Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists premiered in March 2019 on Freeform and lasted one season with 10 episodes. It was a spin-off of Pretty Little Liars set after the show had ended. This was also the second spin-off. Ravenswood was the first spin-off that premiered during Pretty Little Liars. It only lasted one season.

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists starred Sasha Pieterse as Allison DeLaurentis, Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal, Sofia Carson as Ava Jalali, Sydney Park as Caitlin Park-Lewis, Eli Brown as Dylan Walker, Hayley Erin as Taylor Hotchkiss, Graeme Thomas King as Jeremy Beckett, and Kelly Rutherford as Claire Hotchkiss.

SPOILER ALERT for Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists & Pretty Little Liars.

Sasha Pieterse and Janel Parrish starred on Pretty Little Liars. The Perfectionists was the first starring vehicle for both Allison and Mona whereas the OG show followed different characters. Mona was a recurring character in seasons 1 & 2 and got promoted to a series regular in season 3 of Pretty Little Liars. Even as a regular there were times when Mona was absent through stretches of the show. Season 6 and the first half of season 7 were the most noticeable. Allison was a regular from the start of the series, however up until later seasons most of her screentime was through flashbacks or dream sequences. Allison was presumed dead until it was revealed that she was actually alive in season 4. Season 5 is when Allison returned home.

I thought The Perfectionists would have lasted awhile. I think one thing that worked in its favor was the fact it had Allison and Mona on the show, but it also happened after Pretty Little Liars had ended. This was the second spin-off after Ravenswood. Ravenswood was a supernatural show that was set in the spooky town Ravenswood that the characters had visited on Pretty Little Liars. The show lasted one season. I think the reason the show didn’t do well was because it was on during Pretty Little Liars and it starred Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers. Caleb was a main character on Pretty Little Liars and the boyfriend of Hanna Marrin (Ashley Benson). When Ravenswood happened, Caleb had to exit Pretty Little Liars and since Hanna was not going to join Ravenswood, it meant that they had to break up. Caleb left halfway through season 4 and after Ravenswood was cancelled, he came back in season 5 and stayed on the show for the rest of its run. Also, Caleb and Hanna were a beloved couple on the show and had a lot of fans. If The Perfectionists came out while Pretty Little Liars were still on, I think it would have made more sense if it did not do well. That was not the case. It was two years after Pretty Little Liars ended.

The Perfectionists was cancelled presumably due to low ratings. The ratings were a lot lower than Pretty Little Liars. The show also ended on a cliffhanger. I think The Perfectionists should have been given a chance. By the end of its short run, it only had 10 episodes. Ravenswood also only had 10 episodes. The Perfectionists should have been allowed to have a second season. I think it would have found its footing by then. Most shows take time to find their groove. Pretty Little Liars started out strong and got more bonkers as time went on. The Perfectionists had a murder mystery similar to Pretty Little Liars. Nolan Hotchkiss (Chris Mason) was murdered at the end of the Pilot. Nolan was connected to the main characters similar to how Allison was connected to the main characters on the OG show. Also, Nolan was Claire’s son and Taylor’s brother. He appeared in flashbacks afterward. I think it safe to presume he was going to stay dead on the series since we actually saw him die. That also doesn’t always mean anything either. Just watch Pretty Little Liars. The season finale revealed who killed Nolan. It was The Professor who was revealed to be the anonymous person tormenting the main characters. The Professor formerly introduced themselves to the group by voice. The identity of The Professor was not revealed. The season finale just introduced who the villain was. Pretty Little Liars’ antagonist was “A.” At the end of the pilot “A” sent the very first text message to the main characters that lasted throughout the series. After “A” was revealed, there was “Uber A” who took over. After “Uber A” was revealed, “A.D.” came into play. “A.D.” formerly revealed themselves in the season 6 finale. The second half of season 6 had anonymous texts without a signature. That was the first time for the show to have an unnamed villain. The Perfectionists seemed to follow a similar route with its first season. Up until the finale, the villain did not have an identity. Also, the Professor revealed it was only the beginning.

Since there was not a season 2, we will never know what it was the beginning of. The Professor could have become a compelling antagonist. It would have been interesting to see how long until The Professor were to get unmasked. Would it have been in season 2 or season 3 or the end of the series altogether? If the show kept going beyond the unmasking of the Professor, would there be a new Professor? Would a new “A” come into play? Questions that will never get answered.

In terms of the show itself, it was a good show. It had a lot of promise. I think it really would have hit its stride in a second season especially after introducing the Professor. The new characters were a good fit. I think there were some minor complaints that were related to Pretty Little Liars. Given Allison and Mona were on The Perfectionists, I think there were fans who wanted more connections to Pretty Little Liars and to have seen the other characters. When The Perfectionists launched, Allison was separated from Emily (Shay Mitchell) who was her wife and the mother of her children. Realistically I think that decision was made mostly because Shay Mitchel was not going to star on this show. Emily was referenced but never appeared. It is possible down the line she might have shown up. I am sure fans were disappointed about their relationship status given how long it took for Allison and Emily to get together in the first place. They didn’t officially become a couple until the end of the final season.

There was a bit of a cliffhanger with Mona. Pretty Little Liars ended with Mona holding Alex Drake (Troian Bellisario) and Mary Drake (Andrea Park) captive in her own “dollhouse.” Alex Drake was revealed to be Spencer Hasting’s (Troian Bellisario) twin sister and she was “A.D.” Mary Drake was Spencer’s birth mother and the twin sister to Allison’s mother Jessica. Pretty Little Liars was always a bit convoluted. That added to the fun of the show in my opinion. With Mona being on The Perfectionists, fans wondered what happened to Alex Drake and Mary Drake. Were they still in the dollhouse? Did they escape? Where are they now? That was not really answered. Mona was holding them in the basement of her Doll Shop in France. Her time in France was mentioned and Alex Drake and Mary Drew were mentioned but there were never concrete answers to what happened to them.

It was said that if the show kept going, there were hopes for some of the OG characters from Pretty Little Liars to stop by. Maybe at some point Alex Drake and Mary Drake would have come by to resolve that storyline.

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists was only just getting started. For some reason it seems Pretty Liars is not able to have successful spin-offs. There is a new Pretty Little Liars show on HBO MAX. It’s called Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, however it is not connected to the other shows and its set in a completely new setting with entirely new characters. The Perfectionists will probably never get resurrected, however there could always be a reunion movie for Pretty Little Liars. If that happens at some point down the line some of the lingering threads from The Perfectionists could get answered especially if Allison and Mona are involved.