After an all-day promise of a pending announcement, ABC Family has revealed , via myriad social media naturally, that “Pretty Little Liars” is getting a spinoff series titled “Ravenswood.”
As part of the “Ravenswood” announcement, ABC Family also announced that “Pretty Little Liars” has been picked up for a fifth season. That renewal was a bit of a no-brainer for what is ABC Family’s top-rated series.
“Ravenswood” is expected to premiere on ABC Family in October, following the annual “Pretty Little Liars” Halloween episode.
The spinoff will come to ABC Family courtesy of “PLL” executive producers Marlene King, Oliver Goldstick, Joseph Dougherty and Leslie Morgenstein and will focus on the events in Ravenswood, PA which is right next to Rosewood, home of the current soapy hit. Apparently Ravenswood has suffered from a long-running deadly curse that will be investigated by five strangers.
“‘Pretty Little Liars’ is brand-defining and demo-defining for ABC Family. We are proud to be able to grow the ‘PLL” franchise in two ways — both by adding additional seasons of the original and by extending the storytelling into a spin-off. ‘Ravenswood’ will become another ‘must-tweet-TV’ series for us,” burbs ABC Family President Michael Riley.
Riley had more to say, specifically referencing the insane Twitter devotion of “Pretty Little Liars” fans.
“Our viewers have an incredible ability to amplify messages and create buzz around things that interest them, including our shows and talent,” said Riley. “In fact, during the season three finale, our
viewers made ‘Pretty Little Liars” the first series episode to amass over 1 million Total airtime Tweets in TV history, accounting for one-third of all Twitter activity in the hour. Many of them also became fans of our new summer drama ‘Twisted,” which aired as a special sneak peek after the spring finale of ‘Pretty Little Liars.” With this in mind, we felt it best to announce directly to our passionate and loyal fan base with content unique to the social platforms they visit and let them do what they do best — which is to amplify and engage with our news.”
“Pretty Little Liars” won its Tuesday time people among women 12-34 11 consecutive weeks culminating in its March 19 finale. That was the third season finale, with “Pretty Little Liars” launching its fourth season on June 11.