Pretty Little Liars : Les Perfectionnistes

After the awful pll series finale, I thought the sequel would obviously suck but the reboot's premiere seems interesting. Let's see how it goes from here. What I like from it is the fresh storyline and characters who are likable using the same pll tone.

Let me begin by saying I've never watched Pretty Little Liars so going into this show, it was completely new to me. I hadn't even heard about it until today and I thought I'd give it a chance. Like every teen-drama based show, the pilot has several moments that had me rolling my eyes but when the episode focused on the main story, that's when it shined. There's definitely potential here for the show to be a really interesting mystery-drama show rather than just a typical teen-drama. The characters are all quite interesting and they all have something to hide which makes them complicated at times. By the looks of it, the pilot does reference Pretty Little Liars a fair bit and when it did that, I found it hard to keep track. This is an issue that several spin-off shows have, the show needs not to rely on the original series otherwise there will be people who'll feel like they're missing something. The actors are all pretty decent, Sarah Pieterse in particular is quite good and I can see her doing even better with a better script. The script isn't the strongest link of the pilot, hopefully this is something they focus on improving but as of right now, it's not too good. The overall story is intriguing and the twist at the end of the pilot definitely had me curious as to what comes next.

The Perfectionist was surprisingly better than expected and I already expected a lot from it. They didn't take Mona's insanity away, they kept Allison's past a big part of her narrative and they brought in new characters that are very different from the original PLL cast all whilst making us feel like we've known them for a long time.

I think Freeform has something amazing on their hands and I hope I keep feeling that way as the season progresses

More grown up things are going on. It's college. Alison is a teacher, Mona is in admissions. That's all that comes over from PLL. The production looks beautiful. The mood and atmosphere are so welcome.

So far an intriguing mystery is unfolding. Alison is the do good busybody investigating why one kid is writing papers for other students. There is a tangled web of romantic entanglements both straight and same sex. Throw in a fake suicide and murder there's quite a lot going on. Hopefully they plot doesn't get too tangled to follow as it did in PLL. Rather droll that Agatha Christie would be college reading.

Kelly Rutherford looks stunning and I'm so thrilled she's in the series. She elevates the show to another class.

It'll take a bit of time to get used to the new characters. Some of the guys look a bit alike. The girls are all pretty but I miss the A list distinctiveness of the PLL bunch.

Whatever it is just so glad it's on.

The pilot gives us a taste of what is to come. There are high expectations for any PLL fan. Creator Marlene King smoothly integrates characters Alison and Mona into the new setting of Beacon Heights. A gorgeous setting punctuated by the beautiful scenery of Portland Oregon. Kelly Rutherford (Gossip Girl/Melrose Place) shows up to bring a level of sophistication to the proceedings. New PLL Sofia Carson stands out as the composed yet wounded Ava. The show brings a darker more mature sensibility than the predecessor's early episodes.

Ultimately we are dealing with a murder mystery that suggests something much bigger and wilder is at hand. Whether the show can sustain the suspense and intrigue that PLL is known for has yet to be seen. Time will tell. For now I say game on.