Pretty Little Liars had won the hearts of many and fans were all devastated when the series finale aired and the show came to an end on June 27, 2017.  However, supporters of the Liars may have a new show returning for its second season called Big Little Lies. PLL fans, like myself, want to know if Big Little Lies is meant to be a spinoff or a rival of the very popular show.

Based off of the book by Sara Shepard, Pretty Little Liars centers around the mysterious disappearance of Alison DiLaurentis, the most popular and manipulative girl in Rosewood, Pennsylvania.  As the years go on since Alison went missing, Spencer, Emily, Aria and Hanna begin receiving texts from an anonymous blackmailer, named A, who threatens to expose all of their deepest, darkest secrets. While trying to find out who A is, these girls are battling high school and attempt to maintain strong relationships with the ones they love.

Most recently, Pretty Little Liars has become my favorite show.  Every episode, I’m practically glued to my seat. In every mystery and crime, there are so many layers to the plot and characters that nobody would have expected.

Similarly, Big Little Lies is based off a book written by Liane Moriarty. This show takes place in Monterey, California. When living in this perfect community, it is discovered that unknown rumors destroy the relationships of close friends and family. Through the eyes of three mothers in this twisted beachfront city, Madeline, Celeste and Jane take us through their perspective that life in Monterey is anything but perfect.

Binge-watching the first season of Big Little Lies was relatively fast, regarding that there are only seven episodes and the duration of each is between 45-55 minutes. Although the storyline was excellent, it didn’t really resemble Pretty Little Liars. For instance, the character’s personalities were almost nothing alike, Monterey and Rosewood are completely different and the plot isn’t the same either. Every episode had a lot happening at once and while watching season one, there wasn’t a ton of times that I thought “this is probably something that would happen in PLL.”

Overall, Pretty Little Liars is the better show between the two. It has so much more drama, thrill and there is never a dull, unsuspecting scene in any of the 160 episodes. Until season two returns in 2019, Big Little Lies won’t be at the top of my watch list. 

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