Pretty Little Liars Reboot In Development From Riverdale Creator

Sir, it’s the reboots. They’re getting…they’re getting faster. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Riverdale creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is developing a reboot of Freeform’s pulpy high school hit Pretty Little Liars. This comes just only three years after the show wrapped up its seven-season run in 2017. 

This new Pretty Little Liars project will center on a new story with new characters. No network has been attached yet but it is believed that HBO Max is the most likely destination. This makes sense given that Pretty Little Liars is a Warner Bros. TV property. There is no additional information regarding a production date at press time but Alloy Entertainment’s Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo will reportedly executive produce the drama alongside Aguirre-Sacasa. It is unknown if original series creator I. Marlene King will return in any capacity. 

Pretty Little Liars is indeed a pretty important property for Warner Bros. The show first premiered on Freeform back when it was still “ABC Family” in 2010. The series was developed by I. Marlene King and loosely based on the novel series of the same name by Sara Shepard. It was a teenage mystery thriller that followed a clique of four high school girls who are rattled by the sudden disappearance of their leader. The series starred Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Holly Marie Combs, Lucy Hale, Tyler Blackburn, and several other actors who would become young adult television mainstays. 

For a high school-set show, things got pretty dark pretty fast on Pretty Little Liars. So it’s clear why the mind behind The CW’s gritty Riverdale would express an interest. The series has already received two spinoffs, titled Ravenswood and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. Both were canceled after one season, however. Freeform likely would have preferred to hold onto one of its premier franchises but is, alas, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Television. HBO Max and Warner Bros. Television both fall under the WarnerMedia corporate umbrella. 

The reboot is the latest jewel in the TV crown of Aguirre-Sacasa. The Archie Comics content chief developed Riverdale for The CW in 2017. That show is set to premiere its fifth season in 2021. It received two spinoffs, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix and Katy Keene on The CW, the latter of which starred PLL’s Lucy Hale. Both series have since been canceled. THR notes that Aguirre-Sacasa has been looking to branch out from his frequent collaborations with Arrow-verse uber producer Greg Berlanti. This new Pretty Little Liars project could be a significant first step.