacritic didn’t provide a specific number, but reviews in other channels and fans were even more positive than the previous season.
Now, when it comes to actually focusing on popularity, ratings are always the important part.
Like most TV shows and series, Pretty Little Liars performed well during most of its first seasons, with over 3 million viewers throughout the standard 20+ episodes per season.
However, the number decreased around the fifth season to 2.3 million, and for the last one, only 1.4 million viewers were registered despite continuing with great reviews.
One thing we need to mention here is: The re-broadcast of the series boomed pretty much to the point of being ranked #1 among viewers in all demographics in early 2019.
Sadly, we can’t continue providing information about numbers when it comes to how much the production companies and TV shows made overall since this information is not always disclosed, and this was the case for the series.
Cast Salaries & Current Net Worth
We owe you the total earnings for the entire show, but we won’t be missing how much the stars earned for starring in it.
Just like all TV shows, you will notice they get more money based on the season and the series popularity and ratings.
Thus, it is natural to have a low number during the first two seasons, but it increases exponentially around season three or four.
In the case of the group of five (or more like four) girls, they were earning about $42.000 per episode during the last two seasons, which allowed them to earn almost $1 million for the entire season.
For the rest of the members, most of their salaries ranged between $10.000 to $30.000 as recurring and main cast members but without the same starring level.
Lucy Hale and Troian Bellisario’s net worths are among the highest ones today, ranging from $6 to $10 million.
However, Hale is one of the most requested actresses and actors among the cast and has appeared in several starring roles since the ending of Pretty Little Liars.
The other girls’ net worth stands at about $2 to $4 million, and for the recurring and secondary cast, the numbers range from $500.000 to $1.5 million.
5 Secret Facts About Pretty Little Liars
- The author of the original books, Sara Shepard, made a cameo on the show once in season one as a cover teacher.
- Troian was one of the oldest members of the gang (in real life) and even older than her teacher in the show. Hilarious!
- Ashley Benson helped the production team to select the iconic show’s theme song.
- Lucy Hale and Sasha Pieterse wanted the role of Hanna when they first auditioned.
- The surname “DiLaurentis” is an anagram for “Liars united.”
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