20 Behind-The-Scenes Secrets From 'Pretty Little Liars'
When one of our favorite TV series came to an end at 7 seasons and had way too many suspects to keep track of, every fangirl felt heartbroken.
The teen drama was produced from a book series written by Sara Shepard that highlighted the drama-filled lives of 5 teenage girls when their leader goes missing.
The show's plot twists, dramatic spirals, and exciting romance keeps it's audience on their toes pondering the question that's on everyone's mind: Who's 'A'?
The girls are tormented by the anonymous character titled 'A' (For anonymous? For Allison?), who makes their lives a living hell. The audience is constantly trying to piece the clues together to figure out who this secret villain is and their motive. That's why we've put together 20 behind the scene secrets from Pretty Little Liars to give you the insight of what goes on while the camera is off. From the character's speculation of what's going on, to on set mysteries, we're sure to give you the dose you need to fill your obsession with Pretty Little Liars.
Check out this list to figure out some of the top secrets from behind the scenes one of our favorite TV series'!
20 The Different Ages On Set
The cast's wide range of ages on set is totally a shocking fact when considering the pilot was based on the character's first year of high school. But in order to find the perfect characters for the show, the directors had to find a diverse group of actors to fill the exact need.
It's fairly common in Hollywood that older actors in their early to mid-twenties are cast as teenagers in TV shows and movies in order to show more developed characters. But the cast of Pretty Little Liars totally exceeded that. While the characters of Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson) and Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale) were both 21 during the first episode, their castmate Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario) was 25.
This is quite the leap in age for an actress who is 25 to play a character who is only 16 but surprisingly fits the part.
Another shocking age difference is that Allison DiLaurentis was only 14 during the filming of the pilot. While that's a more realistic age to play a 16-year-old the directors were worried she would be too young for the role. Even though the main characters varied immensely in age, they still managed to get along and create strong bonds.
19 Finding The Perfect Characters
It's always difficult to cast the perfect actor or actress for a role, but sometimes it's even harder when they disagree with your decision. While thankfully no fights broke loose casting for Pretty Little Liars, some of the cast had their own different views from the directors.
Initially, actress Shay Mitchell auditioned for the role of Spencer Hastings, however, was re-casted as Emily Fields. According to an interview, Shay states “I originally read for Spencer, but there's no one that could've played Spencer better than Troian. All of the girls just fit their characters so well. Don't get me wrong: there are times where I'd love to swap with Hanna's closet. I love playing with fashion.” I think we can all agree that Hanna's closet is to die for, but Shay Mitchell is too perfect for her role as Emily fields that we wouldn't want anything to change!
Brant Doherty, who plays the character, Noel Kahn, also had a difference of opinion regarding casting him for the role. The actor had auditioned for the roles of Ezra Fitz and Toby Cavanaugh, however, did not get the part. We can imagine it sucks to not get one of the leading male roles within the hit series, however, adore each character and couldn't imagine making any changes.
18 Thank You, Ashley Benson
While Ashley Benson is not exactly responsible for writing and producing the opening song for Pretty Little Liars, she is the one who found it! The song titled Secrets by The Pierces has grown to become a trademark affiliation to the hit series. Pretty Little Liars even went so far to buy the actual trademark because it was such a perfect fit for the show.
In an interview with Ashley Benson who plays the character of Hanna Marin on the show, she states that she deserved some credit for the opening song.
The actress states “I have to take some credit here because I was the one who brought that song to the producers and told them 'You have to have this as the opening credits song.'… It's just so spooky and eerie, and it's perfect for the show,”. And thankfully they did!
The song's creepy lyrics fit perfectly with the show's opening that shows a dead body being polished before being put into a casket. The 4 main characters, Hanna, Spencer, Aria, and Emily, are dressed in black standing near one another in discomfort while the song concludes in the lyric “And two can keep a secret if one of them is dead”. If that isn't the spookiest song that fits the series perfectly, we don't know what is.
17 Sasha Pieterse "Hates" Her Iconic Yellow Shirt
Knowing that Sasha Pieterse hated her iconic ruffled yellow shirt might be one of the most heartbreaking secrets from Pretty Little Liars. The audience always got throwback clips to the night Allison disappeared and was dressed in the yellow shirt that her mother Jessica bought her. The top has become immensely iconic and a symbolic metaphor for Allison's disappearance and the confusion as to what occurred that evening.
According to an interview on The Talk, the actress exposed the truth for her distaste for the yellow colored shirt. The actress stated “I personally hate that shirt and have from the beginning. And because I got buried in it, and it got dirty and blood on it in so many scenes, there are 13 copies of that shirt. I'd like to take all of them and burn them. Just ruin it.” Ouch, that's pretty harsh about the shirt that is basically the symbol of the character.
However, we understand her distaste of the top and all the memories it brings back to filming those difficult scenes being buried. It seems as if Sasha has really connected to her character, Allison. We also can't imagine having to constantly film in the same outfit you didn't love.
16 The Hidden Letter 'A'
The directors and creative stylists on Pretty Little Liars did their best to incorporate the letter 'A' on almost every set on the show. This hard work totally paid off as fans get super excited when they find one of the hidden symbols in a scene, adding dramatic excitement to the show.
According to the Pretty Little Liars Sub-Reddit, each episode has a few scenes with the hidden letter 'A's in the background.
Some examples of the secret symbol are in Noel Kahn's cabin, which has a wall filled with wooden A's. The series attempts to incorporate this meaning into the series to carefully hint to viewers that the scene has a correlation to the villain 'A', or perhaps something bad is about to happen.
For example, when the 4 main characters were trapped inside a log cabin that was on fire, it's flames created the letter 'A' when it blew up. Similarly, a raindrop that fell on Aria's forehead made the letter 'A'. Lastly, when Toby knocks over a game of scrabble the camera focuses on the letter 'A'. All of these small moments throughout the TV show remind us subconsciously that the characters are always in danger and they can never seem to get away from their nemesis, 'A'.
15 The Dynamic Set Of 'Pretty Little Liars'
Get ready to have your mind blown if you are an avid fan of both Pretty Little Liars and Gilmore Girls: They use the same set! You might feel a little embarrassed that you have never noticed that the town square of Pretty Little Liars is the exact same one of Gilmore Girls. Many scenes throughout the series interconnect in location. Throughout PLL episodes you can spot different spots from Gilmore Girls such as Miss Pattie's Dance Studio, the church, the gazebo, and Luke's Dinner. As both are based at Universal Studios in California, it is no surprise that Stars Hollows and Rosewood are actually the same places.
The restaurant that the four PLL main characters often go to titled Apple Rose Grille is actually the set of Luke's Diner from The Gilmore Girls! I know that fangirls of both series are shocked and almost embarrassed to not know that they were the same location.
The town square that PLL and Gilmore Girls share is also used in the hit TV shows The Carrie Diaries and Hart of Dixie. Emily's house in Pretty Little Liars is actually also Mrs. Kim's Antiques in Gilmore Girls. If you're a super fan of both shows we recommend you visit the set to get the best of both worlds!
14 Secret Pregnancies
Whether you love or hate the character of Jenna, played by actress Tammin Sursok, she is a vital character in the storyline. Even though she isn't one of the main 4 liars, she definitely kept some secrets from the audience and that was her pregnancy!
The actress fell pregnant during the middle of the 4thseason and had to keep her bump hidden in order to play her role. While the actress played a significant part throughout the first few series, she stopped making many appearances due to the changes in her body with the baby on the way. This is also the key reason as to why Jenna wasn't on the show much anymore.
If you feel like less of a fan because you weren't able to pick up her growing tummy in the scenes, don't worry the show made sure you couldn't at all.
The producer had to get creative with hiding the actresses stomach through using different angles, looser tops, and more layers. There was no way her pregnancy was going to interfere with the buzz the show was getting at the time. Tammin ended up delivering a beautiful baby girl named Phoenix by the time the fourth season premiered!
13 Lucy Hale Isn't Exactly BFFs With Her Cast Mates
The media started buzzing with rumors that actress Lucy Hale who played Aria in Pretty Little Liars isn't exactly close with her costars Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, and Shay Mitchell. While rumors like these so usually spawn when a show turns into a huge hit, there's some pretty solid evidence that it might be true with the PLL cast.
The four main characters are usually great friends off screen and spend a ton of time together. They constantly support one another on social media advertising their friends' other projects or congratulate them on achievements. You can see them on each other's Instagram going on trips, having fun behind the scene on set, or heading out for dinner.
So it became incredibly strange when Lucy Hale wasn't being showcased on the other girl's social media anymore. The actress and singer released her album Road Between on June 3rd2014, and none of her castmates came to congratulate her online. It seems as if Lucy Hale was given the cold shoulder for whatever reason, but fans speculate a fight broke loose. At the time the other three actresses continued to post photos of one another, but Lucy wasn't there. Whether it was the girls shutting Lucy out, Lucy working on her own thing and ditching her girls, or just silly rumors, it totally stressed out the fan base. Luckily everything now seems to be much better and the girls constantly hang out with one another and support each other.
12 The Prankster On Set
Since it might get a little boring on set, there's nothing wrong with having a little fun to bring the spark back! That's exactly what actress Ashley Benson would do on set to get the party started!
According to an interview on fame10.com with Shay Mitchell, who plays Emily Fields, she adores Ashley's on set pranks.
The close relationship between the two is totally something they can't hide and is super cute. Shay sees Ashley as a little sister she never had, which makes their relationship just adorable. If only we could land a spot on PLL and make lifelong friends… we can only wish!
Shay told the interviewer that “Ashley pretends that she gets burned by the curling iron by one of our hairstylists all the time and then they actually freak out. Or she'll throw a little temper tantrum as a joke. The interns are always like 'OMG,'” Poor interns, but at least they get a nice laugh out of it.
It's amazing that Pretty Little Liars had such a prankster on set to make everything a good time! It's especially juicer that the prankster was one of the main characters. We applaud you Ashley for making sure that everyone had a great time on set.
11 Alternative Casting
While some people were totally able to predict that PLL was going to be such a great hit, others weren't. Specifically, Ashley Tisdale did not make the best decision by turning down to audition for the hit TV series.
The actress was crazy popular at the time of casting as was one of the most desired actresses for teen movies and TV shows. However, the actress didn't feel like PLL was even worth auditioning for. Um hello!!! You would have been the perfect Hanna Marin.
Ashley Tisdale was popular at the time for her role as Sharpay Evans in the hit franchise High School Musical. The crazy thing is the audience of High School Musical was at the age that they were ready to transition into more mature content such as Pretty Little Liars.
However, instead, the actress decided to focus her attention on the series titled Hellcats. If you're wondering why you've never heard of it, it's because it never really took off. The show focusing on professional cheerleading only lasted for one season and couldn't compete at all with the hype of Pretty Little Liars.
With the immense popularity Ashley had at the time, she would have for sure landed a role as one of the leading characters of PLL. While it's totally obvious the actress made the wrong decision, she hasn't spoken the topic. It's safe to say that none of the projects that the actress worked on after High School Musical actually took off. Too bad, so sad, but we wouldn't switch out any character for you at this point.
10 Sasha Pieterse Actually Lied About One Very Important Thing
While we all know that Sasha Pieterse who played Allison on Pretty Little Liars was only 14, she was only 12 when she auditioned for the show!
Sasha always had a dream to be an actress and couldn't pass on the once in a lifetime opportunity to audition for Pretty Little Liar. So the liar lied about her age while auditioning to actually be considered on getting the role. According to an interview at a press party for the release of the series, Sasha admitted she fudged her age to actually be able to land an audition and be considered.
By the time the producers actually found out her real age, the pilot had already shot and picked up by ABC family to shoot the first season.
Making the directors be unable to recast someone else for the role. But who else would make such an iconic Allison rather than Sasha! Better yet, the actress lying about her age is such an Allison characteristic that it seems like fate.
With Sasha being left in the show, the biggest age gap was between her and Troian with 11 years between them! This behind the scene secret is so incredibly shocking since the girls are supposed to play characters that are the same age!
9 The Cast Didn't Even Know The Plot Twists
While the internet was swarming with different theories on who's 'A', most of the characters on the show knew. However, while Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, and Shay Mitchell decided during the first season they wanted to know who 'A' was, Lucy Hale decided to keep it a surprise. This totally made the process much more fun to film as she constantly wondered who 'A' was! Perhaps, it was even her.
Even though the cast was able to stay one step ahead of the audience by figuring out all the juicy drama in order to film it, they were still hit with constant plot twists. The characters would constantly receive updated scripts from the producers with dramatic changes in who the villain is, keeping them on their toes. They couldn't imagine how dramatic and twisted the show would get and were constantly at the edge of their seats.
While Pretty Little Liars is based on the book series, the TV show altered many events in order to keep it more exciting and as a surprise. This left the cast out of the loop in regards to the plot twists and all the crazy changes that would occur. It seems like the audience wasn't the only one in shock through the series!
8 The Set Was Freezing Cold
According to the actress Troian Bellisario who plays Spencer Hastings, the set could get freezing cold at times. In a behind the scenes interview with Rolling Stones Magazine, the actress revealed her best friend while on set.
The actress stated “Let me introduce you to my best friend, my coat. Sets are basically like meat freezers because the crew gets hot working under the hot lights. If they are cold, they get to wear a coat. But for me? I'm usually wearing some really tiny dress or skirt. So in between shooting, I basically live in a sleeping bag,”.
While the crews pretty lucky that they're able to keep the sets cool, this doesn't exactly seem like the optimal circumstance for the cast.
This behind the scenes secret is totally shocking since the series filmed in Los Angeles, California. While it's one of the hottest sets, it seems like the studio stays air-conditioned.
Even though it's a pretty funny secret to figure it, we feel the girl's struggle as their commonly provocative outfits would totally leave them chilly. No wonder the cast is constantly wrapped in layers and blankets while behind the scene! We thank you guys for everything you have to go through to create such a killer show.
7 Lucy Hale Was The Most Phone-Obsessed On Set
We always hear about Hollywood diva's who are an incredible pain to work with but it was shocking to hear that many Lucy Hale is one of them. The actress is said to constantly be on her phone offset which may have caused some tension.
While the set totally allowed for the cast members to use their phones offset to communicate with their loved ones and friends, Lucy may have gone overboard. This causes an issue because if the scene is usually on pause it's to deal with an issue whether with the cast, setting, or production. If Lucy is constantly on here phone tweeting, then she isn't working with her costars on how to make the scene better. This loses the series time if Lucy keeps messing up her lines, but isn't bothering to practice them during the free time.
Perhaps Lucy being the most phone obsessed character on set caused by her costars Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, and Shay Mitchell to give her the cold shoulder in 2014. According to Dolly.com, Lucy Hale is also one of the messiest liars on set too. With Troian being the cleanest and most organized!
Whether Lucy Hale is totally phone obsessed or not, we still adore her dramatic performance through the series.
6 Shay Mitchell Before PLL
It's always interesting to hear about an actors or actresses life before making it big in Hollywood, and that's no different for Shay Mitchell. Before landing on the hit TV show, Shay worked part-time as a model while doing some small acting jobs.
We could totally get the vibe that Shay was a model in her past life based on her killer physic making her the perfect fit for the sporty and athletic character of Emily Fields. Speaking of killer, did you know that Shay's parents had nicknamed her killer? Want to know something creepier, that's also the nickname of Emily Fields in the book series based on athleticism and desire to win. That was to be one of the craziest coincidences in the universe.
During PLL, Shay decided to pursue some other acting cameos here and there while launching her own blog with her best friend Michaela Blaney.
These two run the awesome website, Amore & Vita, where they post about travel, food, entertainment, and their overall lives. We think her part-time profession is super cute and totally fits her chill down to earth vibe. Who else can we take better advice from than Shay?
5 The Cast Performed Their Own Stunts
We're pretty impressed to find out that the cast of Pretty Little Liars actually performed all of their own stunts. Let's just say that's pretty impressive. Remember when Hanna got run over by a car? Exactly.
This awesome cast isn't afraid to get down and dirty when it comes to shooting the perfect scene. They're willing to risk getting a few cuts and bruises in order to make the show as dramatic as it can be. Everything from Spencer falling in the church scene, to the Hanna almost drowning, and the endless running around graveyards. These impressive stunts keep the audience at the edge of our seats hoping that both the fictional and non-fictional character is ok.
Troian Bellisario often posts behind the scene photos to her performing these daring stunts to give us a glimpse into the hard work it takes to make everything happen. While almost all scenes on PLL are insane, it's even crazier to know that the actual cast had to perform these dangerous stunts. We know that getting prepped for all of these tumbles and falls must be super time consuming and we applaud you for all of the hard work. We only wish we could!
4 One Of The Cast Mates Is Beyonce's Stepsister IRL
Yes, you heard that correctly. There is a correlation between Queen B and the cast of PLL. Bianca Lewis, who plays Emily's first female girlfriend had recently become stepsisters with the one, and only, Beyonce! Bianca's father had married Queen B's mother, uniting them as one loving family.
Even though both Bianca and Queen B are in their 30's at the time of the marriage, it is never too late to have a sister bond.
Bianca just has to make sure Solange is okay with another sister in the picture.
While Bianca's character Maya was not one of the prominent cast members, her role had an immense impact on the series. Maya is Emily's first girlfriend as she finally steps out of the closet and ditches her loser boyfriend for her new lover. Their relationship is one of the cutest we've ever seen and we totally shipped it. We wish it could've lasted longer throughout the series, however, the two never got the chance to make it official.
SPOILER: However we were heartbroken to find out that Maya is killed by 'A', leaving Emily heartbroken and in despair. Thankfully she has her amazing friend friends to help her through the heartbreak.
3 Lucy Hale And Ashley Benson Met On MySpace
We absolutely love that Lucy Hale and Ashley Benson met on MySpace when they were younger. The two apparently added one another and became best friends on the website always chatting.
If only the two knew that one day they would become cast mates on one of the most popular teen dramas ever! According to an insider scoop, the two couldn't stop messaging each other and talking about absolutely everything. From gossip to fashion these two obsessed over their dreams to become hit Hollywood actresses and they finally got their chance.
Some rumors broke out in 2014 that the gang of PLL wasn't as close as they used to be as Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, and Shay Mitchell shunned Lucy Hale out of their group. This is based on their lack of support towards Lucy Hale's album that was released. Also, Lucy Hale wasn't invited to Troian Bellisario Bachelor party while Ashley Benson and Shay Mitchell were there.
It's always heart-breaking to find out that your dream girl squad isn't as tight as you wished they would be. Leaving you to wonder if true friendship really exists. Either way, it is still super adorable that Lucy and Ashley knew each other almost a decade before working together. We wonder what embarrassing photos and messages they sent one another!
2 The Series Doesn't Follow The Book's Storyline
The producers and directors decided to take a lot of different twists in turns in the TV series to alter it from the original books the show was based on. This allowed for the network to use the iconic and adored storyline while still being able to pick and choose the best scenes that fit the series the best. The best part about the producers altering the series from the books is it kept the hunt for who 'A' is even more fun!
Some notable difference between the TV series to the books is that Toby Cavanaugh was supposed to be killed on by the 6thepisode. Yet, based on all of the fan girl's admiration for the character, the network decided to keep him and figure out how to best incorporate him into the show. Who else can we imagine Spencer with if it isn't for Toby?
There are some other fundamental differences between the characters and their appearance.
Within the books, Spencer is blonde, Hanna is brunette, Emily has red/brown hair, and Aria basically looks the same. However, the producers felt that altering these characteristics were a better way to capture main characters.
Another crazy difference is that Caleb didn't even exist in the book series! The producers created him for the TV series because they found that he would be a perfect fit and would nicely pair with Hanna.
1 The Goodbye Tattoos
This is definitely one of the cutest (not to mention tear-jerking) behind the scene moment of Pretty Little Liars. Upon coming to the end of the series, the 6 main actresses decided to get a tattoo of the initial of their character's first name. They also got a dot right next the initial to mark the end.
All Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell, Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Janel Parrish and Sasha Pieterse got these iconic tattoos on their 'Shhhh… ' fingers to pay tribute to the opening scene and the secrets all of the girls kept together.
Ashley Benson came up with the fun idea and worked to convince the rest of her cast mates to go along with her and get the awesome tattoos. This symbol totally brought fans to tears seeing their favorite actresses bond with one another while paying tribute to their characters. After playing a certain character for almost a year you grow an emotional connection with the person and feel as if you're losing a part of yourself.
What's even more awesome is that both Lucy Hale and Sasha Pieterse got an 'A' tattoo to represent their character's name, but totally has a double meaning for the villainous character 'A'. We wish these wonderful ladies luck in their future careers and promise to always adore the series!
References: rollingstone.com, fame10.com, dolly.com, epicreads.com, abcfamily.com
