If you want to understand why your teen is suddenly obsessed with black hoodies and looking over their shoulder every time their phone pings, you can thank the 2010s' most effective anxiety-delivery system. Pretty Little Liars isn’t just a show; it was a cultural shift that proved teen dramas could be as high-stakes as a Hitchcock thriller, provided you don’t think too hard about the logic.
The "A" of it all
The central hook is undeniably brilliant. Taking the "mean girl who knew too much" trope and turning her disappearance into a seven-season survival game was a masterstroke. For a teen, the stakes feel life-or-death because, in this show, they actually are. While the IMDb score sits at a respectable 7.3, that doesn't quite capture the sheer fervor of the fan base that spent years dissecting every frame for clues.
The friction for you as a parent isn't just the "naughty behavior" mentioned in reviews—it’s the relentless gaslighting. The protagonists are stalked, framed, and physically endangered by an anonymous entity known as "A," and the show frequently makes it feel like there is no safe adult in the room. This makes for incredible television, but it can be a lot for a younger viewer to process without a break. If your kid is already prone to doomscrolling, this show might just give them a new, fictional reason to stay up until 2:00 AM.
The "Ezria" problem
We need to talk about the elephant in the classroom: the student-teacher relationship. In 2010, the show framed the romance between a lead character and her English teacher as a "forbidden love" story. By today’s standards, it’s predatory.
There’s no need to ban the show over it, but it’s the specific thing you’ll want to keep an eye on. If your teen is binging this, they’re seeing a relationship that the show often rewards with romantic music and sweeping shots, despite it being a massive abuse of power. It’s a perfect opening to talk about boundaries and why "it’s complicated" isn't a valid excuse for an adult dating a minor.
Where to go after the finale
Once the mystery of "A" is finally solved (and trust me, it takes a long, winding road to get there), your teen is going to have a massive hole in their watchlist. This show is a gateway drug to the entire "dark teen mystery" genre.
How to handle the binge
Because every episode ends on a cliffhanger, Pretty Little Liars is notoriously difficult to watch in moderation. This is a great "test case" for streaming services and teen independence. Instead of hovering or setting hard timers, see if they can self-regulate.
The show is currently a staple of several platforms, and if you're looking for where to find similar content, there are plenty of teen dramas on Hulu that hit the same notes of mystery and high-fashion school hallways. Just be prepared: once they start, they’re going to want to see it through to the end, even when the plot twists eventually start to defy the laws of physics.
