Entertainment

This Is Not A Drill: Two Of Your ‘Pretty Little Liars’ Faves Are Getting A Spinoff

by Kristie Rohwedder
Freeform/Eric McCandless

Pack your bags, Pretty Little Liars fans, because it's almost time to head to Beacon Heights. The thing that was bound to happen has officially happened: Pretty Little Liars is getting a spinoff. According to a press release, Freeform order the pilot for a new series called Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, based on Sara Shepard’s other book series, The Perfectionists. To tie the two book worlds together, the pilot will include two familiar faces: Sasha Pieterse will reprise the role of Ali DiLaurentis, and Janel Parrish will again play Mona Vanderwaal. So, what is Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists about? If your guess includes the words “murder,” “lies,” and “secrets,” then your guess is right on the money.

Per the Freeform press release:

Everything about the town of Beacon Heights seems perfect, from their top-tier college to their overachieving residents. But nothing in Beacon Heights is as it appears to be. The stress of needing to be perfect leads to the town’s first murder. Behind every Perfectionist is a secret, a lie and a needed alibi.”

It's a bummer Mona had to leave Paris and her doll shop, but Beacon Heights sounds so up her alley. (Wait, did she have to leave her doll shop? Does this show take place in the PLL universe? Or is there a multiverse situation going on?) Yes, this town has murder, secrets, and lies. Mona and Ali will feel right at home. And so will the fans: Not unlike the four Liars of Rosewood before them, the five Perfectionists of Beacon Heights are somehow linked to this murder.

The Perfectionists book series follows five perfectionists named Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker. The Perfectionists have only one thing in common (well, other than being perfectionists): They hate the same dude. When the Perfectionists realize some guy named Nolan Hotchkiss has hurt each of them in one way or another, they bond. And then they go and ramp things up a bit: The Perfectionists imagine banding together and seeking revenge.

What does their revenge fantasty entail, you wonder? Take it away, HarperCollins synopsis of The Perfectionists:

"They come up with the perfect plan to murder Nolan—jokingly, of course. They'd never actually go through with it. "

"And does Nolan eventually get murdered?" you ask. Oh, dear reader. You know all too well what happens next. Come on, Ali and Mona wouldn't roll into town for a non-murder mystery. Remember: Queen Vanderwaal presumably left behind a tranquil life of wearing berets, selling dolls, and monitoring hostages for this.

Quick sidebar: If this show indeed exists in the same universe as PLL, where's Emily Fields? And where are Emison's daughters? Is Ali on a solo mission to Beacon Heights? And if so, why? What brings her to Beacon Heights? And what brings Mona to Beacon Heights? Was it the murder, or was it something else? Will the pilot answer all of these questions? Can't wait to find out.

The book summary continues,

"But when Nolan turns up dead in the exact way they'd discussed, the girls suddenly become prime suspects in his murder. Only, they didn't do it. So who did? Unless they find the real killer, and soon, their perfect lives will come crashing down around them."

Here's a far-fetched prediction: What if the killer is the ghost of Dillon Sanders from PLL's crossover, Ravenswood? Someone get the Grunwald on the case.

Missing PLL already? It sure sounds like the adaptation of The Perfectionists will be just the doctor ordered. And no, not that doctor. And no, not that doctor. Yeesh, going to the doctor in Rosewood sure is a dicey endeavor, isn't it?