Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019) User Reviews

[6.5] Biggest fears...

[cjonesas · 6/10 · 6 September 2021]

A nice shallow show with good acting, some interesting twists and turns, but as deep as a puddle. In the end, they fed us with a cliffhanger that never happened; never wrapped up.

Disgrace on the network for ruining their work and investment on this.

Zero chemistry

[helenatentoma · 6/10 · 31 March 2019]

This series could have been SO amazing, had it followed the exact path of the book! I mean, the book was so good, I think I liked these ''series'' even better than PLL! But, unfortunately, they chosed a different way and it kind of sucks. I am going to give it a shot because of sentimental reasons, but if something doesn't radically change in the next episodes (e.g this LAME chemistry between the main characters), I am sure we won't have a second season.

Interesting but flawed

[r-i-p_333 · 7/10 · 21 March 2019]

Let me begin by saying I've never watched Pretty Little Liars so going into this show, it was completely new to me. I hadn't even heard about it until today and I thought I'd give it a chance. Like every teen-drama based show, the pilot has several moments that had me rolling my eyes but when the episode focused on the main story, that's when it shined. There's definitely potential here for the show to be a really interesting mystery-drama show rather than just a typical teen-drama. The characters are all quite interesting and they all have something to hide which makes them complicated at times. By the looks of it, the pilot does reference Pretty Little Liars a fair bit and when it did that, I found it hard to keep track. This is an issue that several spin-off shows have, the show needs not to rely on the original series otherwise there will be people who'll feel like they're missing something. The actors are all pretty decent, Sarah Pieterse in particular is quite good and I can see her doing even better with a better script. The script isn't the strongest link of the pilot, hopefully this is something they focus on improving but as of right now, it's not too good. The overall story is intriguing and the twist at the end of the pilot definitely had me curious as to what comes next.

Surprising

[smithfanthony · 9/10 · 21 March 2019]

The Perfectionist was surprisingly better than expected and I already expected a lot from it. They didn't take Mona's insanity away, they kept Allison's past a big part of her narrative and they brought in new characters that are very different from the original PLL cast all whilst making us feel like we've known them for a long time.

I think Freeform has something amazing on their hands and I hope I keep feeling that way as the season progresses

Promising

[kcrocket131 · 7/10 · 21 March 2019]

The pilot gives us a taste of what is to come. There are high expectations for any PLL fan. Creator Marlene King smoothly integrates characters Alison and Mona into the new setting of Beacon Heights. A gorgeous setting punctuated by the beautiful scenery of Portland Oregon. Kelly Rutherford (Gossip Girl/Melrose Place) shows up to bring a level of sophistication to the proceedings. New PLL Sofia Carson stands out as the composed yet wounded Ava. The show brings a darker more mature sensibility than the predecessor's early episodes.

Ultimately we are dealing with a murder mystery that suggests something much bigger and wilder is at hand. Whether the show can sustain the suspense and intrigue that PLL is known for has yet to be seen. Time will tell. For now I say game on.

Not worth watching since the second season has been cancelled.

[anast555 · 10/10 · 27 January 2020]

I started watching this show without any expectations since i didn't like Pretty little liars, and I was actually surprised in a positive way. The acting was much better than pll and the plot had enough mystery without all the unnecessary drama that happened on pll.

However, since there will be no second season the first season isn't even worth watching.

Interesting

[haydenlynch-76196 · 7/10 · 28 September 2019]

I didn't mind this series at all. It gave me something to watch after PLL finished and I wasn't hating it tbh.

I'm sad that season 2 has been cancelled by CW.. but maybe it can be picked up by someone new.. nonetheless I would recommend if you love your typical high school drama shows

The Reboot/Sequel PLL Fans Needed!

[itsactuallyamanda · 9/10 · 25 March 2019]

Wow. Just wow. PLL: The Perfectionists is the reboot us PLL fans needed! The drama, the love, the action is simply perfection and this is for sure so far, topping and beating the original. LOVE THIS SHOW.

WAIT A MINUTE... WHAT HAPPENS NEXT??!!!

[theenigma129 · 23 January 2020]

Who killed Nolan hotchkiss and trying to hunt down his sister?!.

Does the gang ever found out who's the mastermind that's blackmailing them and make them do these idiotic and embarrassing tasks?!

Will caitlin's so called boyfriend's secrets be revealed?!

Does the evil mastermind threaten to hurt ava's new boyfriend if she doesn't cooperate?! WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!????

I hate it when they cancel shows on cliffhangers!!!

(Breathing in/out, calming down).

Different subject/note: it was a good show. Even though some stuff in it were politically correct (hate that) but still a good show.

Sofia Carson was the greatest in it. Sofia has been my favorite since she played as evie from the descendants movies. Wonderful performance she did. Love her character ava jalili she's still one of my most favorites Sofia did.

Wish the show wasn't cancelled. Wanted to see more of what happens next with ava and the rest of the gang.

Good for PLL fans

[willylee123 · 7/10 · 27 July 2019]

PLL Perfectionists has the same vibe and feeling to the original, so I would recommend it if you're a PLL fan. It does fall a bit flat in terms of character development and plot. The show uses the same formula as the previous show, in my opinion. But, I'm still willing to give it a chance if season 2 comes out!

I don't see it lasting more than one season

[bregund · 4/10 · 16 June 2019]

I admit it, I was a huge fan of PLL, I watched every single episode of a show that was intended for teenage girls, there I said it. The ending of PLL wasn't that good but it was all about the journey, and what a ride it was. I was never bored, and watching alliances form and dissolve over the years, and the rotating cast of villains and heroes, was all done with the finesse of a skilled juggler. It wasn't the greatest tv show ever, but boy was it suspenseful, and every episode featured a mystery within a mystery.

There's something seriously lacking in this updated version, it's not nearly as intense, the characters aren't engaging or interesting, and it's hard to care about any of them or their problems. The only bright spots are when Janel Parrish as Mona shows up, her rapid-fire delivery and pushy attitude are welcome antidotes to the rest of the beige cast. The number one problem I have with this show is this: I understood how the detective in PLL could be made to be a villain, the girls had to keep their secrets in fear for their lives, but in this show, there is no clear reason for the in-house detective to be made out as a villain, she's trying to help the students and yet none of them are cooperating with her. This is just one of the show's many annoying inconsistencies.

This show is no PLL and it never will be.

UPDATE: See, I called it. CANCELED

Welcome surprise

[hnt_dnl · 9/10 · 6 May 2019]

For whatever reason, I was quite looking forward to this PERFECTIONISTS spinoff of "Pretty Little Liars". I had tapped out on PLL somewhere around Season 6. It felt like dragging out drama for the sake of it. Honestly, in retrospect, it felt like they were just making stuff up from Season 2 onwards. It's like the Dr. Pepper commercial "I'm an A, she's an A, he's an A, we're an A, wouldn't you like be an A, too?" It become too convoluted after a while. Of course I re-visited the show in the finale to find out who the true A really was. Yeah, not worth the wait.

However, this spinoff seems very promising, in large part due to the fact that it stars 2 of my favorite characters from the original series Alison DiLaurentis (played by Sasha Pieterse) and Mona Vanderwaal (played by Janel Parrish). Aria was actually my 2nd favorite behind Alison, with Mona coming in 3rd, but in fact Mona fits way better into this series than Aria would. Ali and Mona are the 2 most devious liars and it's a treat getting to see them work their magic in a new setting, the fictional university of Beacon Heights.

I'm really liking the new main characters as well, this time a trio of "liars"' instead of a foursome: Caitlin Park-Lewis (confidently played by Sydney Park), Dylan Walker (earnestly played by Eli Brown) and last but not least Ava Jalali (excellently played by teen idol Sofia Carson). Caitlin envisions a political career, Dylan being a world-renowned violinist, and Ava ruling the fashion world. The writing does a fantastic job of weaving the characters' personal interests, majors, and goals into the fabric of the overarching murder mystery.

The victim in question is Nolan Hotchkiss (well played in the Pilot by Chris Mason) and surviving him are his older sister Taylor Hotchkiss (solidly played by Hayley Erin) and mother Claire Hotchkiss (superbly played by TV veteran Kelly Rutherford). The Hotchkiss family basically run the university and are it's biggest benefactors. Rounding out the engaging cast are Mason Gregory (good performance by Noah Gray-Cabey) and Dana Booker (craftily played by film/TV vet Klea Scott). The only characters I'm not feeling are the love interests of the main trio. They are all so dull and interchangeable and take away from the main story too much, one reason I took away 1 star from this otherwise entertaining spinoff.

But overall, I'm really enjoying the mixture of murder mystery, university politics, familial power struggles, and friendship dynamic. In particular, the writing is doing an amazing job of fusing the old PLL cast with the new, while allowing both parties to have their own meaningful interactions with each other. Ali and Mona's scenes are funny and refreshing with the occasional cheeky callback to PLL. The main trio have great chemistry with each other. In particular, I'm loving the friendship between Ava and Dylan, with Caitlin being the glue that holds the group together. And Ali's scenes with the trio have a genuine mother hen quality, which is a callback to the original series where she was the leader of the group of liars. Ali always knows best! Hopefully, this refreshing, engaging series continues for several seasons.

Hasn't got the magic or thrills like PLL but still worth a watch

[chrisandmark-44838 · 7/10 · 10 May 2019]

I watched PPL pretty late and had to binge watch all the series but had no problem doing so. PPL was engaging, captivating and kept you on guessing and wanting more from start to finish. The PPL characters had depth and dimensions that made them interesting and a joy to watch, with twists and turns expertly wrote.

The Perfectionists had/has big stilettos to fill and so far around 8 episodes in although there's is something keeping me watching I'm struggling to find any real depth to the story and characters. It all feels a bit to easy, like there is a key ingredient missing. I am enjoying the references to the original PPL and hope and pray that over time the bond gets closer but the fact that my attention is still on PPL and I'm waiting for those references from the past doesn't say alot about the Perfectionists writingn that on its own fails to keep me in the present and absorbed by the goings on at Beacon Heights.

The PPL characters for as much as they had their character flaws we loved them and routed for them and enjoyed the dark and the bad as much as the light and the good in each character. The Perfectionists gives us very little infomation to build a reason to care about the central characters and at times feels as though they are just plain flawed individuals, which makes it hard to care about the story they are trying to tell and a reason to care about them.

Although the plot is keeping my attention it's not keeping me on the edge of my seat as it all feels a little bit to mellow with twists and thrills coming very far between and when they do they are hardly earth shattering OMG moments.

I'm watching for the soul reason that it's a PPL spin off and Alison and Mona are involved but it's a such a shame they are required in that way due to the new characters being largely forgettable and lacking in dimensions.

I hold out hope that because it's early days and we can expect more depth and dimensions, twists and turns and more importantly character development and eith that the missing ingredient is found giving us some real spice to what is at the moment pretty little and bland.

Terrible ... just terrible!!!!

[hensley-59090 · 1/10 · 4 April 2019]

Pretty Little Liars is my top 5 shows of all time I have watch it countless amount of times I'm extremely disappointed that they turned it into this they should have left it alone where it was I couldn't even get by the 1st episode without falling asleep or getting up to do something bc I was so bored I thought I try the 2nd episode but it was another waste of time if u like boring pointless and trying to be relevant again crappy shows then this is for u I'm done with it tho - ur terrible for ruining the original series by putting this load of pointless crap cancel the show do us all a favor!

A+

[seantyrellll · 10/10 · 21 March 2019]

It's very good they did a well job transitioning from the original hit show. Highly recommend.

...

[evieshipley · 7/10 · 10 May 2021]

Good entertainment and mystery. Very good for just a 10 episode series. Carries on with pretty little liars. But the ending was lazy and didn't explain anything ending.

So happy to have a sequel

[phd_travel · 9/10 · 21 March 2019]

More grown up things are going on. It's college. Alison is a teacher, Mona is in admissions. That's all that comes over from PLL. The production looks beautiful. The mood and atmosphere are so welcome.

So far an intriguing mystery is unfolding. Alison is the do good busybody investigating why one kid is writing papers for other students. There is a tangled web of romantic entanglements both straight and same sex. Throw in a fake suicide and murder there's quite a lot going on. Hopefully they plot doesn't get too tangled to follow as it did in PLL. Rather droll that Agatha Christie would be college reading.

Kelly Rutherford looks stunning and I'm so thrilled she's in the series. She elevates the show to another class.

It'll take a bit of time to get used to the new characters. Some of the guys look a bit alike. The girls are all pretty but I miss the A list distinctiveness of the PLL bunch.

Whatever it is just so glad it's on.

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists

[ZegMaarJus · 7/10 · 24 April 2022]

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists is a mystery series. It is a spin-off after 8 Seasons Pretty Little Liars.

The first 5 episodes are good. But the other 5 were not good enough for a PLL spin-off. The storyline was just not good enough.

Hmm..seems interesting

[jgkamunye-02794 · 8/10 · 23 March 2019]

After the awful pll series finale, I thought the sequel would obviously suck but the reboot's premiere seems interesting. Let's see how it goes from here. What I like from it is the fresh storyline and characters who are likable using the same pll tone.

This Series is all glamour without any soul

[mohinderchugh · 25 May 2019]

I would not advice you to watch 10 episodes of mediocre mystery thriller with lousy acting to wait for next season to find out what this mystery is all about. If you are really fond of this genre of Cinema it is better to watch European Series. European Directors have mastered the art of creating best in Mystery. Teens may find this as interesting but if they ignore that the thriller and mystery element is missing . It could have been another teen romance drama series due to all the Romance and Glamour. This Series is all glamour without any soul.

Quite Good/ Not as good as the first one. The ending was pointless!!!

[chloegalley · 7/10 · 16 February 2021]

Pretty Little Liars The Perfectionist is a 2019 series 1 Mystery, it's a spin off series of pretty little liars and is the third series in the pretty little liars franchise. Starring Sasha pieterse and Janel Parrish. I have seen the first Pretty little Liars on Netflix and it was brilliant was hooked all the way through so I had been waiting to watch the spin off and finally it came on tv. I was surprised on how good this was took me 2 episodes to get into it then was hooked. Was a little slow in some episodes but as it went along it got better. Out of all the episodes the last 2 were the betters ones as it had you on edge and it got exciting. The spin off is more grown up as it's set in college it's a little predictable in places. The acting was okay Sasha and Janel are brilliant actress there play the characters very well. I was just very disappointed with the ending after all the episodes you don't get the answers you want and what happens next. You can't just leave a series like that, surly there must be a second series coming otherwise what is the point in all of this. Then after all that I thought what was point of watching it. Overall I did enjoy it but no way as good as the first. Don't get your hopes up to much. Currently streaming on BBC IPLAYER for a year

Not again

[agus-spd · 2/10 · 23 March 2019]

PLL used to be good. First seasons of the show were real good... mystery, good characters, and a pretty strong, believable plot. When they announced Sofia Carson was joining I decided to give The Perfectionists a shot. Wrong decision. Taylor's storyline is just so predictable. And all those people watching everything that happens everywhere on the campus? Too far fetched and absolutely out of tone. They should try and focus on the REALISTIC part of the stories and stop ruining the franchise

Highly Recommend

[fanacountbecausewhynot · 10/10 · 21 March 2019]

Even if you did not watch Pretty Little Liars you will still understand the show. I loved the pilot and looks like it's going to get better from here. So excited to see the rest.

Lame

[natiesee · 2/10 · 11 April 2019]

So far I am not liking this show. I loved "pretty little liars" but this one is really lame. I wish they would make more of the original one.

Damn...

[AnnaPagrati · 10/10 · 24 August 2021]

I really loved this spin-off. I never really understood why it got canceled, it had a nice mystery, I'd love to see where it was headed!