June 8, 2010 marked the debut of Pretty Little Liars on American television; a show is based on the series of novels written by Sara Shepard bearing the same title. The series is set on the town of Rosewood and revolve around the lives of four girls: Hanna Marin (played by Ashley Benson), Emily Fields (played by Shay Mitchell), Spencer Hastings (Trojan Bellisario) and Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale). The four girls used to be close friends, however, when their queen bee Alison DiLaurentis (played by Sasha Pieterse) disappears, their clique falls apart. A year after Alison’s disappearance, a mysterious figure named “A” begins sending the girls messages threatening to reveal their secrets which only Alison could have known.
Each of the girls has her own unique personality and struggles with her own personal conflict. Hanna, who was chubby before, became the new “it” girl in school after Alison disappeared. But as the series develops, she reconciles with her old friends and becomes less interested in being popular. Committed and loyal are the words that would best describe Emily. When a new family moves into Alison’s former home, Emily befriended the daughter of the new residents and realizes that she is attracted to this new girl. Spencer comes from a wealthy family and is depicted as an overachiever. She is constantly compared and is living under the shadow of her older sister Melissa. After spending a year in Iceland, Aria and her family move back to Rosewood. Her father had an affair with his student which Aria knows about and is keeping it from her mother. Aria found herself in a similar situation with her dad when she became romantically involved with her Ezra Fitz (played by Ian Harding), her new English teacher.
The premiere of Pretty Little Liars holds the record for ABC as the highest-rated series debut across its targeted demographics. Some 2.47 million viewers watched the premiere of the show making it number two in its timeslot for total viewers. And in the 2010 Teen Choice Award, the series received the award for Choice Summer TV Show.