March Makeovers: Is ‘Pretty Little Liars’ in need of further transformation?

When “Pretty Little Liars” first began its #FiveYearsForward story arc, it did so with a whole lot of hype revolving around how this was going to be a this huge, dramatic shakeup to the show’s formula. However, since that time have we really seen things change that much? We would argue not really. Instead, we have another anonymous person sending out threats at the Liars left and right, and they are merely trying to come up with the right sort of ways to contend with them. It feels, roughly, like we’re in the same show.

The repetitive nature of the storyline at the moment is being reflect somewhat in the ratings. Season 6 as a whole is down more than 10% from season 5 in the key adults 18-49 demographic, with this last episode in particular drawing a lower rating (0.6) than any episode last season did. The second half of this season premiered to a 1.1, so there was at one point big numbers that spelled great things for the show moving forward.

Can there be a way to turn things around? That’s what we are looking forward to investigating in the latest chapter of our March Makeovers series.

What’s going wrong – It really just feels like more of the same for the show. We have a new murder mystery, new relationships that don’t feel particularly destined to last, and the only difference is that the Liars are not in high school anymore. Still, they are choosing to keep weird secrets (Aria not telling Liam about her history with Ezra, Emily not opening up about her egg business or her past), and not learning from some of their mistakes in high school. We know that this is a structure that worked well for the show in the past, but we feel like, for the most part, many out there were expecting some sort of larger revolution going into these new episodes.

How to fix it – It’s a little late for season 6, but what we’d like tos ee for the most part n season 7 is a structure that reminds us a little bit more of “Lost,” where every episode focuses more on a particular character and their backstory as they try to solve a larger mystery. Have the Liars cooperating more with police, have the surprises be a little more organic, and also introduce new characters who feel like genuine threats to previously-established relationships. Or, just get the longstanding couples back together and find some different sources of drama. We all know that there are plenty of other possibilities out there.

In the end, we just want the best for this show, and if it is ending after the seventh season, we’d definitely like to see it say farewell in the biggest, boldest way possible.

Interested in getting some other news on “Pretty Little Liars”? Then be sure to head over to this link now, and sign up to get some other TV news on all we cover, sent right over to you via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Freeform.)