Is there anything trickier than a reboot of a popular TV show? Fans aren't always happy with the results, as sometimes the new show feels cheesy and not as good as what came before it. Steven Levitan's upcoming Hulu sitcom Reboot will look at the cast members of a 2000s comedy who come together to film a reboot and all of the hilarious and dramatic things that happen.
When Pretty Little Liars fans heard that HBO Max would be making a reboot, it was easy to get excited while also wondering if the fast-paced story about secrets could really be done all over again. Thankfully, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is an almost flawless show.
The opening credits of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin are a nod to the original, using the same song "Secret" by the Pierces, while adding some new scary details to make it special. Fans see the villain A in his lair, working on something, and it's incredibly creepy. Like the best horror movie theme songs, this has become something that fans associate with the series. The lyrics work so well for this spin-off, too: "Got a secret/Can you keep it?/Swear, this one you'll save/Better lock it in your pocket/Takin' this one to the grave." The song finishes with, "'Cause two can keep a secret/If one of them is dead." The song sets the eerie tone and shows that this is a story about characters hiding a lot of secrets and emotions.
The characters in Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin are also diverse, interesting people who fans want to follow for an entire season (or more). The original was a great teen horror TV show thanks to how different the five main characters are from each other, and the new group are well-crafted, too. Imogen Adams (Bailee Madison) is a pregnant teen who loses her mother, and she's strong, stubborn and sweet.
Noa (Maia Reficco) is hiding a secret and on probation for having drugs. Mouse (Malia Pyles) wants to be more independent, but her moms aren't thrilled with that since she went through something tough as a kid. Tabby (Chandler Kinney) can't wait to leave home and be a filmmaker and Farran (Zaria) is a smart ballerina. Twins Karen and Kelly round out the cast, played by Mallory Bechtel. PLL: Original Sin has many horror movie references, mostly from Tabby, and this is a fun aspect.
The reboot also does something important: tells a brand new story while alluding to the old one. In the original series, Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) is missing and her friends Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario), Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) and Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson) are stalked by A. In the reboot, A is an incredibly creepy man whose face looks a lot like Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. A is tormenting the main characters because their moms were involved in the death of a student named Angela Waters (Gabriella Pizzolo, who plays Susie on Stranger Things). The girls get text messages like the original characters did.
The best thing about Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is that it's a different genre from the first show. PLL has many hilarious quotes and scenes, with characters cracking tons of jokes. The reboot is a true slasher, which means that there are slasher tropes, fairly wild death scenes, and a general sense of unease.
Most of all, the series keeps what was special and memorable about the first show: teenage girls who care about each other and keep secrets so they don't hurt each other or others. These new characters are equally smart and kind, and the fact that Tabby tells off her teenage boy peers and explains to them that toxic masculinity is a problem adds something meaningful to the series.
A reboot should be done for a reason that isn't just nostalgia and happy memories of the original, and PLL: Original Sin excels at adding genuine scares to the general story that fans know and love. In the fourth episode "The (Fe)Male Gaze," A shows up at Noa's apartment building and she runs away from him, jumping onto a nearby building. This is a terrifying and well-done chase scene reminiscent of the best slasher movies.
The worst horror movie remakes don't include a new story or something to really justify their existence. Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is impressive, well-crafted, and best of all, gets under every viewer's skin and makes it hard to wait to find out what's going to happen next. It will appeal to fans of the first show and those who aren't familiar as it's a new tale that feels just connected enough to what came before.