You already know two can keep a secret if one of them is dead, but we aren’t going to keep this secret from you: There are plenty of shows like Pretty Little Liars to check out now that the teen drama is long off the air. The seven-season-long show that premiered in 2010 is the wildly winding story of figuring out who the mysterious A is who’s wreaking havoc on the sleepy town of Rosewood. Though the show is based on the Pretty Little Liars YA book series, creator I. Marlene King seriously deviated from the source material into one of the most popular and most quotable teen mysteries of this generation.
If your hearts were as shattered as ours when the series wrapped in 2017, you might have already checked out some of these other shows like Pretty Little Liars. But if you haven’t yet, we’re here to help. Ahead, find some stellar TV series similar to the addicting drama that will keep your days and nights busy (at least for a little while). Once you finish these, hop over to our list of shows like Gossip Girl for even more teen angst.
Shows Like Pretty Little Liars
1. Revenge (2011-2015)
Take any one of the girls from Pretty Little Liars, age her a decade, and you’ve got Revenge. Emily VanCamp plays Emily, a young woman playing a long con to find out what happened to her dad, who she presumes is dead. There’s a lot of trickery on the road to Emily finally figuring it all out. There are also a lot of gasp-worthy moments, just like PLL.
2. The Carrie Diaries (2013-2014)
The Carrie Diaries, starring AnnaSophia Robb, was wrongfully canceled after two seasons, but that is neither here nor there. The show is the story of a young Carrie Bradshaw (as in, Sex and the City Carrie Bradshaw) and what her life was possibly like before she reached her SATC days. It’s a bright, fun show about Carrie’s road to becoming a New York icon, and Austin Butler stars as her is-he-or-isn’t-he love interest, Sebastian.
3. Riverdale (2017- )
Riverdale will provide you with a lot of the same drama as Pretty Little Liars. This teen drama, which is just as frustrating at times as Pretty Little Liars, has a bit more focus on the romance of it all, but at the end of the day, there’s still fighting and backstabbing.
4. Gossip Girl (2007-2012)
Though not nearly as murder-y as Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl is heavy on the teen angst. The show follows Manhattan’s elite throughout the course of high school and beyond and presents such a lofty tale of how the other half lives. It’s not nearly as dark as PLL either, but it will fill your teen drama void for sure.
5. Dynasty (2017- )
This remake of the soap opera from the 1980s has all the dark humor of PLL. Starring Elizabeth Gillies as Fallon Carrington, the show revolves around the family businesses — and the dynasty, of course — with plenty of backstabbing, mystery-solving, and perhaps some murders along the way.
6. The Bold Type (2017-2021)
The Bold Type is what Pretty Little Liars would be if there wasn’t so much angst, hate, and, ya know, murders. This show features a group of strong women focused on their relationships and careers, so this is the show you need after Pretty Little Liars has totally run down your emotions.
More Shows Like Pretty Little Liars
- The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017)
- Ravenswood (2013-2014)
- American Vandal (2017-2018)
- Desperate Housewives (2004-2012)
- The White Lotus (2021-2022)
- The Society (2019)
- You (2018- )
- Scream Queens (2015-2016)
- The Fosters (2013-2018)
- How to Get Away With Murder (2014-2020)
- Twisted (2013-2014)
- The Lying Game (2011-2013)
- Big Little Lies (2017-2019)
- Veronica Mars (2004-2019)
- Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019)
- Scream: The TV Series (2015-2019)
- One Tree Hill (2003-2012)
- The Secret Circle (2011-2012)
- Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000)
- The Originals (2013-2018)
- I Know What You Did Last Summer (2021- )
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This article was originally published on 10.31.2021
