What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedPretty Little Liars
I. Marlene King · Series · 2010
If you loved Pretty Little Liars, start with We Were Liars (E. Lockhart, 2021) — a book on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 films and 2 podcasts, each matched to Pretty Little Liars across media.
You crave the delicious tension of buried secrets and the way friendships fracture under the weight of relentless, high-stakes manipulation.
Books on the same thread
We Were Liars
E. Lockhart · Book · 2021
Explores: Unreliable Narrator, Memory Loss, Family Trauma.
Like Pretty Little Liars, this story centers on a tight-knit group harboring dark, life-altering secrets that threaten to unravel their fragile reality when the truth finally comes to light.
All the Missing Girls
Megan Miranda · Book · 2017
Shares 2 threads with Pretty Little Liars: Small Town Secrets, Mystery Thriller.
If the mystery of Alison's disappearance kept you hooked in Pretty Little Liars, you will appreciate this narrative of past trauma and secrets resurfacing in a small, suffocating town.
Sharp Objects
Gillian Flynn · Book · 2018
Shares 2 threads with Pretty Little Liars: Small Town Secrets, Mystery Thriller.
This dark exploration of dysfunctional family dynamics mirrors the unsettling atmosphere of Pretty Little Liars, where every character hides a complex, painful history behind a facade of normalcy.
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng · Book · 2018
Explores: Mother-daughter relationships, Class differences, Race and privilege.
Much like the social hierarchy of Pretty Little Liars, this story examines how the pressure to maintain a perfect image masks the volatile, hidden lives of those within the community.
Films on the same thread
Mean Girls
Mark Waters · Film · 2004
Shares a thread with Pretty Little Liars: Identity.
Fans of the clique dynamics in Pretty Little Liars will recognize the ruthless social maneuvering and high school power struggles that drive this iconic tale of popularity and female rivalry.
A Simple Favor
Paul Feig · Film · 2018
Explores: Female Friendship, Secrets and Lies, Identity Theft.
This narrative perfectly captures the Pretty Little Liars essence of a mysterious disappearance and the subsequent unraveling of a friendship built on layers of deception, lies, and hidden identities.
Gone Girl
David Fincher · Film · 2014
Shares a thread with Pretty Little Liars: Mystery Thriller.
The intense media scrutiny and suspicion surrounding a disappearance will feel familiar to anyone who followed the girls of Pretty Little Liars as they faced constant public and private threats.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Susan Johnson · Film · 2018
Shares a thread with Pretty Little Liars: Coming of Age.
Those who enjoyed the romantic complications and secret-keeping of Pretty Little Liars will find similar high-stakes drama as a girl's private world is suddenly exposed to the people around her.
Podcasts on the same thread
Crime Junkie
Audiochuck · Podcast · 2026
Explores: justice seeking, obsession, societal impact.
If the investigative obsession and the pursuit of hidden truths defined your love for Pretty Little Liars, this podcast provides that same addictive drive to uncover long-buried, scandalous facts.
S-Town
Serial Productions · Podcast · 2024
Explores: small-town isolation, eccentricity, social decay.
Just as Pretty Little Liars focuses on the unsettling secrets of a specific community, this investigation pulls back the curtain on a small town to reveal its deep-seated social decay.
Keep exploring
Common questions
What is the premise of Pretty Little Liars?
Pretty Little Liars follows four girls named Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily. Their clique collapses after their leader, Alison, disappears. One year later, an anonymous figure known as A begins sending them messages, threatening to reveal secrets that the girls believed were kept hidden after Alison went missing.
Is Pretty Little Liars based on a book series?
Yes, Pretty Little Liars is based on the young adult novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. The television series, developed by I. Marlene King, adapts the narrative of the four girls who are haunted by the mysterious A following the disappearance of their friend Alison.
Who are the main characters in Pretty Little Liars?
The main characters in Pretty Little Liars are four teenage girls named Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily. Their lives are central to the plot as they deal with the aftermath of their queen bee Alison disappearing and the subsequent threats they receive from an anonymous person using the name A.
What triggers the conflict in Pretty Little Liars?
The conflict in Pretty Little Liars begins one year after the disappearance of the girls' leader, Alison. The four remaining friends start receiving threatening messages from a mysterious sender who calls themselves A. This individual threatens to expose long-hidden secrets that the girls thought only Alison knew about.