Sad but true: Pretty Little Liars is bowing out at the end of season 7, leaving only 10 episodes to spend with the ever-beloved Rosewood squad. The PLL cast and crew are moving on to new projects, with creator I. Marlene King running the show on upcoming Bella Thorne series Famous In Love. While King is jumping back into the game with the new Freeform series — which is based on the YA series by Rebecca Serle — it's not her only project on deck. King is developing PLL author Sara Shepard's The Perfectionists, and now there's evidence to suggest that the new work could come crashing into the Pretty Little Liars universe. Is Freeform low-key planning a PLL spinoff? There's some evidence to back up the claims.
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The Perfectionists is about five high school students who discover they have something in common: a hatred of popular d-bag Nolan, who has done awful things to each of them. Reddit user tiagob94 pointed out that two character names featured in The Perfectionists also appear on the IMDb page for the final PLL episode "Til DeAth Do Us Part." There's Ava, played by Ana Markova, and Claire, played by Raquel McPeek Rodriguez. Both actresses are teens, just like the characters are in the novels.
It's not the only piece of evidence out there. According to King's Twitter, she's developing the new series but with a "twist on a twist." As someone who read the first two books in the series, the twist in Shepard's novel is already, well, twisted. King writes:
"@sashayfields I am finally adapting @sarabooks fantastic thriller "The Perfectionist". But I am adding a twist on a twist."
@sashayfields I am finally adapting @sarabooks fantastic thriller "The Perfectionist". But I am adding a twist on a twist. ????
— I. Marlene King (@imarleneking) January 12, 2017
Back in October of 2016, she also teased a few "surprises" that are in store for the new show. She writes:
".@Cook1995William After we get @FamousInLoveTV launched, we'll make #ThePerfectionist priority number one. W a few surprises."
.@Cook1995William After we get @FamousInLoveTV launched, we'll make #ThePerfectionist priority number one. W a few surprises.
— I. Marlene King (@imarleneking) October 13, 2016
Some fans think that the "surprise" is Emily (Shay Mitchell) and Alison (Sasha Pieterse) moving on from Rosewood, Pennsylvania, to become teachers at Beacon Heights, Washington, where the new show will take place. So far, those rumors are unsubstantiated — though it would be amazing if the case.
Whether The Perfectionists TV series is truly a PLL spinoff or just another show in the same vein, I'm hyped for it — even if I am so bummed that Pretty Little Liars only has 10 episodes of life left.