Plot summary:

Based off the novel series written by Sara Shepard, the series revolves around a clique of four high school girls in Rosewood, Pennsylvania. Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer were a tight knit group until their leader Alison died in an accident. They are reunited when they receive threats from a mysterious person called “A” in the form of texts and letters that would unveil the secrets of their clique.Casting:

Casting for Pretty Little Liars began as far back as October 2009. Lucy Hale was picked as Aria Montgomery, Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz, and Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings in November 2009. Ashley Benson and Shay Mitchell were confirmed for the respective roles Hanna Marin and Emily Fields in December of 2009. Additional supporting actors in the show include Bianca Lawson as Maya St. Germain, Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin, Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery, Nia Peeples as Pam Fields, Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal, and Andrea Parker as twin sisters Jessica DiLaurentis and Mary Drake.Production:

The series was pitched to producers as Desperate Housewives for teens. Pretty Little Liars was originally pitched as a TV series by Alloy Entertainment, a book packaging company. Sara Shepard met with Alloy executives where she was given the property to develop it into a book series. Warner Horizon Television and Alloy both held an interest to develop Pretty Little Liars in televised format. Plans were drawn up to air it on The WB network in 2005 using a different writer prior to its shutdown and reestablishment as The CW network in 2006. Publishing company HarperTeen released the first series novel in October 2006. Alloy Entertainment made an announcement in June 2008 that a pilot episode was being developed for Pretty Little Liars for ABC Family, with the novels adapted for TV viewing. The pilot episode was filmed in Vancouver, and all subsequent filming occurred in Los Angeles. The Warner Bros studio and the backlot of Burbank near Los Angeles served as the primary filming locations.

Michael Suby composed the music for the show, and is known for his previous works in The Vampire Diaries and Kyle XY. Ashley Benson suggested The Pierces’ ‘Secret’ as the theme song for the show. Other notable artists that had pieces in the show include Selena Gomez & the Scene, OneRepbublic, Sara Bareilles, McFly, The Fray and Christina Perri. 2AM Club and ZZWard also had performances in episodes throughout the series. The TV soundtrack was officially released in February 2011.Review:

While Pretty Little Liars is geared mainly towards teen girls, watching it as a guy gave me a little bit of understanding of the female perspective a little bit. I recall a time in which a lot of the pretty girls back in my own high school days were fighting for popularity and attention (and this was before Facebook and Instagram came to the forefront).

Pretty Little Liars is a self-reflection of sorts. For every lie that is told within the series something is bound to rear its ugly head. You can empathize with the girls as they try to actually live out their lives while struggling against ‘A’.Trivia:

• The view of the town in Pretty Little Liars is also used in The Vampire Diaries and Gilmore Girls.
• The Pierces’ “Secret” is heard in one episode of Season 1 of Gossip Girl. The artists themselves made an appearance on that episode.
• Pretty Little Liars was the most tweeted show until it was surpassed by The Walking Dead.
• Some of the actresses in the role wanted to do different characters before the show began. Lucy Hale originally auditioned for the role of Hanna, which went to Ashley Benson instead. Tammin Sursok auditioned for the role of Spencer Hastings, but was instead placed in the role of Jenna Marshall.
• Ashley Benson suggested The Pierces’ ‘Secret’ as the main theme song for the series.
• Actresses Sasha Pieterse and Tammin Sursok were both born in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• Many of the actors/actresses made appearances on other shows. Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson, Laura Leighton, Nolan North, Andrea Parker, Sasha Pieterse, Torrey Devitto, and Lesley Fera guest starred on CSI Miami. Lucy Hale and Ashley Benson also had guest roles in How I Met Your Mother, in which Ashley played Barney’s younger sister and a love interest of Ted, while Lucy played as Robin’s little sister.
• Lucy Hale and Ashley Benson knew each other in their youth and grew up to be friends in real life.
• There are many literature references in the show, where Ezra Fitz shares his name with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound. Spencer Hastings shares her name with modern English poet Edmund Spenser.