As one of the most popular teen dramas of the modern television era, over seven seasons Pretty Little Liars introduced its large fan base to a long list of outrageous storylines they couldn’t get enough of. On top of that, the show put together a large cast of characters that viewers came to care deeply about, especially as they found themselves in increasingly difficult situations.
More often than not a pretty intense series, one of the show’s biggest draws was the hope that in any given episode viewers could find an answer to one of the show’s many mysteries. Additionally, Pretty Little Liars fans tuned in week after week to find out how their favorite characters got through each episode’s escapades. With all of that in mind, it may seem like working on the show was just as intense behind the scenes, which is why we did some digging
In order for an image to be considered for possible inclusion on this list, it first and foremost needs to relate to something from behind the scenes of Pretty Little Liars. That said, it should be noted that we did not limit ourselves strictly to images that were captured during the show’s production process. As a result, you may find images from the personal lives of the cast included here but only if they somehow relate to the show, like images of the show’s cast spending time together away from set.
Here are 20 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That Completely Change Pretty Little Liars.
Someone’s always listening
During the early seasons of Pretty Little Liars, it was often hard to believe the characters got away without serious legal ramifications for the things going on in their lives. After all, A set them up to commit one crime after another ,and one law enforcement agent after another had the Liars in their crosshairs. For that reason, when some of them wound up imprisoned it made all the sense in the world. At the same time, it also seemed like it should have been a sobering moment for the ladies, even though they’d already been through so much.
Unfortunately, the emotional impact of Ali winding up behind bars is undermined when her and Aria surrounded by microphones while filming one of the prison sequences.
Catwoman gets cozy
To say that a lot of the fashion seen on Pretty Little Liars was out there seems like a gigantic understatement. In fact, to this day we still remember a slew of downright odd ensembles Aria wore over the years. However, it seems like that unique element of the show should not have applied when it came to the ladies’ Halloween costumes.
Of course, if you are a fan of the show then you know that isn’t the case. After all, we wouldn’t expect most teen drama characters to dress up like Queen Elizabeth I the way Spencer did. Still, seeing Janel Parrish, who plays Mona, wearing a large coat over her Catwoman costume just seems wrong.
Filming the Pilot
Pretty Little Liars is far from the only show to embrace amazing twists and mysteries but teen dramas typically don’t go so far down that crazy route. For that reason, we can only imagine how wild it would have been to be one of the 5 talented young women seen in this photo. After all, if fans were consistently blown away by the direction that PLL went, their reaction must to pale in comparison to those of the actors who had to to bring its many twits and turns to life.
As a result, seeing this behind the scenes photo from the filming of Pretty Little Liars’ pilot is amazing since the actors featured have no idea what they are in for.
Ezria’s Funny Faces
Probably the single most important Pretty Little Liars relationship, Aria and Ezra first got involved in the show’s debut episode and they never were far from one another’s hearts. For that reason, even though their backstory is creepy on pretty much every level, fans of the show cared deeply about them as a pairing.
Despite how much viewers rooted for their happiness, however, it is still safe to say when fans think about Aria and Ezra as a couple they envision their many highly dramatic interactions. Then you come across a photo of the two actors who played the couple sporting funny faces together and a PLL fan’s mind is blown.
Spencer Blowing Minds
Far and away the most serious core member of the Liars, more often than not Spencer could be observed pushing herself beyond her limits to figure out the mystery of the week. In fact, at various points, she became so intense about outsmarting everyone that she ended up becoming addicted to substances she thought aided her mental abilities. With that in mind, seeing the actor that portrayed Spencer obviously goofing off in between takes is a pretty delightful surprise.
On top of that, seeing Troian Bellisario put her hands in the face of Lucy Hale like she is trying to blow her mind in this photo is pretty hilarious.
Toby Heads
One of the biggest ways that Pretty Little Liars stands out among the long list of teen drama shows is that it’s chock-full of fascinating productions pieces. There aren’t too many TV shows that repeatedly and prominently showcase doll representations of their main characters. On top of that, some of the other props associated with the show include the dollhouse and the crazy board game many later episodes were based around.
It’s evidently a sentiment that permeated things behind the scenes as well. This photo of Keegan Allen surrounded by images of his own face proves that things got weird off camera too.
Hanna’s Crowded House
Given that it’s the location where many of Pretty Little Liars’ most dramatic and entertaining moments took place, fans are likely to love seeing what it looked like to shoot scenes in Hanna’s house. Right off the hop, it is informative to get an idea of how many crew members play a role in filming the show we all know and love. On top of that, considering that in some cases you can only see the top of someone’s head or part of their torso, it is clear that many more pros who worked on filming this moment can’t even be seen in this image.
Finally, if you ever wondered if Hanna’s home was a practical location or a fabricated set, the fact that you can see gaps in the walls puts that to rest.
Open Mic Night with Ezra
At his best, Ezra seemed like a pretty thoughtful and sweet guy who really cared about the people in his life. The fact that so many women were interested in him was not based on his obvious good looks alone. All of those positive character traits aside, it could never be claimed that the guy was anything close to a fun-loving and funny guy.
That is why it is so interesting to see this photo of Ian Harding, the actor that brought Ezra to life, looking like he is a hilarious dude about to try his best at an open mic comedy night.
Dancing
Despite what some people may think, to say that the show Pretty Little Liars was without humor is a total misrepresentation of the facts. In fact, as amazing as it was to learn about Mona’s true nature, it also was disappointing as it meant that for a long time the fun side of her character was gone from the series. All of that said, it also would be wrong to pretend like the series frequently had an intentionally funny side.
With that in mind, seeing this image of two of the show’s stars goofily dancing, hand in hand behind the scenes, is a lot of fun and totally surprising.
Cold Set
As we touched on earlier on this list, behind the scenes Pretty Little Liars photos prove that a lot of the show was shot on sets. While that makes sense, since shooting on a soundstage offers a lot more control, that doesn’t mean that working on a set doesn’t come with its drawbacks as well. For instance, here we see an image that tells 2 very different stories in terms of temperature on set.
First off, you see Troian Bellisario and Torrey DeVitto bundled up in jackets and then you notice some crew members are working in far less clothing. As a result, it seems likely everyone working on set at this moment felt uncomfortable due to the temperature.
Mona Duckface
Arguably the most fascinating Pretty Little Liars character of them all, Mona made it hard to fathom exactly what she was up to at any given time. After all, she was far more crafty than any of the other PLL characters and she had a highly duplicitous past, so even when she seemed to do selfless things, you had to question it. However, we always were overjoyed anytime Mona seemed to return to the fun-loving ways we saw in her early on.
It is unexpected but pretty great to see Janel Parrish looking like an average selfie-obsessed youngster with Lucy Hale. However, considering her character seemed jealous of Hanna’s other friends, it still feels a bit odd to see.
Locker Room Cameras
Like a lot of shows that are based in high schools, at various times Pretty Little Liars has featured some pretty dramatic moments that took place in locker rooms. For instance, Emily and Paige sometimes had important conversations before one of their swim practices or meets. On top of that, an attempt to learn more about one of the show’s biggest villains, Noel, took place in a locker room.
As a result, it is abundantly clear that on many different occasions scenes were shot within the locker room set created for the series. Still, it is remarkable to see cameras in the face of a woman that is getting changed in a locker room, despite knowing she was only acting in the scene.
Friendly Noel Kahn
Despite the fact that a long list of villains were introduced over the history of Pretty Little Liars, there is still no doubt that Noel Kahn was one of the most fearsome. Though nowhere near as effectively evil as some of Rosewood’s other bad guys and girls, Noel still took us aback wit how obviously he relished doing awful things and the devilish grin he almost always wore.
With that in mind, the idea of seeing an image of Noel palling around with the Liars is hard to fathom. Though this is actually an image of the actor that played Noel happily talking with his co-stars, considering how his character manipulated theirs, it is still crazy to see.
Imprisoned Drink
Over the years Pretty Little Liars introduced one nutty element after another. In fact, the show took things farther than ever before in its finale, even going so far as to introduce one of TV’s most mocked tropes: the evil twin. However, no matter how out there PLL got at times, the most frightening thing the show ever did was imprison the liars in the so-called dollhouse.
Seeing the Liars in so much peril, being tormented and held against their will could be hard to watch. On the other hand, this image of Lucy Hale happily enjoying a drink on one of the dollhouse sets undermines all of that.
Dollhouse revealed
Here we see an image of Mona performer Janel Parrish in character seated by a dollhouse, possibly hatching a scheme during the scene that was being shot when this photo was taken. We can just imagine Mona putting together that face collage and using the laptop to track her foes.
Intellectually knowing the show is obviously shot on a TV set is not the same as seeing a photo of a crew watching Janel Parrish in pajamas portraying Mona. On top of that, the fact that you can also see the light that marks one of the set’s exits in the background is especially jarring.
Archer Dunhill Hanging Out
Archer Dunhill did so many awful things to Alison that it was hard to take at times. Initially thought to be a kind and caring guy, he was introduced under the fake name Dr. Elliott Rollins as Ali’s new beau but was ultimately revealed to be an evil and deceptive man. Secretly love with Charlotte, he convinced Ali that she had gone mad, tortured her in a mental hospital he worked at, and even impregnated her with one of Emily’s fertilized eggs.
With all of that in mind, seeing the actor who played him hanging out with Keegan Allen and Tyler Blackburn is a real eye-opener.
Troian Bellisario Directing
There are so many people that desperately want to become a famous actor that making it is pretty close to winning the lottery. Unlike simply buying a ticket and hoping that your numbers come up, however, hard work and determination also play a pivotal role in acting success. With that in mind, it makes us very happy to know that someone like Troian Bellisario, who clearly cares deeply about the craft of storytelling has gotten ahead in the industry.
Of course, unless you routinely keep an eye on her writing and directing credits on IMDB, this photo of her helming an episode of PLL easily could give you a whole new idea of Bellisario’s career.
Hanna, Jenna, and a Baby
As arguably the hardest to nail down Pretty Little Liars character, it was even hard to know if Jenna could see or not at any given moment. On top of that, she also had the ability to make people feel for her, even as she did one dastardly thing to Liars after another. For all of those reasons, whenever she showed up on screen, viewers knew crazy things were about to go down.
On the other hand, here we see a behind-the-scenes photo of Tammin Sursok, the actor who played Jenna, with her real-life daughter and Ashley Benson all in an embrace.
Witchy Woman
At times a downright peculiar show, over time Pretty Little Liars began to tease supernatural elements to the show. For instance, everything to do with Ravenswood was pretty weird and there also was the time when Hanna’s mom interacted with a ghost child on Halloween. However, no matter how many metaphysical elements were added to the Pretty Little Liars mix, we never expected to see someone dressed in a witch costume while working on the show.
On top of that, the fact that someone sported that outfit while filming a courtroom scene makes it all the more ridiculous– to say nothing of the smiling actors also featured in this image.
Playful Toby
Though he was eventually revealed to be capable of smiling, early on Toby was such a dour character that it seemed like his face would break in two if he cracked a smile. Portrayed by the actor Keegan Allen, when Toby debuted on the show, he seemed like he might be primed to become the creepiest character on a show that was filled to the gills with weirdos. Fortunately for viewers of the series, he ultimately was given a much lighter side and even became a fan favorite character.
Still, it wasn’t like he started happily walking around with a skip in his step all the time. However, this behind-the-scenes photo of Keegan Allen looking incredibly playful makes us want to see him act like that onscreen.
What most surprised you about these Pretty Little Liarspicture? Let us know in the comments!
