Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

The next great teen drama': Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin' [watch]

27/08/2022

The next great teen drama': Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin' [watch] Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin' revives the multi-award-winning teen drama franchise with a slasher twist.

by Nokuthula Ngcobo

27-08-2022 17:43

in Entertainment

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin' revives the multi-award-winning teen drama franchise with a slasher twist. Image Supplied

Hailed by The Daily Beast as the next great teen drama, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is now available to binge on Showmax.

--

Twenty years ago, a series of tragic events almost ripped the small town of Millwood apart. Now, in the present day, a brand-new group of Little Liars finds themselves tormented by an unknown assailant, known only as A .

Created by Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Lindsay Calhoun Bring, the 10-part series has an 88% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

As Decider says, It's The Breakfast Club meets Scream, and it's a breezy blast that's perfect for summer.

--

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: ORIGINAL SIN' HAS EERIE NEW SETTING Based on the bestselling book series by Sara Shepard, the Pretty Little Liars franchise kicked off in 2010 with the beloved original series that won 38 Teen Choice Awards over its seven-season run, including a Scene Stealer Award for South African Sasha Pieterse as bully Alison DiLaurentis. Two single-season spin-offs - Ravenswood and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists - were added to the cannon in recent years.

Original Sin revives the hit franchise with an eerie new setting, a sharp left into the horror genre that the original took its time coming around to, and an all-new line-up of teens we can't wait to meet (with the bonus of a literal Karen we can't wait to hate).

Pretty Little Liars' cast. Image supplied ALSO READ: Uthando Lodumo': Babes and Mampintsha return for season 2

--

THE CAST The ensemble cast includes a host of fresh faces, along with Critics Choice Award nominee Bailee Madison (Good Witch, Brothers) as Imogen, Chandler Kinney (Lethal Weapon the series) as Tabby, and Mallory Bechtel (Hereditary) as the Beasley twins, mean-girl Karen and her sister, Kelly. Singer and YouTuber Alex Aiono (Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.), and Satellite Award winner Eric Johnson (Smallville, The Knick) are among the support cast.

Pretty Little Liars was a worldwide phenomenon, with a rabid fanbase, and we wanted it to feel different from the original, says Roberto, who also created Riverdale. We wanted to lean more into the horror genre, the slasher genre.

We knew that we wanted to bring A to life in a very different way, making A a slasher villain, akin to Michael Myers, says Lindsay.

One of the most primal emotions that we as humans can experience is fear, says Roberto. When you're a teenager, you start to see the world for what it really is, as a dangerous place. I think that's why horror and teenagers go so well.

The girls find themselves constantly being watched and, Chandler says, The omnipresence of A is very frightening.

The fact that this killer has no face, has no name, is almost like an implacable force of nature, all that adds to the uncanny sense of dread. Everywhere these girls turn, there's a threat, says Roberto.

And the threats aren't just the stuff of horror movies either. Chandler says the Little Liars also have to deal with the internal horror [of] these very real, grounded terrors that happen to women every day.

WHAT FANS OF THE FRANCHISE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO Apart from all the nods to old-school horror classics, fans of the franchise (and Riverdale) can look forward to a tonne of Easter Eggs, ramping up from episode 6, all the way to the final moments.

The consensus from those who've seen the finale is that it pays off perfectly. The final three episodes of the season, says TVfanatic, will go down as the best hours in the history of the franchise.

As Paste Magazine put it, For fans of the original series, this show is a must-watch it absolutely delivers on its promise to bring more of that classic teenage drama to our screens once again, with a sinister twist [and] for those unfamiliar with Pretty Little Liars this show is a perfect place to jump in.

Are you a true Gomora' soapie superfan? Take part in our quiz and WIN R1 000 in cash!
LINK: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/culture/entertainment/next-great-teen-...
See more stories from thesouthafrican

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

Compact new cforce MAX lens motor brings unrivaled speed and responsiveness to the Hi-5 ecosystem

Compact new cforce MAX lens motor brings unrivaled speed and responsiveness to t...

01/05/2026

Panavision welcomes Fritz Heinzle as Vice President of Sales

Panavision welcomes Fritz Heinzle as Vice President of Sales Brie Clayton May 1, 2026 0 Comments Heinzle will support Panavision's global growth s...

01/05/2026

NAB Hires FCC Staffer Ben Arden as SVP, Deputy General Counsel

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/05/2026

ARRI Introduces Compact New cforce MAX Lens Motor

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/05/2026

CPI Media Deploys QuickLink StudioCall

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/05/2026

FCC Proposes to Amend Audible Crawl Rule to Preserve Accessibility

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/05/2026

Republican AGs Join Nexstar/Tegna Antitrust Suit

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/05/2026

Dan Johnson Elevates Precision Editing With NUGEN Audio D...

LONDON, APRIL 30, 2026 The Post Republic London's Re-recording Mixer and Dialogue Editor Dan Johnson has built a reputation for clean, emotionally resonan...

01/05/2026

Adobe Unveils Powerful New Innovations in Photoshop & Lightroom

Adobe Unveils Powerful New Innovations in Photoshop & Lightroom Deepa Subramaniam April 30, 2026 0 Comments Your most tedious creative tasks just got ea...

01/05/2026

Berklee Partners with Santander US to Establish Global Opportunity Fund

Berklee Partners with Santander US to Establish Global Opportunity Fund The $400,000 grant offers students access to experiential learning opportunities withi...

01/05/2026

Student Spotlight: Keziah Thomas

Student Spotlight: Keziah Thomas The Indian composer, who was named the 2026 student commencement speaker for Berklee College of Music, talks about how shes p...

01/05/2026

RT Secures UEFA Champions League Rights from 2027-2031

RT Sport awarded first pick free-to-air on Wednesday nights Champions League and Super Cup finals Highlights on Wednesday nights RT today (Thursday 30 Apri...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

30/04/2026

PWHL Reports Record Growth in Third Regular Season as Playoffs Begin April 30

The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) concluded its third regular season on Saturday, reporting growth across attendance, viewership, digital engage...

30/04/2026

NBC Sports Launches National Sunday MLB Coverage Beginning May 3

NBC Sports will air national MLB coverage on Sundays beginning May 3, with MLB Sunday Leadoff on Peacock and NBCSN at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by the debut of th...

30/04/2026

Clear-Com Appoints Brian Grahn and Ben Turnwell to New Roles

Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live. Grahn joined Cle...

30/04/2026

ARRI Introduces cforce MAX Lens Motor for Hi-5 Lens Control System

ARRI has introduced the cforce MAX, a new lens motor for the Hi-5 lens control system. The cforce MAX is twice as fast as the cforce plus motor it replaces whil...

30/04/2026

Knuerr, Voxtronic, and IHSE to Present Integrated Control Room Solution at Airspace World

Knuerr, Voxtronic, and IHSE will jointly present an integrated control room solu...

30/04/2026

The CW Network and ESPN to Stream CW Sports Live Events on ESPN App

The CW Network and ESPN have announced an agreement to make the ESPN App the exclusive streaming home for all CW Sports live events. CW Sports will continue to ...

30/04/2026

Sennheiser Spectera Deployed on Ed Sheerans The Loop Global Stadium Tour

Ed Sheeran's The Loop' tour launched in Auckland in January 2026 before moving on to Australia, with South America and the United States to follow late...

30/04/2026

Audinate Launches Dante Preset Creator for Offline Network Configuration

Audinate has announced Dante Preset Creator, a free online tool for configuring Dante network settings before hardware is available on site. Presets created in ...

30/04/2026

Yahoo Sports Appoints Jarrod Schwarz as General Manager

Yahoo Sports has announced the appointment of Jarrod Schwarz as General Manager of Yahoo Sports. Schwarz will oversee product, design, and technology; revenue a...

30/04/2026

Nielsen: U.S. Viewers Spent 79.8 Billion Minutes Watching Soccer in 2025

Nielsen has released a new report, Get Ready with Media Intelligence: 2026 FIFA World Cup Edition, examining U.S. soccer viewership trends, fan engagement, and ...

30/04/2026

USA Lacrosse Names SportsEngine Preferred Youth Sports Management Platform Partner

USA Lacrosse and SportsEngine have announced an expanded partnership, naming Spo...

30/04/2026

Telos Alliance To Appear at MPTS 2026 Across Multiple Partner Booths

Telos Alliance will participate in the 2026 Media Production and Technology Show (MPTS), taking place May 13-14 at Olympia London. Rather than exhibiting from a...

30/04/2026

DAZN Bolsters U.S. Ambitions With ViewLift Acquisition, Targets Evolving Regional Sports Landscape

The global streamer buys the U.S. DTC platform solutions provider for a reported...

30/04/2026

Tigo Sports Upgrades Video Infrastructure with Ateme Technology

Tigo Sports, Paraguay's leading sports broadcaster, has upgraded its video infrastructure with Ateme solutions for live encoding, multiplexing, and signal c...

30/04/2026

World Rugby and IMG Announce Long-Term Media Rights Partnership

World Rugby and IMG have announced a long-term media rights partnership focused on growing rugby in the United States ahead of the Men's and Women's Rug...

30/04/2026

NWSL & Overtime Re-Up Gen-Z Focused Content Partnership

For the second year in a row, Overtime and the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) are teaming up through a renewed content partnership to bring fans even...

30/04/2026

ESPN Executive Vice President David Roberts Set To Retire

The 22-year ESPN vet's responsibilities will reportedly be taken over by SVP Mike Foss...

30/04/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 13: Anaheim Ducks' Scott Fausneaucht - Skating with the Ducks of Orange County

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

30/04/2026

Prime Video Announces Multiyear Agreement with Duke Mens Basketball

Amazon and Duke University have announced a multiyear agreement for Prime Video to present exclusive coverage of three Duke Blue Devils men's basketball neu...

30/04/2026

Ratings Roundup: NBA Playoffs Return to NBC Sports up 38%; UFL Viewership up Midway Through Regular Season

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

30/04/2026

Introducing Verified by Spotify, a Signal of Authenticity and Trust for the Artists Behind the Music

Music is evolving, and so are the ways you discover and connect with artists. In...

30/04/2026

First-Ever Stockholm Music Week Celebrates the Industry's Present and Future

Between April 22-29, the first inaugural Stockholm Music Week brought together thought leaders and partners across industries including music, tech, government,...

30/04/2026

API launch the Vision+ console

Iconic large-format console upgraded API's iconic Vision console has just been treated to an overhaul that aims to meet the demands of today's profe...

30/04/2026

Lewitt introduce the LCT 440 Pure stereo pair

Comes complete with miking accessories The LCT 440 Pure has proven to be a popular member of Lewitt's mic line-up, offering impressive technical perform...

30/04/2026

SynthFest UK 2026 Announced

24 October 2026 at The Octagon, Sheffield Now in its eighth year, SynthFest UK is the largest event of its kind in the UK, bringing together the top keyboar...

30/04/2026

SBS & NITV LEAD NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 2026 WITH LANDMARK GULPILIL DOCUMENTARY

SBS & NITV LEAD NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 2026 WITH LANDMARK GULPILIL DOCUMEN...

30/04/2026

Rohde & Schwarz equips new Terminal 3 at Frankfurt Airport with security scanners

Rohde & Schwarz equips new Terminal 3 at Frankfurt Airport with security scanner...

30/04/2026

Jennifer Ehle and Alex Hassell join the cast of ITV's propulsive lunar thriller First Woman

Jennifer Ehle (Contagion, Zero Dark Thirty) and Alex Hassell (Rivals, Wasteman, ...

30/04/2026

L3Harris Technologies Reports Strong First Quarter 2026 Results

MELBOURNE, Fla., April 30, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) reports first quarter 2026 results. Highlights Orders of $7.8 billion; book-to-bill of 1....

30/04/2026

Golf Craft Interview: A1s Florian Brown and James Deason

Behind the Broadcast: The Sound of Elite Golf Golf is gaining popularity; the 2025 Ryder Cup achieved record-breaking viewing figures in the UK specifically, wi...