Pilot (Pretty Little Liars)

"Pilot" is the series premiere of the mystery drama series Pretty Little Liars. It introduces each of the main characters, as well as establishes the basic premises of the series. The episode aired on June 8, 2010 on ABC Family.

In the episode, the main characters find themselves apprehensive one year after the disappearance of Alison DiLaurentis. When Aria returns to Rosewood, she rediscovers her old friends and secrets of the past begin to haunt them. Alison's body is then found in her former home, and after the funeral, the girls receive a frightening anonymous message signed by "A."

The episode received mixed reviews and was watched by 2.47 million viewers.

Plot

Friends Aria Montgomery, Emily Fields, Hanna Marin, and Spencer Hastings grow apart when their clique leader Alison DiLaurentis goes missing. A year later they all begin receiving messages from the mysterious "A", who threatens to reveal their darkest secrets. Aria has just returned from Iceland after a year with her family and still feels unable to forgive her father who cheated on her mother, who's still unaware of it; she also discovers that her new English teacher (Ezra Fitz) is the same guy she met and made out with at a bar the day before. Hanna is now the "it" girl of the school and indulges in shoplifting, which gets her in trouble and forces her mother to sleep with a detective for her release; Spencer has feelings for her sister's fiancé (Wren Kingston); Emily befriends a girl named Maya, who's just moved into Alison's house. They soon suspect that Alison is "A", until her body is finally found. There's a funeral, at which the quartet are seated together and they all get worried after seeing Jenna, a classmate who was blinded in an incident involving the four girls and Alison (multiple times through the episode, there were references to the "Jenna thing"). The girls receive one more text: I'm still here bitches. And I know everything -A.

Production

"Pilot" was written by series' showrunner and main collaborator I. Marlene King and directed by Lesli Linka Glatter. On January 27, 2010, ABC Family picked up the series for 10 episodes, set to premiere in June 2010.^[1] The theme song for Pretty Little Liars opening is "Secret" by The Pierces, which was suggested by one of the show's stars, Ashley Benson.^[2]

Casting

ABC Family began casting for a Pretty Little Liars television pilot in October 2009.^[3] Lucy Hale was cast as Aria Montgomery in the project, followed by Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings and Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz in November 2009.^[4] In December 2009, The Futon Critic confirmed the casting of Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin and Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields, as well as the addition of Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin, Nia Peeples as Pam Fields, Roark Critchlow as Tom Marin, and Bianca Lawson as Maya.^[5][6] Mitchell had initially auditioned for the role of Spencer and then tried for Emily.^[7] The Hollywood Reporter also noted that Torrey DeVitto and Sasha Pieterse landed recurring roles in the pilot.^[6] The Alloy Entertainment website later confirmed that Pieterse would be playing Alison DiLaurentis and DeVitto would be Melissa Hastings, also mentioning the casting of Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal.^[8] Initially, Alexis Denisof was cast to be Aria Montgomery's father Byron. In April 2010, the role of Aria's father Byron was recast with Chad Lowe,^[9][10] and Holly Marie Combs was cast as Aria's mother Ella. Jenna Marshall is played by Tammin Sursok.^[11] The actors who played Ian Thomas and Toby Cavanaugh in this episode were after replaced by Ryan Merriman and Keegan Allen, respectively.

Filming

After the pilot was shot in Vancouver, filming for the rest of the series has since moved to Los Angeles.^[12][13] The series is primarily filmed at the Warner Bros. studio and backlot in the city of Burbank (near Los Angeles).^[14]

Reception

Ratings

The pilot was broadcast on June 8, 2010.^[15] It was watched by 2.47 million viewers, scoring a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic.^[16]

Reviews

"Pilot" was received with mixed opinions, although the series has gotten a more positive critique over its progression. Metacritic gave the pilot episode 52 out of 100, based upon 14 critical reviews.^[17] The New York Daily News gave the show a positive review, commenting that it "makes most popular vampire romances look anemic", while concluding, "Pretty Little Liars could go in several directions, including mundane teen clichés. It's got an equally good shot at making us care about these imperfect pretty girls."^[18] A writer on Terror Hook has stated that " 'Pretty Little Liars' gets off to a very promising start. Great production all around, the writing keeps the viewer on their toes, and the acting just reinforces it. The overall mystery of the show in the end is dark and unpredictable, even stepping into the slasher film realm."^[19] The New York Post gave the show three out of five stars, stating, "OK, so we've established that there is no socially redeeming value in this series and that your kids shouldn't watch it if they are too young and impressionable. But if you can distract them enough to miss the first 15 minutes, the show isn't half-bad. Actually, it is half-good, if that makes sense."^[20] The Los Angeles Times wrote that the series is "one of those shows that manages to mildly, and perhaps unintentionally, spoof its genre while fully participating in it, and that's not a bad thing at all."^[21]

References

External links

• "Pilot" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Pilot" at TV.com