I Genuinely Can’t Watch “Pretty Little Liars” The Same Way Again Now That I Know These Behind-The-Scenes Facts

    What is it about this show?

    Jemima Skelley
    by Jemima Skelley

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    1. Ali's last name, DiLaurentis, is an anagram for "Liars united".

    Freeform

    Kind of fitting, because the first season saw the four main girlies re-unite to figure out what happened on the night Ali died/disappeared. 

    2. Kylie Jenner was meant to appear on the show.

    Kylie Jenner walking on the street at night wearing a tight green dress
    Gotham / GC Images / Getty Images

    On an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kris said that Kylie booked a small role on Pretty Little Liars. But after Kylie and Kris had an argument, it never ended up happening. 

    3. Rosewood looks a lot like Stars Hollow...for good reason.

    Lorelai and Rory from Gilmore Girls sit on the top step under a gazebo that's decorated with lights, town buildings are behind them
    Netflix

    Yep, PLL and Gilmore Girls were filmed on the same Warner Bros. set. Recurring landmarks in both shows include the town square's gazebo, the white-steepled church, and a few shopfronts and homes. The same lot was also used for Heart of Dixie.

    4. Janel Parrish originally went for the role of Spencer.

    A still from PLL - Mona smiles sweetly at a man we can't see
    Freeform

    Of course, we know that Janel Parrish played the part of Mona perfectly – I  couldn't imagine anyone else in that role! But originally, the actress auditioned to play Spencer. 

    She told Variety: "I think she would have been a really fun role to play. I love how Spencer is always the team leader and the detective of the group."

    5. Troian Bellisario knew about her twin from Season 5.

    Freeform

    Though many PLL fans think that the show's twist ending was pulled out of a hat at the last minute, showrunner Marlene King did do some forward-planning. Troian, who played Spencer – and her evil twin Alex Drake – told Elle that she'd known about the plot for two years. 

    "I was first told in the beginning of Season 5," she said. "Marlene took me aside and told me, 'I have an idea, but I don't know if the network will let me do it...' Then she sat me down and explained this whole ending to me. "

    6. And she kept spoiling the ending in interviews, but no one believed her.

    Troian Bellisario sits in a chair holding a microphone, wearing a pale pink shirt
    Donna Ward / Getty Images

    “I never had to lie to protect the biggest secret on the show. I told the truth and hid in plain sight,” she told Entertainment Weekly. in 2019. 

    “Every time I was asked, ‘Who’s A?’ I would say, ‘It’s me,’ and everyone would laugh and think I was joking because Spencer Hastings would never be A.”

    7. Ashley Benson chose the show's theme song.

    Freeform

    Ashley – who plays Hanna – found the song "Secret" by The Pierces, and thought it would make a great theme song. She played it for Marlene King, the showrunner, and the rest is history. 

    8. And the iconic 'shh' at the end of the opening credits was ad-libbed.

    Freeform

    "[My] shushing the camera was actually a spur-of-the-moment idea that happened to make the final cut," she told Cosmopolitan. She later tweeted that she hates how off-center her finger is in the shot. 

    9. Toby should have died in Season 1.

    Toby and Spencer stand on a front porch, looking somber
    Randy Holmes / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

    Fans of the Pretty Little Liars books know that Toby is meant to die. His TV counterpart was going to meet the same fate in the first season, but because fans loved Toby and Spencer's relationship so much, the writers kept him alive. 

    10. Though Toby was played by a totally different actor in the pilot.

    A man in a suit is walking down a church aisle with Jenna, who is dressed in black and wearing dark sunglasses
    Freeform

    Keegan Allen plays the Toby we all know and love, but in the pilot, he was played by James Neate. Ian, Mrs. DiLaurentis, and Jason were also played by different actors. 

    11. Sasha Pieterse was only 13 years old in Season 1.

    Alison in a photo from Season 1 of the show when she looks very young
    Mathieu Young / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

    Alison the character was 15 years old, but Sasha was just 13. Meanwhile, all the other Liars were already in their twenties. 

    12. And she originally wanted the role of Hanna.

    Freeform

    When Sasha auditioned, she was only 12. Showrunner Marlene liked what she saw, but was worried about her age. “I knew what Hanna was going to do and I was like, ‘Do we really want a 12-year-old doing those things?'” Marlene told Variety. 

    “But also, they can only work a certain amount of hours under the age of 16. So that’s when we just said she’s Alison. She read with a few of the girls as Alison, she was several years younger than all of them, but she scared the hell out of everyone in a good way.”

    13. Troian Bellisario's now-husband got a minor role on PLL to win her back after a break-up.

    A close up shot of a man in a dark room that could be a bar
    Freeform

    She's now married to Suits actor Patrick J. Adams. But back in 2009, after they'd broken up, he went for a grand gesture to patch things up. Adams landed a minor role in Season 1, as one of Ezra's college friends, in an attempt to woo her back. 

    "I went after that part with the full force of every single person that works for me in the industry. I had everyone on the phone, calling, saying, 'We're going to get this part, we're going to get this part,'" Adams said. "I prepared for this Pretty Little Liars audition more than I've prepared for anything in my life."

    14. On set, the doors you see in Aria's bedroom actually leads to Emily's bedroom, which leads on to Spencer's house.

    Aria sitting on her bed, surrounded by pillows, there are lots of books on the shelves
    Freeform

    15. Two whole seasons of the show took place over a single six-week period.

    Freeform

    The Halloween episode of Season 3 took place on October 31. Then the Season 5A finale is on Thanksgiving, while the Liars are still in their senior year, and there's also a Christmas special in Season 5. 

    As one confused fan put it: "Everything from the night of the lodge fire, to Charlotte abducting Mona, all took place in one month."

    16. Sasha really hates that yellow top.

    Ali standing with crossed arms, wearing a ruffled yellow tank top
    Freeform

    The yellow tank top Ali was wearing when she disappeared low-key became one of the show's most iconic outfits (alongside Toby's du-rag 👀), but Sasha Pieterse hated it. 

    “It was kind of the bane of my existence for a while because I wore it so much,” Sasha told Young Hollywood.

    17. PLL was the most tweeted-about show for two years straight.

    Freeform

    It was then surpassed by The Walking Dead.

    18. Lucy Hale and Ashley Benson both starred in How I Met Your Mother as younger sisters to different main cast members.

    Two images: a young Lucy Hale standing beside Robyn from How I Met Your Mother, and a young Ashley Benson cuddling Ted from How I Met Your Mother
    CBS / Via youtube.com / youtube.com

    Lucy played Robin's little sister and Ashley played Barney's younger sister (and Ted's younger love interest).

    19. Each of the four main Liars cheated on their partner at least once throughout the series.

    A screenshot of Aria looking extremely upset
    Freeform / Via youtube.com

    And Aria cheated on every single one of her boyfriends. 

    20. Spencer and Ali are the only Liars who don't kill anyone in the whole series.

    The four main girls in a moving car, looking shocked and terrified, they've all got open mouths like they're screaming
    Freeform / Via youtube.com

    Aria killed Shana, Hanna killed Elliot aka Archer Dunhill, Emily killed Nate aka Lyndon. Oh and Hanna and Emily 'accidentally' killed Noel Kahn. 

    21. And finally, the scene where Spencer confronts Toby about being A was supposedly filmed on the same alleyway set as the iconic Spiderman upside-down rain kiss.

    The top image shows Spencer standing on a fire escape in front of a door, and. the second scene shows Spider-Man kissing Mary-Jane, with a similar fire escape in the background.
    Freeform / Marvel

    Ok, I can't find a real source for this outside IMDb. But watching the two scenes back-to-back, they look very similar...or is that just wishful thinking?