Back in 2010, the mystery series Pretty Little Liars quickly became a hit among teens and young adults. Created by I. Marlene King, and inspired by Sara Shepard’s literary series of the same name, this production follows Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hannah, four friends whose lives turn upside down when Alison, the leader of the group, vanishes without a trace. One year after her disappearance, the girls start getting messages from “A”, who threatens to expose all their secrets.
Pretty Little Liars starred an ensemble cast led by Lucy Hale, Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Shay Mitchell, and Sasha Pieterse, among many other actors, and ran for seven seasons, ending in 2017. This popular series kicked off a franchise that spawned a web series and two spin-offs: Ravenswood and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. Unfortunately, neither of these productions were as successful as the original, so they got canceled at the end of their first season.
However, in 2022, a new series premiered and completely changed the franchise’s fate, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. While set in the same universe as the original series, this HBO Max production features an all-new plot and characters, starring Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Zaria, Malia Pyles and Maia Reficco. While this series has been well-received by audiences and critics alike, the fans of this franchise still miss and fondly remember the original show. Here is a look back at all of Pretty Little Liars’ seasons, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
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7 Season 1 — 69%
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Pretty Little Liars’ first season premiered in June 2010 and paved the way for what would become the mysterious and dramatic story of the girls and “A,” who seems to know things that only Alison, their missing friend, knew about them. Although it scored the lowest on Rotten Tomatoes with 69%, it proved to be an absolute hit, wrapping up the season with 22 episodes and more than 3 million viewers. Apart from the main actresses, the cast featured Janel Parrish, Tammin Sursok, Ian Harding, Keegan Allen, Tyler Blackburn, and Torrey DeVitto, among others.
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6 Season 7 — 78%
Declining slightly in score and viewership compared to the previous seasons, Pretty Little Liars bid farewell to its fans with its seventh season, consisting of 20 episodes and boasting a 78% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It premiered in June 2016 and wrapped up with a stunning finale a year later. Naturally, with so many mysteries surrounding the series and its characters, tying up all the loose ends was very difficult. Still, with a few unforeseen revelations and some new characters, all the characters’ endings left the audience satisfied. On top of that, the show ended as it started: with a group of girls at a sleepover, and one of them vanishing in the middle of the night.
5 Season 6 — 80%
The show’s second-to-last season premiered in June 2015 and consisted of 20 episodes split into two parts and a five-year time jump between them. As with all seasons, the sixth proved to be highly successful, though views declined, with its premiere becoming the least-watched in the show’s history. As the liars deal with the aftermath of being kidnapped and tortured in the dollhouse, new enemies and plot twists emerge in a story that seems never-ending. And while having new mysteries introduced in each episode appealed to many fans, many felt as if the story was dragging on longer than it needed to. Nonetheless, it earned a solid 80% Rotten Tomatoes score.
4 Season 5 — 80%
June 2014 marked the premiere of the show’s fifth season, featuring 25 episodes that, despite being highly acclaimed, were not as successful as the previous seasons in terms of ratings. It explores the relationship between Alison and the rest of the girls, who, after everything they have been through, do not fully trust their friend or the things she tells them. Halfway through the season, Pretty Little Liars reached its 100th episode, and got renewed for an additional two seasons, becoming at the time ABC Family’s longest-running original series. It ranks at 80%, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
3 Season 2 — 80%
The show’s second season attracted more viewers than the first one, making Pretty Little Liars even more popular than it already was. It premiered in June 201, comprised 25 episodes, becoming one of the longest seasons of the entire series, and earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%. Over the course of the episodes, the main characters start to unravel the mysteries surrounding “A” and who is working under this cover identity, including the major reveal that Mona Vanderwaal seems to be pulling the strings. Joining the cast were Annabeth Gish, Drew Van Acker, who replaced Parker Bagley as Jason DiLaurentis, and Andrea Parker as Jessica DiLaurentis, who made a few cameo appearances in the previous season.
2 Season 3 — 83%
Pretty Little Liars’ third season premiered in June 2012 and ended with an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. Just when it seemed that all the mysteries were solved, new ones popped up, leaving the characters with a lot of doubts, almost no certainties and looking highly suspicious on many occasions. All 24 episodes of this season were highly acclaimed, and both the show and the actors got rave reviews. At the 2013 Teen Choice Awards ceremony, Pretty Little Liars came out on top, winning in the seven categories in which it was nominated.
1 Season 4 — 100%
Halfway through a series, with so many unexpected twists and mysteries surrounding the leads, Pretty Little Liars’ fourth season reached the top score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and turned into a clear audience favorite. Premiering in June 2013 and comprising 24 episodes, this season delivered one of the biggest reveals of the entire series: Alison DiLaurentis is alive. Sean Faris and Roma Maffia joined the cast as Gabriel Holbrook and Linda Tanner, responsible for investigating several suspicious deaths involving the liars.
