How 'Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin' Is Connected to the Original Series

The fourth installment in the Pretty Little Liars (PLL) universe has landed on HBO Max.

Titled, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, the ten-episode series sees a new generation of liars haunted by the all too familiar "A."

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is the fourth installment in the PLL franchise, which is based on the book of the same name by Sara Shepard.

The main series aired on Freeform between 2010 and 2017 and since then, there have been two spin-offs: Ravenswood and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. However, they were canceled after one season whereas the original aired for seven in total.

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin shares the greatest connection with the original series and franchise but how does it all work exactly? Newsweek has everything you need to know.

How Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Is Connected to the Original Series

From the get-go, there are already similarities with the original series, PLL.

For example, the setting of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is very similar. It takes part in a small, Pennsylvania town called Millwood, not unlike, or far from, Rosewood and Ravenswood from the Pretty Little Liars universe.

Additionally, the big thing the new series has in common with the original series is the return of "A" who first appeared on the scene in PLL in 2010, threatening to expose the deepest secrets of Spencer (played by Troian Bellisario), Aria (Lucy Hale), Hanna (Ashley Benson), and Emily (Shay Mitchell) following the disappearance of their friend Alison (Sasha Pieterse).

In Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, "A" is back, taunting a group of new girls—Imogen (Bailee Madison), Tabby (Chandler Kinney), Noa (Maia Reficco), Faran (Zaria), and Mouse (Malia Pyles)—who, like in the original series, begin to receive terrifying texts from the mysterious "A."

However, this time around, "A" is making themselves physically known, haunting the girls in person as they try to live their normal lives. They are also not just paying for the dark secrets of their own, they are being made to pay for the secret sins their parents committed over 20 years ago.

Speaking to TV Line, executive producer and creator of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa said the new series is deliberately set against the "shadow" of the original series and franchise. However, over time, the show will come into its own.

He said: "Lindsay and I, as writers and creators, are fans [of the franchise]. We're fanboys and fangirls. We love this stuff. We love when characters [from other shows] pop in, we love the crossover episodes.

"[We] did want to really establish our town and our girls without being in the shadow of that original, iconic franchise."

Aguirre-Sacasa also teased fans should keep their eyes out for Easter eggs and nods to the original franchise later in the first season.

He said: "Once you hit Episode 6, the Easter eggs—and more than Easter eggs—start coming fast and furiously."

Aguirre-Sacasa also teased the Easter eggs and references will continue "up to literally the last moment of the last episode."

Nevertheless, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin does stand alone as its own series. It is a brand new generation of liars, the characters are not related to the previous PLL characters and it is a totally new story.

Co-creator and executive producer Lindsay Calhoon Bring told TV Line: "Knowing that the fanbase of the original Pretty Little Liars is so strong, we wanted to make sure we gave some fan service to them. But we're also our own story and our own thing, so we hope that will be exciting for them."

Things also look a little different than the original Freeform series. There is a lot more gore, violence explicit language, and nudity than the original, something down to finding its home on a streaming service, Bring explained.

The good news is that you do not have to watch the original series and its spin-offs to get on board with Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.

On the other hand, if you are a fan of the original, there sadly has been no word of any of the original cast members returning.

But, if Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is anything like the original series, there will be huge twists and turns along the way, so anything is possible.

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin airs Thursdays on HBO Max.