‘Pretty Little Liars: Summer School’ Creators And Cast Discuss Ramping Up The Horror And The Return Of This OG Character

The new Pretty Little Liars series is back for another season, and with Season 2 titled Pretty Little Liars: Summer School, the cast and crew have upped the horror!

“Lindsay [Calhoon] and I are horror, diehard fanatics,” co-creator and co-executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa said in an interview with Blavity’s Shadow and Act. “That’s what we bonded over, you know, now almost like eight or nine years ago. We had horror in season one and we were so thrilled when the fans of the show … that was one of the elements that people really responded to. So that gave us permission in Season 2 to not only keep the horror element alive, but to push it and double down even further. I would say if you like the slasher elements of Season 1, Season 2 has that and more.”

Calhoon, also a co-creator and co-executive producer, discussed the inspiration for the show’s second season. “We considered Season 2 to be kind of like part two in a franchise of horror moves,” Calhoon told Blavity. “All of our favorite movies, you know, those first movies really set the tone, introduce the villain, and then they sort of outdo themselves so much, like Friday the 13th Part 2 and Scream 2 and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, which we love so much. We definitely wanted to push the horror, but also embrace the summer horror tropes and the sequel trope. I think it’ll be really fun for horror fans as they watch the season.”

Another element that fans, especially those who have been watching since the OG series Pretty Little Liars hit the airwaves in 2010, can expect are Easter eggs that pay homage to the original show. They can also look forward to the return of beloved therapist Anne Sullivan (Annabeth Gish).

Gish said that while she never thought she would have the opportunity to return, it came as a pleasant surprise.

“It was such a wonderful surprise and an honor, really, because I loved being in the show, and it’s pretty rare that you get to be in one iteration of the show and then time passes and life goes on and then there’s a reboot,” she told Blavity.

Gish added, “With the team, in both iterations, both camps have been completely committed to their vision. They’re different entities, but the same. The girls in both worlds have been phenomenal, and I think this reboot, it’s calibrated up. Everything is turned up. They’ve really leaned into the horror aspect, and it’s just like amplified and a blast to join the show and therapize again.”

While starting the season with Dr. Sullivan is the golden ticket, according to one of the series leads, Bailee Madison, there’s so much more in store for OG Pretty Little Liars fans.

“There are callbacks for sure, there’s character mentions, there’s the town of Rosewood,” Madison, who shines as Imogene Adams, told Blavity. “I think we do our best to plan as many Easter eggs as we can to let the original fans know that we see them and we’re so lucky to be able to share the same name and to be able to embark on our journey in our universe. But, at the same time, we want people to feel fully immersed in our experience and our characters on our show. So, yes, there’s definitely some hidden gems in there, but at the same time, we’re just really excited to be back for a second season and to have our footing in our world.”

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School is now streaming on Max, with new episodes premiering each Thursday at 3 a.m. ET/ 12 a.m. PT.