Network: Freeform (formerly ABC Family)
Episodes: 160 (hour)
Seasons: Seven

TV show dates: June 8, 2010 — June 27, 2017
Series status: Ended

Performers include: Troian Avery Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Holly Marie Combs, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell, Bianca Lawson, Chad Lowe, Tammin Sursok, Chuck Hittinger, Ian Harding, Julian Morris, Torrey DeVitto, Janel Parrish, Amber Borycki, Laura Leighton, and Sasha Pieterse.

TV show description:      
This TV show is based on a series of novels of the same name that were written by Sara Shepard. The drama focuses on four girls who watch their clique fall apart after their leader, Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse), disappears during a slumber party. A year later, her body turns up in the backyard of her old home, bringing the other girls together again. They start getting messages by someone using just the letter “A” as a name and threatening to expose long hidden secrets that only their former leader knew.

After a year of living abroad with her parents and younger brother, Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale) moves back to town. She meets a man she instantly connects with, Ezra Fritz (Ian Harding), and they begin a love affair. The next day, as she rejoins her old school, she learns that her lover is her English teacher. She gets a message from “A” about having an affair with her teacher. She tries to transfer out of Ezra’s class, but the two end up getting back together.

Aria’s parents, Byron (Chad Lowe) and Ella (Holly Marie Combs), also have a son named Mike (Cody Christian) and a troubled marriage. Ella still doesn’t know about the affair Byron had before their move to Europe. The woman he had the affair with, Meredith (Amanda Schull), has now befriended his wife.

Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson) became the group’s leader after Alison disappeared, and then, in order to gain popularity, distanced herself from the others in the clique. She had been heavy when she was younger and lost weight to fit in. Alison used to remind her to watch her food intake and it made their relationship strained.

At the mall, Hanna and another girl, Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parrish), steal a pair of sunglasses and seem to get away with it — until the police come to Hanna’s door. Her mother Ashley (Laura Leighton) tells her that she’ll sort it out and then beds the cop. The officer then interrogates Hanna more than the others girls about Alison’s disappearance. Sean (Chuck Hittinger), Hanna’s boyfriend, stops having sex with her so she gets revenge by crashing his car.

The smart one in the group is Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario). She has to give up the loft she created when her sister Melissa (Torrey DeVitto) and her boyfriend, Wren (Julian Morris), move in while waiting for the renovation of their home to be finished. It causes conflict between the siblings and Spencer is also attracted to Wren. She gets warned by “A” not to kiss, or she will tell. She does it anyway, and her sister catches her, forcing Wren to move out. Spencer steals one of her sister’s old school papers, submits it under her own name, and then gets nominated for a national award for it. On the night that Alison disappeared, Spencer woke before the other girls and went looking for her missing friend alone.

Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) is a competitive swimmer. Some new neighbors have moved into Alison’s old house, including Maya St. Germain (Bianca Lawson). She asks Emily for some help unpacking, and the two end up smoking some weed and sharing a kiss. “A” sends a message to Emily revealing that she’s curious about her sexuality and indicates Alison and she had kissed once as well. Emily’s boyfriend gets very possessive of her and tries to force her to have sex with him, causing Emily to end their relationship. After Emily and Maya kiss again, this time in a photo booth, someone steals the picture and prints off hundreds of copies.

What do you think? Do you like the Pretty Little Liars TV show? Do you think it should have ended with season seven? Would you have watched an eighth season?

Image courtesy ABC Family.