13859 replies to this topic

[isiscloud]

I'm so excited about this show! Have been reading the Young Adult books over a period of time and can't wait to see the show airing on ABC Family. Not sure about that since it's kinda racy, but if they can show Secrets of an American Teenager, or whatever it's called this should be fine.

Holly Marie Combs plays a mother of one of the teens. How is that possible???

Four different girls who attend Rosewood Prep in upscale Main-Line Rosewood, PA - Spencer Hastings, Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin and Emily Fields - who were "friends" with Queen Bee Alison De Laurentis are reunited when Ali's body is found and they start getting texts from "A" who knows all, sees all and could tell all.

Gossip Girl for the horsey set.

Also: Chad Lowe was recently tapped to play Aria's father (and Combs' TV hubby). The cast also includes Laura Leighton and Bianca Lawson. How can you go wrong with Laura Leighton in a juicy role?

ETA: Also Alexis Denishof!!


**searched site and Dramas to see if this was already up but I couldn't find it.

Edited by isiscloud, Apr 20, 2010 @ 11:37 AM.

[ora42]

I'm actually really excited about this too - I love HMC. And knowing that Alexis Denisof is in it makes it even better! (I also have to add that HMC and I are the same age and I have a 16 year old daughter so it's not so crazy!).

[patriotickid]

Wasn't Alexis replaced?

[biakbiak]

Yeah Chad Lowe replaced him. I liked Lucy Hale in Privileged so may check it out.

[nme525]

Does this have a premiere date yet?

[Danie84]

This is going to be my summer guilty pleasure show. I'm happy to see Bianca Lawson in the cast.

Edited by Danie84, Apr 24, 2010 @ 8:38 AM.

[isiscloud]

Yes, Chad Lowe replaced AD, which is a shame. Bummed!

This starts June 8.

I know it's not so crazy for HMC to have a 16 year old, but it's just "where does the time go?"

[AmericanDirrty]

The show is going to be amazing!!

New promo:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=x_iOjJSB3FA

[Ayenat101]

I'm excited for this show. It looks promising.

[charmedagain]

Very disappointed to hear that Chad Lowe has replaced Alexis Denisof. I was so looking forward to my beloved Piper and adored Wesley being on the same show.

[ladyrott]

I was thinking the same thing, charmedagain. That would have been awesome! I am a little older then the target audience (err...ok, a lot older), but I am thinking this show looks like it might be a summer indulgence.

[Snark Shark]

I liked Lucy Hale in Privileged so may check it out.

Lucy Hale can't save a whole show (example: she was the ONLY good thing on "The Bionic Woman" remake), but admittedly her being on one increases the chances of it being decent.

[isiscloud]

I'm embarrassingly excited for this show. Saw previews at the theater over the weekend and whetted my anticipation. Unfortunately, I'll have to DVR it, but that's OK.

[spanana]

Count me in as someone ridiculously too old for this show who will be giving it a shot for Lucy Hale. Plus it's summer, so it's not like I have an overabundance of tv committments. I'm hoping it will be a fun little guilty pleasure.

For Lucy's sake, I hope this sticks for awhile. She's too adorable to not be on my television.

Also I remember Ashley Benson (is that her name?) from when she used to be on Days of Our Lives.

[hazza123]

Holly Marie Combs returning to television? Be still, my beating heart!

[Snark Shark]

Cast interviews: http://www.youtube.c...h?v=kkbqnc0fij8

Some of that pushes it a little further away from the Gossip Girl knock off the show is being sold as otherwise. Which is probably a good thing.

[Katise08]

Bianca Lawson, really? Sorry, I have much more to say on the premiere but I'm really tired of 30 year olds playing teenagers.

[KissedByARose]

The Pierces's Secret! I've had that song on my iPod since I heard it in Gossip Girl in it's first season.

I like the show but I really don't know their names or can tell the brunettes apart aside from Aria because I remember her from The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2 (don't judge). And she has NO chemistry with that teacher.

I remember Bianca Lawson playing a teenager in Save the Last Dance and that shit was 10 years ago.

[Peterased]

Bianca Lawson, really?

She's been playing a teen since I was a teen! I remember watching her on Saved By The Bell: the New Class in 1993!

Also, there's something unintentionally hilarious about Alison being played by a 14 year old who looks her age, while the leads are decidedly older and, in a couple cases, really look their age.

Some of that pushes it a little further away from the Gossip Girl knock off the show is being sold as otherwise.

The CW actually developed their own version of Pretty Little Liars several seasons ago. I'm too lazy to look it up, but I believe it was the same season they were developing Gossip Girl.

Months ago, I read the pilot and the Wikipedia summary of the books, so I didn't come into this expecting to be shocked, but watching it tonight did remind me that ABC Family's ads for the show gave away pretty much every major plot point, including the ending! Maybe because of that, I don't really see the girls as characters yet, but instead Characters Defined By One Secret, Which One Mysterious Person Knows About.

Speaking of the mysterious person . . I don't know how or if the books handled it, but is it possible for one person to know all the secrets? One of the reviews for the show said that A. had to be "God or a CIA surveillance team" and at this point I can't disagree with that.

[deadeye85k]

Aren't these girls supposed to be 16? Isn't it kinda weird that the only male love interests we've seen for them so far are both in their early to mid 20s?

[WhitneyWhit]

Well this 24 year old is hooked on another teen drama.

I'm loving having Laura Leighton,Holly Marie Combs and Bryce Johnson back on t.v. I had a huge crush on him when he was on Popular,and he's still darn cute

The four girls playing the leads are pretty good. I loved Lucy Hale when she played Rose on Privelaged,nice to see her back on t.v.

So far Aria is my favorite character with Emily a close second.

I definitely felt some chemistry between Aria and her teacher(who is adorable by the way). I'm curious to see where that's gonna go. I'm also curious to see what happens between Spencer and her sister's boyfriend.

Hannah didn't do much for me. I've seen the "She's a bitch on the oustide but a hurt little girl on the inside" character to many times.

I'd like to see more of Emily and I hope they thouroughly explore her sexuality and not just a couple episodes then sweep it under the rug.

All in all,not a bad show. Will definitely be a good summer guilty pleasure.

[DS1]

What grade are the girls on this show supposed to be in?

If these girls are in the 9th grade and are 14, then that is one very creepy teacher.

I thought the actor playing Wren was goodlooking, but he seems creepy in behavior too. Maybe I'm as confused as the girl who likes him and wasn't sure what signals he was trying to send out, but it seemed like he was hitting on his girlfriend's sister.

[QueenCharisma]

Bianca Lawson, really? Sorry, I have much more to say on the premiere but I'm really tired of 30 year olds playing teenagers.

Seriously, especially because she looks her age. The chick playing Spencer also looks about 30. I fell asleep on the pilot, luckily I DVR'd it so I can go back and watch to see if I liked it. I was too busy staring at people's wrinkles to believe these were kids. Holly Marie Combs looks younger than some of these teens.

[isiscloud]

Having read the books - most of them anyway, I thought they did a pretty good job storywise.
Spencer didn't fit. The girl playing Hannah should have played her.
I thought Aria was pretty good though. I always saw Emily as a little pudgier and not as "exotic" looking.
My favorite of the four:
Aria
Spenser
Emily
Hanna

Liked Melissa & Wren, and the parents. Spot on although I don't see Holly Marie Combs as Aria's mom. She was always so uptight on Charmed, and she's supposed to sort of be a hippie here. Chad Lowe just doesn't do it for me. Wish Alexis Denishof had stayed with the show.

The "A" knows all got to me and there has to be more than just one person, even in the book although it rested on one person - supposedly.

Aren't these girls supposed to be 16? Isn't it kinda weird that the only male love interests we've seen for them so far are both in their early to mid 20s?

So far. Emily has a high-school age boyfriend.

[Danie84]

I'm not embarrass to admit I enjoyed every moment. Loved the morbid opening, even the music was good. I'm glad I'm a newbie to the series, because I don't want to be spoil with who the anonymous person sending the text, which could be any of the starring characters. Seeing all the adults on the show makes me feel old (at only 26), because I remember watching them as young adults when I was a teen. Is Bianca Lawson's character suppose to be the same age as the highschool girls?

[snappleaddict]

I'm so excited they used "Secret" by The Pierces as the theme song! I love that song and every time I hear it I would think of this book series, which my sister-in-law and I are obsessed with.

Overall I was pleased with the premiere. I usually can't stand to watch the shows/movies of my favorite books because so much is changed, but besides the way the girls looked (Emily's supposed to be a redhead, Spencer and Melissa are blondes, and Hanna has auburn hair) and how much time has passed between Alison's disappearance and when the notes start appearing (book is 4 years, show is 1), everything wasn't that inconsistent. I hope it keeps on staying true to the books for the first few eps, then branches out. There are only 7 books so far so that could give them a lot of material. This one was pretty much the whole first book, so it could work.

I think I'm just still having residual anger over Gossip Girl being nothing like the books at all that I'm just so excited that this one didn't mess it up.

P.S. Thank you Creators of Pretty Little Liars for bringing me back Bryce Johnson AND Amanda Schull. I can shout both Popular and Center Stage quotes weekly!

[Danie84]

That's hilarious if she is part of their age groups. I thought she was a hipster who bought the murdered friend house, but when she mentioned parents, it threw me. Anyway, I like Kendra is back on my screen.

I haven't learn the characters name either, but I'm impress with the young actress who maybe a lesbian.

[Elli DC]

I tried really hard to get invested with this plot line, since the show's concept is interesting, and they marketed it along with Vampire Diaries, and yes, I am that much obsessed that I'll watch PLL just because TVD said to. Anyways, I tried to get interested in this, but it was hard, since at first all the girls looked the same, I thought Spencer might have been a parent or older sibling at first, and poor Bianca Lawson has no business trying to pass as a 16 year old. I just kept staring at her, trying to figure out what was wrong with the character. The casting of actors who are 21, 22, and even 25 and 30 to play the main character girls was just jarring.

All that aside, I did like how they threw in this Jenna character and Alison's potentially shady past. I have not read anything pertaining to this show, so I am unspoiled.

[BTW, how do rules for spoilers, book comments, etc work for a show with only one thread? Like other shows have designated Book or Spoilers threads, will I get things spoiled for me if I stay in this forum? Thanks in advance!]

[KaveDweller]

I thought she was a hipster who bought the murdered friend house, but when she mentioned parents, it threw me.

Yeah, I thought that too. She was actually in all the promos they aired, and based on them, I thought she was someone's mother...or at least an adult character.

[CityLife]

I felt the same way Elli DC! After they mentioned the directors of The Vampire Diaries in the commercials I felt like I had to watch it! Plus it did look interesting from the promos. Since I never read the books it was difficult for me to understand a lot of the scenes. For me it just felt super rushed. Nor could I get any of the names with the faces down.