Few teen dramas have left a mark quite like drama Pretty Little Liars. From 2010 to 2017, the ABC Family (later Freeform) series kept millions of viewers on the edge of their seats with its labyrinthine mysteries, shocking reveals, and a cast of characters who felt genuinely real. Set in the fictional town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, the show followed five teenagers bound together by dangerous secrets — and by a faceless tormentor known only as “A.” When the finale aired, fans were left wondering not just what would happen to the characters, but what would become of the actors who had brought them to life for seven seasons. The answer, it turns out, is quite a lot.
In this article
The Original Liars
The heart of the show was always its five central characters — the Liars — and the talented women who played them have each gone on to carve out impressive careers in different corners of the entertainment industry.
Troian Bellisario — Spencer Hastings
Spencer Hastings was the overachiever of the group: razor-sharp, fiercely competitive, and always three steps ahead of everyone else. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that Troian Bellisario — daughter of NCIS creator Donald Bellisario — has proven to be one of the most creatively ambitious members of the cast after the show’s end.
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Since PLL wrapped, Bellisario has leaned into independent cinema, starring in films like Feed (2017) and Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019). She has also stepped behind the camera, directing episodes of The Lying Game and Good Trouble, demonstrating a storytelling instinct that extends well beyond acting. Married to Suits actor Patrick J. Adams, Bellisario has also been vocal about mental health advocacy, using her platform to speak openly about personal struggles. She remains one of the most thoughtful and versatile talents to emerge from the show.
Ashley Benson — Hanna Marin
Hanna Marin was the fashionista with a quick wit and a surprisingly big heart, and Ashley Benson brought warmth and humor to the role throughout the series. After PLL, Benson pivoted confidently to film, taking on more challenging and mature material. Her roles in Spring Breakers (2012) and Her Smell (2018) signaled a deliberate move away from teen drama territory. She also appeared in the Hulu anthology series Into the Dark. Beyond acting, Benson has pursued entrepreneurial ambitions, producing projects through her production company, Forever Hold Your Peace.
Lucy Hale — Aria Montgomery
Aria Montgomery was beloved for her eclectic personal style and her passion for the arts, and Lucy Hale has carried that creative energy into a varied post-PLL career. She explored music alongside acting, releasing material that showcased a different dimension of her talent. On screen, she took on the horror-thriller Truth or Dare (2018) and starred in the Fantasy Island reboot in 2020. Hale also headlined the NBC drama Katy Keene and has continued to build her résumé with the upcoming Netflix series Ragdoll. Her willingness to jump across genres — from supernatural thrillers to romantic dramedies — speaks to her range as a performer.
Shay Mitchell — Emily Fields
Emily Fields was the compassionate, athletic member of the group, whose storylines around coming out and family tension resonated deeply with audiences. Since the show ended, Shay Mitchell has arguably become the most entrepreneurially prolific member of the cast. She launched a travel blog called Shaycation, co-authored the book Bliss, and co-founded the widely praised baby and travel product line BÉIS. On the acting front, she appeared in Season 2 of the Netflix thriller You and joined the cast of HBO Max’s The Heiresses. Mitchell has built a genuine lifestyle brand while maintaining a strong presence on screen — a rare combination.
Sasha Pieterse — Alison DiLaurentis
Alison DiLaurentis began the series as the seemingly dead queen bee whose memory haunted every episode. When she returned as a fully fleshed-out character, Sasha Pieterse rose to the challenge admirably. After PLL, she reprised her role in the spin-off Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019), proving that audiences still had an appetite for Alison’s complicated story. Pieterse also competed on Dancing with the Stars and has become an outspoken advocate for body positivity, using her public profile to encourage self-acceptance and challenge unrealistic beauty standards.
Love Interests and Antagonists
The Liars were never alone in Rosewood, and the supporting cast was equally memorable — and equally busy in the years since the finale.
- Ian Harding (Ezra Fitz): Aria’s controversial English teacher-turned-love interest remains a polarizing figure in fan discussions, but Harding himself has moved thoughtfully into new territory. He wrote a memoir titled Odd Birds and has continued to act in independent film projects, choosing quality over commercial visibility.
- Tyler Blackburn (Caleb Rivers): Hanna’s tech-savvy, deeply loyal boyfriend was one of the show’s most popular characters. Blackburn went on to star in the sci-fi drama Roswell, New Mexico and has also pursued music as a singer-songwriter, exploring a creative outlet beyond acting.
- Keegan Allen (Toby Cavanaugh): Spencer’s brooding, sensitive love interest gave Allen one of the show’s most emotionally demanding roles. Since then, he has channeled another passion into published photography books and has taken on lighter fare with roles in Hallmark’s Love, Fall & Order.
- Janel Parrish (Mona Vanderwaal): If any character on PLL had the most complex arc, it was Mona — the original “A,” the villain, the antihero, the unlikely ally. Parrish has remained highly visible since the show, competing on Dancing with the Stars and starring in To All the Boys: Always and Forever (2021), bringing her signature charm to a very different kind of story.
- Andrea Parker (Jessica DiLaurentis): Alison’s enigmatic and morally compromised mother was one of the show’s most compelling side characters. Parker carried her talents into The Perfectionists, continuing to bring depth and unease to the expanded PLL universe.
Where Are They Now? The Bigger Picture
Beyond individual careers, the Pretty Little Liars universe itself has refused to stay quiet. In 2022, HBO Max launched Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, a darker and more socially conscious reboot that introduced a new generation of Liars while inviting original cast members to make cameos. The reboot demonstrated that the franchise still has cultural currency — and that fans remain deeply attached to the world the original series built.
Off screen, the bonds forged during seven years of filming have clearly lasted. Troian Bellisario and Shay Mitchell co-host Drama Queens, a One Tree Hill rewatch podcast that has attracted a loyal following of nostalgia-driven listeners. The broader cast stays connected through social media as well, regularly sharing throwback photos and reuniting at fan events, keeping the sense of community alive long after the cameras stopped rolling.
The Legacy of Pretty Little Liars
It would be easy to dismiss Pretty Little Liars as simply a glossy teen soap — easy, but wrong. The show tackled identity, loyalty, trauma, and the particular anxiety of adolescence with a consistency that earned it a devoted global audience. It also launched the careers of several women who have proven, time and again, that they are far more than the roles that first made them famous.
The Pretty Little Liars cast represents something genuinely rare in television: an ensemble that grew together on screen and continued to grow, in varied and meaningful ways, once the show was over. Whether behind a camera, on a stage, in a boardroom, or at a podcast microphone, the women and men of Rosewood have made it very clear — the secrets may have ended, but their stories are still being written.
