Knock knock, an old friend is back in town.Pretty Little Liars: Original Sinhas now premiered on HBO Max, and the reboot is re-introducing one of television’s most conniving and mysterious villains. The assailant known as A has officially returned, and the anonymous blackmailer is sending a bunch of brand-new cryptic texts to high school students in the highly anticipated series with some mean girl drama and high school dances sprinkled on top.
WhilePretty Little Liars: Original Sinis a monster of its own with new characters and mysteries, it’s important to acknowledge its roots. One of the defining coming-of-age television series of the 2010s was the smash-hit ABC-turned-Freeform seriesPretty Little LiarsstarringLucy Hale,Ashley Benson,Shay Mitchell, andTroian Bellisario. Based upon the long-running novel series under the same name written bySara Shepard, the series is set in Rosewood and follows the four high schoolers years after their best friend and popular girl Allison disappears. The four girls drift apart but are forced to reconcile when a mysterious blackmailer named “A” begins texting them and threatening to go public with a dark, scandalous secret that all five girls were involved in before Allison disappeared. The series ran for a total of seven seasons from 2012-2017 and launched the career of all four principal actresses while gaining a devout fan base thanks to the original book source material and its blend of the horror and coming-of-age drama genres. With the upcoming reboot, the series will be leaving behind the sunny, idyllic town of Rosewood and arriving in the new town of Millwood, but it will still be set within the same universe.
The HBO Max original series is co-executive produced and written byRoberto Aguirre-SacasaandLindsay Calhoon Bring. The two previously worked together on the Netflix original coming-of-age horror seriesChilling Adventures of Sabrina, which is based upon the comic book series under the same name and follows the various adventures 16-year-old witch Sabrina Spellman goes on in the town of Greendale. Aguirre-Sacasais also the mastermind behindThe CW teen mystery seriesRiverdale, and at this point, he’s made it clear that masked serial killers and drama-filled hallways are his bread and butter.
InOriginal Sin,the new generation of high school girls featuresBailee Madison(Just Go With It) as pregnant student Imogen Adams,Chandler Kinneyas amateur filmmaker Tabby Haworthe,Maia Reficcoas star athlete Noa Oliver,Zariaas aspiring ballerina Faran Bryant, andMalia Pylesas the introverted and tech-savvy Mouse Honrada. The series will also feature actorsAlex Aiono,Mallory Bechtel,Eric Johnson,Lea Solanga,Sharon Leal, andElena Goode. Set in the blue-collar town of Millwood, the girls find themselves answering for the misdeeds of their parents from decades earlier and come under attack by a masked assailant. Through the various teasers and posters for the upcoming series, it’s clear that it’s a major departure fromPretty Little Liarsand fully embraces the horror genre with nods to slasher classics such asHalloweenandScream. Here’s everything you need to know to watchPretty Little Liars: Original Sin.
Related:‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ Review: Finally, a Spinoff That Could Last
When and Where Is Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Streaming?
Check Out the Horror-TingedTrailer for Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin
While the series has been in the works for a while now with many fans hungrily awaiting its arrival, it’s been careful to not give too much away. The first official, full-length trailer finally dropped in early July, and it’s well worth the wait for anyone craving teen drama and blood-curdling screams. In the trailer, we meet Imogen, Tabby, Noa, Faran, and Mouse, five extremely different girls who all live in the dreary town of Millwood. As Imogen struggles with her teen pregnancy and hungrily awaits the upcoming high school dance, the other four girls all aspire for something more whether it be becoming a ballerina or making a fantastic horror movie. But all their hopes and dreams are abruptly put on hold when an anonymous, masked assailant going by the name of A begins stalking them with threatening messages.
Throughout the trailer, this iteration of A lurks in corners and fields wearing baggy clothes and a creepy mask, beckoning back memories ofslasher villain icons such as Michael Meyers, Freddy Krueger, and Jason. As the girls hide in dark corners and run for their lives, they uncover that their current situation has to do with something their parents did in 1999 while in high school, which then led to a student’s death. As the trailer suggests, the series will keep alive what many viewers came to love about the ABC series while paving a path toward more horror-oriented avenues.
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Season 1 Episode List
Episode 1: “Chapter One: Spirit Week”-July 02, 2025
Episode 2: “Chapter Two: Sprit Queen”- June 21, 2025
Episode 3: “Chapter Three: Aftermath” - July 14, 2025
Episode 4: “Chapter Four: The (Fe)Male Gaze”- June 09, 2025
Episode 5: “Chapter Five: The Night He Came Home”- August 02, 2025
Episode 6: “Chapter Six: Scars”- June 01, 2025
Episode 7: “Chapter Seven: Carnival of Souls”- August 03, 2025
Episode 8: “Chapter Eight: Bad Blood” - August 10, 2025
Episode 9: “Chapter Nine: Dead and Buried”- June 12, 2025
Episode 10: “Chapter 10: Final Girls”- July 12, 2025
Related:‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ Season 1 Episode 1 Recap: A Is Back
What’s the Plot of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin?
Check out the tantalizing official synopsis forPretty Little Liars: Original Sinreleased by HBO Max:
Twenty years ago, a series of tragic events almost ripped the blue-collar town of Millwood apart. Now, in present day, a disparate group of teen girls — a brand-new set of Little Liars — find themselves tormented by an unknownAssailant and made to pay for the secret sin committed by their parents two decades ago…as well as their own. In the dark, coming-of-age, horror-tinged drama PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: ORIGINAL SIN, we find ourselves miles away from Rosewood, but within the existing Pretty Little Liars universe — in a brand-new town, with a new generation of Little Liars.
Watch More Horror Infused, Coming-of-Age Movies like Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin
Based on the series trailer alone, it’s clear that Aguirre-Sacasa and the various writers forPretty Little Liars: Original Sin, are drawing inspiration from various horror classics from the 70s and 80s. As A stalks the high school students through school windows and treks through the woods, it’s very similar to the 1978 slasher classic,Halloween. Set in the sleepy town of Haddonfield, Illinois, three teen babysitters are hunted on Halloween night by Michael Meyers, a masked serial killer who’s returned to his hometown to wreak havoc after escaping the state sanitarium. Starring scream queenJamie Lee Curtisas the final girl Laurie Strode, the HBO Max series even pays homage to the 1978 film by titling its eighth episode “The Night He Came Home,” whichHalloweenused as its tagline on the movie’s iconic poster.
For a dose of teen spirit and mean girls, revisitCarrie, anotherhorror classic from the 70s.Sissy Spacekbroke through with her heartbreaking yet terrifying performance as Carrie White inStephen King’sCarrie, and as she’s relentlessly bullied at school, she soon discovers she possesses strong telekinetic abilities that pose a threat to everyone around her. It all comes to a head at the high school’s prom, where a bucket of pig’s blood proves to be a deadly, deadly, mistake. In the upcoming HBO Max series, students are gearing up for spirit week, which ends with a high school dance at the gym where kids can vote for their spirit king and queen. The trailer teases that the mean, popular girl Karen Beasly (Mallory Bechtel) is plotting her revenge on main character Imogen Heap (Bailee Madison) by planting an ominous-looking bucket amongst the rafters, which can only mean one thing. Someone better have a mop ready.
If you want a modern-day, horror coming-of-age classic, tryFreaky. The dark comedy slasher film starsVince Vaughnas serial killer Blissfield Butcher andKathryn Newtonas shy high school senior Millie Kessler, and the pair swap bodies on one very chaotic Friday after the Blissfield Butcher stabs her with an ancient, magical knife. As the two navigate their lives in their new bodies, it makes for hilarious moments as Vaughn plays a terrified high schooler trapped inside the body of an evil killer, and Newton transforms into an ice queen plotting her next kill in wood shop class.
