"If At First You Don't Succeed, Lie..."
— 01/31/11

There are many reasons we adore Marlene King. First of all, she’s the creator of the ever-so-addicting Pretty Little Liars TV show. Second, she’s constantly communicating with fans of the series via twitter and live Q&As –allowing everyone to to truly feel like a part of the PLL experience. Third, shes  a big-time fan of the Pretty Little Liars book series and the mastermind behind it — Sara Shepard. Lastly, she just loooves spoiling viewers rotten with legitimate clues and savory sneak peeks.

Well, it must be our lucky day because SheWired just posted an interview with the oh-so-fabulous Marlene King and it’s positively teeming with goodies for avid viewers and Rosewood conspiracy theorists to chew on! From revealing clues through Alfred Hitchcock movie titles to retelling the beautiful tale of how our favorite show came into being to describing what the writing team’s plans are for A, Marlene treats us all to some pretty delicious nuggets of information! Dig into some of the most tantalizing moments from the interview below, lovelies!

SheWired: How did the Pretty Little Liars material come to you?
Marlene King: I had a general meeting with the folks at ABC Family because they loved Now and Then, and it seemed like we had very similar sensibilities. They developed programs for the target audience that I really seemed to have a lot of fun writing with and for… I left that meeting and the very next day they called and said “Hey, we have a book for you to take a look at.” It was Pretty Little Liars.

SheWired: So, what was your response after reading that book?
Marlene King: I loved it! I read it in one sitting and called and said, “Can I have the next book please? And when can I come in and talk about the television show?”

SheWired: What were the challenges in trying to take that book from book form to the television show?
Marlene King: The challenge…it was actually really fun for me. It wasn’t extremely challenging or taxing. I remember writing the pilot with a smile on my face the whole time. The book was so much fun. The pilot was based on the very first Pretty Little Liars book. It’s a very literal adaptation of the book. The Executive Producer of the pilot with me was Bob Levy, and I remember calling him everyday and say “Bob this is so much fun, I cant wait for you to read it.” He was like, “Stop calling! You’re getting my hopes up to high.” It was just a lot of fun.

SheWired: You have paid homage to Hitchcock several times. I forget now if it’s you or Oliver Goldstick (executive producer) who is the Hitchcock fan.
Marlene: Well, I think we’ve all become Hitchcock fans but I came into this show with the thought that we should pay as much homage to Hitchcock as possible. We try to honor Hitchcock’s work heavily,  at least in every finale.

SheWired: I’m going to have to pay more attention to that because I have seen Vertigo and Rear Window in the show.
Marlene King: You should see Psycho before you see the Season 2 finale.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about what we can expect from Pretty Little Liars?
Marlene: It’s just a very exciting time for us because we feel this season is the end of a sort of two-year journey for us. We started telling the story (of A) two years ago and it’s really exciting for us to finally get to share with the audience the conclusion of that part of Pretty Little Liars.

*Check out more clues and spoilers from Marlene King over at SheWired!*

Now it’s YOUR turn! If you could ask Marlene one question about any Pretty Little Liars mystery or twist, what would it be? Leave your burning question for Marlene King in the comments and remember to catch all new episodes of Pretty Little Liars Season 2 every Monday at 8/7 c on ABC Family!

Don’t miss the latest from Pretty Little Liars author Sara Shepard! Sara’s new Lying Game book, Two Truths and A Lie, is available wherever books are sold February 7th.

Sample it | Order it | Download the ebook

Mr. Fitz (Ian Harding) and Aria have parted ways on “Pretty Little Liars,” but Zap2it caught up with “Liars” star Lucy Hale at the KTLA News Morning Show, where she laid the Mr. Fitz fears to rest.

“It’s not the end of the Fitz and Montgomery relationship,” Hale assures us. “There’s a little question about where he’s gone, is he gone for good? Because in the books he goes away and when he goes away, he goes away for good … but it’s not the end of it.”

It’s good to hear that Mr. Fitz will be back because Aria’s home life isn’t getting an easier.

“[The Montgomery family] is pretty much broken at this point … Everyone expected my dad to leave, but my mom goes away,” Hale says. “I’m trying to spend time with my dad, with my mom and take care of my brother and try to keep a sane head for myself.”

But the Tuesday (July 27) episode of “Liars” is not focusing much on Mr. Fitz or the Montgomery family. Instead, Alison’s memorial is front and center — and the introduction of Ali’s brother Jason (Parker Bagley).

“It’s supposed to be a happy day, remembering our memories and remembering her,” says Hale. “But her brother comes and is a completely different person from what we remember him as … He takes the whole memorial by the reins. There’s a lot of great stuff between him and Spencer (Troian Bellisario) that is sort-of a little questionable.”

Hale also teases the return of Officer Wilden (Bryce Johnson), who is giving hard looks at the girls, “especially Emily.” “He doesn’t let us get off very easily. He’s back with a force,” Hale tells us.

And in response to fan Biankha’s question, Hale says her favorite episode is “the Homecoming episode.”

“I loved the outfits and I loved the set. We don’t always get to come together, the whole cast, because we have our own separate storylines,” Hale explains. “In this one, literally probably every character was in that episode so that was really fun for me.”

“Pretty Little Liars” airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ABC Family.

Source: Zap2it

“Pretty Little Liars” newcomer Brendan Robinson has high hopes for his character Lucas becoming romantically involved with Hanna (Ashley Benson).

“With every episode, it draws closer and closer to that. There’s some chemistry there, definitely,” Robinson tells Zap2it. “I know that Lucas already has big plans. He would jump at the chance to [be with Hanna]. And I think Hanna is coming to terms with her attraction towards Lucas.”

Brendan thinks the attraction between Lucas and Hanna is a universal theme of high school.

“Hanna will get pressure from people like Mona that she’s going out with somebody who’s less popular than she is. I think it’s something that a lot of people struggle with at that age. Trying to do the cool thing as opposed to what they feel,” says Robinson.
(more…)

Warning Spoilers Ahead!

Beatrice in California: What’s ahead for Pretty Little Liars?
Allison’s brother is set to make a triumphant return to town—and not in a welcome way. The long-gone lady’s bro is out to take the girls down by discovering what really happened to A, thus ruining the lovely memorial Aria and Co. had planned for their friend.

Question: I am loving Pretty Little Liars. Definitely my new guilty pleasure. Have any scoop? —Kim
Ausiello: Silly question, Kim. And here’s a serious answer: yes. By season’s end, our plot will thicken so much, it’ll damn near solidify. For starters, Emily’s dad is about to come home and get a big shock from his little girl. Plus, Agent Wilden’s “bad cop” will soon get a “good cop” counterpart, a lady Fed who sounds like a Diane Lane dream role. And we’re about to start spending more time at the bank where Ashley works – at least enough to delve into her desperate financial situation and meet her 30ish boss.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Alyson in Fla.: Anything on Pretty Little Liars?
Let’s play a guessing game. The following things will happen in an upcoming episode, but which girl will suffer each fate?

Someone gets an unexpected Daddy visit
Someone gets some majorly unsolicited advice
Someone gets a gift from an unlikely suitor (or suitoress)
Someone gets some unwarranted academic praise

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Got anything on my new guilty pleasure, ‘Pretty Little Liars’? – Deb
If you thought the girls’ woes were buried with Allison, I say ha! In addition to sending impossible text messages and what not, the dearly departed “A” will haunt her gal pals by way of a big brother who uncorks a small surprise when he meets with Aria, Spencer et al to plan a memorial service. (A’s bro will be played in Episode 8 by Parker Bagley.)

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Justina in Highlands Ranch, Colo.: I loved Pretty Little Liars! Anything juicy coming up?
Aside from all the “A” dramz, Spencer (Troian Bellisario) is going to continue actively pursuing her big sis Melissa’s (Yep, that is Paul Wesley’s galpal and One Tree Hill’s psycho Nanny Carrie, Torrey Devitto) fiancé, Wren. The repercussions will be pretty brutal for Spenc when Melissa discovers their secret.