Pretty Little Liars is an American teen drama mystery/thriller television series based on the popular series of novels written by Sara Shepard. The show premiered on June 8, 2010 on ABC Family. Set in the fictitious town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, the series follows the lives of Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario), Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson), Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale) and Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell), four girls whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their queen bee, Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse). One year later, they begin receiving messages from a mysterious figure using the name "A" who threatens to expose their secrets. At first they think it's Alison herself, but after she is found dead, the girls realize that someone else knows their secrets—including long-hidden ones they thought only Alison knew.

After an initial order of 10 episodes on June 28, 2010, ABC Family ordered an additional 12 episodes for season one. These episodes began airing on January 3 and ended on March 21, 2011. The ratings success of the first 10 episodes prompted the book series to be extended beyond the initial eight novels.On January 10, 2011 ABC Family renewed the series for a second season. The second season premiered on June 14, 2011, and after an initial order of 24 episodes, an additional Halloween episode was added as a part of the network's 13 Nights of Halloween lineup bringing the season 2 episode order to 25 episodes. The Halloween special aired on October 19, 2011, drawing 2.5 million total viewers. The second half of season 2 premiered on January 2, 2012. On November 29, 2011 ABC Family renewed the series for a third season, consisting of 24 episodes. Filming of season 3 will begin on April 2, 2012. The third season will premiere on June 5, 2012.

Plot

The series follows the lives of four teenage girls—Aria Montgomery, Emily Fields, Hanna Marin, and Spencer Hastings—whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader, Alison DiLaurentis, until her body is found, and they join together again at her funeral - where they immediately begin receiving text messages from an anonymous source, "A", who threatens to expose their secrets—including long-hidden ones they thought only their close friend Alison knew. As the show continues, they conquer many scary schemes by A, such as worms instead of noodles in chinese food. In the season two finale, Mona Vanderwall is revealed to be A, although she has a team of helpers known as the "A-Team".