Years after going off-air, to the regret of its audience, the mystery thriller, “Pretty Little Liars” remains a fan-favorite. Despite its widespread popularity, a lot about the series remained a mystery to its wide range of viewers, comprising mostly teenagers and young adults.
“Pretty Little Liars” was an American mystery thriller centered on the lives of five high school teenagers. The teen drama remained a hit for seven seasons, airing on the ABC Family. Ten years after its premiere, “Pretty Little Liars” is still a top pick among the young adult population.
Many ardent followers of the series couldn’t bear to miss a single detail and still have every scene at heart, or at least most. However, there are a plethora of fun facts hardly anyone would have guessed about the movie, and even more thrilling behind-the-scenes moments.
Spoiler— Lucy Hale wanted to play Hanna!
Interestingly, show developer, Marlene King saw Ashley Benson fit for the role and cast her instead. Not a bad move because sincerely, no one would have played Aria Montgomery better than Hale. Thumbs up, King!
Want more facts about “PLL?” Sit back, and have your minds blown!
AUTHOR, SARA SHEPARD, MADE TWO CAMEO APPEARANCES ON THE SHOW
The 2010s thriller, “Pretty Little Liars,” was notably based on the actual book by Sara Shepard of the same title. The author appeared twice as herself throughout the seven-seasons run of the show.
Her first appearance was in the seventh episode of the first season, as Miss Shepard, a substitute teacher. Again, on episode 24 of season five, she featured as a news analyst by the name Sara Shepard.
SARA SHEPARD GOT HER INSPIRATION FROM PAST KIDNAP VICTIMS
Long before “Pretty Little Liars” became an ABC Family bestseller, it was all one little idea in Sara Shepard’s’ imagination.
The author admittedly came up with the idea for the story after encountering two kidnap survivors while growing up. Learning about their ordeals made her determined to someday write a story pertaining to stalkers. A dream come true!
ASHLEY BENSON CAME UP WITH THE SERIES’ THEME SONG
“Pretty Little Liars” cast may comprise the best selection of actors possible, but they have even better taste in music. The show’s opening song was proof of their hidden talent, with Ashley Benson taking credits for the extraordinary pick.
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, co-star, Trojan Bellisario recounted how Benson played the song for the other actors, who gave her the green light to suggest it to the show runner, King.
SASHA PIETERSE DISLIKED ALISON’S SIGNATURE YELLOW SHIRT
If you thought Alison DiLaurentis’ signature yellow top worn in her flashbacks was lame, don’t sweat it. Alison’s character, Sasha Pieterse, also thought so. Sadly, she couldn’t do anything about it, save fantasizing about burning all “13 copies of that shirt.”
SASHA PIETERSE WAS TWELVE DURING HER FIRST APPEARANCE ON “PRETTY LITTLE LIARS”
Unlike most “Pretty Little Liars” casts who were in their late teens or early twenties when they landed their roles on “PLL,” Sasha Pieterse was only twelve.
At 12, she auditioned for the role of Hanna, and performed exceedingly well, winning over the producers. Appearing too young for the part, yet too good to let off, they cast her as Allison instead., King once admitted in an interview. Of course, she tweaked her age a little to even qualify for the audition. That was one pretty little liar!
KEEGAN ALLEN REPLACED THE ACTOR ORIGINALLY CAST AS TOBY IN THE PILOT EPISODE
Did you notice the slight difference between Toby Cavanaugh in the pilot episode of “PLL” and later episodes? No, you didn’t, most likely, because the crew spared no detail when replacing the initial role player, James Neate, with Keegan Allen in subsequent episodes.
TROIAN BELLISARIO DIRECTED AN EPISODE OF “PLL”
Bellisario, who starred as Spencer Hastings in the series, added movie directing to her long list of talents when she directed an episode of “PLL.”
The Spencer role player tried her hands on directing in one episode of the show’s season 7B titled “In The Eye Abides The Heart.”
SHAY MITCHELL GUNNED FOR THE PART OF SPENCER HASTINGS
Not a thought many would like to have, but the athletic, gay figure in the group, Emily Fields, almost got played by someone else. Gladly, the showrunner figured on time that the Emily role player, Shay Mitchell, who was initially reading for the part of Spencer, was best-suited for the role of the sporty team coach.
THE ROSEWOOD COURTHOUSE AND THE ROSEWOOD HIGHSCHOOL WAS THE SAME BUILDING
The building used as the set of the iconic Redwood High school was the same one used for the courthouse. Bet you must have missed that, thanks to the creativity and impeccable skills of the guys behind the camera.
Depending on the set being portrayed, the filming was done from different angles of the building to make them appear different.
ALISON DILAURENTIS’ LAST NAME IS AN ANAGRAM FOR “LIARS UNITED”
It’s not so surprising that the mystery team lead, Allison DiLaurentis, has a last name that plays around the movie’s title. The name, DiLaurentis is notably an anagram coined from the words, “Liars United.” That’s so cliche!