Television series

Pretty Little Liars

Name: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Romance, Thriller, Mystery
Released: 2010
Cast: Troian Bellisario, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell, Ashley Benson, Ian Harding

Pretty Little Liars is glossy small-town paranoia stretched across seven soapy seasons — four best friends stalked by an anonymous tormentor who seems to know everything, while a dead queen bee's secrets refuse to stay buried. It's pulpy, twisty, occasionally absurd, and built for marathon viewing. Good for anyone who wants mystery with sleepovers, prom dresses, and a text message that ruins someone's life every episode.

TVMaze rating

7.4

If you liked this

Gossip Girl2007

Same anonymous-narrator dread, same glossy privilege, same friend group hiding secrets from each other — if you loved the paranoia of 'A,' Gossip Girl's blog posts scratch the same itch with better fashion and bitchier one-liners.

But Less mystery, more melodrama — the central 'who is GG' reveal is famously unsatisfying and the show basically admits it.

Veronica Mars2004

A sharper, funnier teen detective who actually investigates instead of just reacting to texts — clever plotting, real stakes, and a central mystery that actually pays off.

But Noir-ish and dialogue-heavy rather than soapy; less romance, less camp, more procedural bite.

Riverdale2017

Small-town secrets, a murdered classmate, four friends pulled into conspiracy — Riverdale takes PLL's DNA and injects it with even more absurdity and neon-lit teen noir.

But It gets genuinely unhinged by later seasons — cults, superpowers, time jumps — if you want grounded mystery, this isn't it.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Twin Peaks1990

PLL's whole engine — a beautiful dead girl whose secret life destroys everyone who loved her, a town full of people who knew more than they said — is lifted almost wholesale from this show. Twin Peaks did it first, dreamier and stranger.

Same premise two decades before Rosewood — a dead homecoming-queen type whose hidden double life cracks open a picture-perfect town — rendered as unsettling, surreal art-television rather than glossy soap.

But Slower, weirder, and genuinely eerie rather than fun; David Lynch's detours into the abstract will frustrate anyone wanting a straight mystery.

The Vampire Diaries2009

Same CW-adjacent small-town-with-a-body-count energy and tangled friend-group romance, plus vampires — great if you want the soap turned up and the mystery turned into mythology.

But Supernatural from episode one, so the grounded 'is this really happening' tension PLL trades on just isn't here.

Desperate Housewives2004

A dead woman narrates her old neighborhood's secrets from beyond the grave — the same structure of buried suburban rot, just with grown women instead of teenagers.

But Broader comedy, an older cast, and a soapier tone that trades teen anxiety for domestic farce.

You2018

Swaps the anonymous group stalker for one very personal, very charming one — if the 'someone is always watching' dread of PLL got under your skin, this pushes it further and darker.

But Genuinely upsetting in places, told from the stalker's point of view, and much less fun overall.

Scream: The TV Series2015no page yet

Teen friend group, masked tormentor, small-town secrets spilling out one murder at a time — basically PLL with a body count and a knife.

But More slasher than mystery-soap; the horror beats overshadow the relationship drama PLL fans often watch for.

Big Little Lies2017

Beautiful town, buried secrets, a death hanging over everything, women protecting each other and themselves — this is the formula with an adult budget and adult stakes.

But Prestige pacing and a much heavier, less pulpy tone; no romance-driven cliffhangers, more grief and rage.

Cruel Intentions1999

Ruthless teens weaponizing secrets and seduction against each other in one sharp, nasty package — if you love the manipulation games at PLL's core, this condenses them into two vicious hours.

But A film, not a binge — no season-long mystery, and its cruelty is far more overt and far less romantic.

The Keepers2017

Trade the fictional 'A' for a real unsolved case, and PLL's central question — who benefits from everyone staying quiet — becomes a true story about a murdered nun and a town that chose silence.

A devastating, meticulous documentary series about a real murder and the decades of institutional secrets that kept it unsolved — the same 'small town hiding something enormous' feeling, but true and much heavier.

But This is a real crime with real victims — grim, slow-moving, and emotionally exhausting rather than escapist.

Heathers1989

Same core scenario as PLL's origin story — teenage girls concealing their role in a classmate's death and living inside the lie — but played as pitch-black high-school satire instead of earnest mystery-romance.

The blackest of comedies about popular girls, a body count, and the lies that hold a friend group together — the same guilty-secret glue as PLL, just with croquet mallets instead of texts from A.

But A tight ninety minutes of cynicism and satire, not a mystery to get lost in, and its humor is savage rather than sincere.