HBO Max Orders 'Pretty Little Liars' Reboot
Just last month, there was news that Pretty Little Liars would be rebooted by Warner Bros. Television. Now news is out that the rebooted version of the show would be airing on the new streaming service, HBO Max.
The Hollywood Reporter says that HBO has picked the rebooted Pretty Little Liars straight to series, with Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa heading the project. Now titled Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Aguirre-Sacasa will be writing the series alongside Lindsay Calhoon Bring, who he worked with on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
According to the description quoted by the publication, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin will deal with a new set of characters, 20 years after the events in the original series. The drama will also be “horror-tinged” and be set away from Rosewood but within the original Pretty Little Liars universe.
Variety quotes HBO Max head of original content, Sarah Aubrey, as saying that the rebooted series will be filled with scandal, mysteries, and murder. Just like the original series, the rebooted one will also be based on Sara Shepard’s books.
The creator of the original series, I. Marlene King, will not be involved in the new show, but Aguirre-Sacasa and Bring said they were big fans of King’s work and would be sure to consider the original series as “#CANON” but would be doing something different.
Bring will also serve as co-executive producer on the show, while Aguirre-Sacasa will be executive producing with Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo of Alloy Entertainment. Alloy Entertainment still holds the rights to the original series.
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin will also be joining the rebooted version of the 2007 television hit Gossip Girl on HBO Max.
When news broke last month about a Pretty Little Liars reboot, it was not yet clear whether King would be a part of the rebooted series. King’s transfer from Warner Bros. Television to 20th Television was seen as a possible reason.
The original Pretty Little Liars ran for six seasons on ABC Family and spawned Pretty Little Liars: Ravenswood and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. Both spin-off series never made it past one season.
With the show now greenlit, it will probably start shooting with the global coronavirus pandemic still ongoing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s update for Sept. 25, there are now 6,916,292 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States. The number of people that have died from COVID-19 is now at 201,411.