What’s Up Next for Secret Life and Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family

NiceGirlsTV recently had the opportunity to participate in roundtable interviews with some of the talent from the upcoming slate of returning and new television shows at ABC, ABC Family Channel and Disney. Among the talent at these interviews for the ABC Family Channel were cast members of the shows The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Pretty Little Liars.

Kan Baumann and Francia Raisa Photo by Tiffany Vogt

In attendance from The Secret Life, as the show is known to its fan, were cast members Ken Baumann and Francia Raisa, who spoke about their show which aired its third season finale on June 6 and will see its fourth season premiere take place next week on Monday, June 13 at 8/7c.

When asked if the show is realistic to the lives of kids in high school, they both empathically answered, “Yes!” with Francia adding “we deal with pregnancy (and other teen issues) in realistic ways”. They also both joked that they never know what is going on in the show, as it’s “always a surprise when we read the scripts”. In addition, they both feel a sense of responsibility in their portrayals.

They both expressed that the June 6 finale was “a life-changing episode” for which they “all worked so hard on”. It was an episode that was not only challenging but also one of their favorites.

One of the best facets of working on the show, according to both cast members, is how efficient they (cast and crew alike) are when shooting each episode. “We work at a quick pace and rarely work a 12-hour day,” explained Ken. They both joked that since The Secret Life of the American Teenager is a ‘talking head’ show, they actually have lives outside of the show, which isn’t indicative for most actors given the long hours they typically spend on set.

In closing, they both talked about their dream guest stars with Ken saying that he would love to have actor Daniel Day Lewis on the show with Francia suggesting Jennifer Lopez as a favorite.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager returns for its fourth season starting on Monday, June 13 at 8/7c on ABC Family.

ABC Family’s hit drama Pretty Little Liars saw cast members Troian Bellisario, Shay Mitchell and Lucy Hale joining us for to talk about the show, which returns with a brand new season on Tuesday, June 14 at 8/7c.

Shay Mitchell and Troian Bellisario Photo by Rueben

Shay and Troian agreed that it is “surreal” to them both that they are coming off such an amazing first season in terms of ratings and popularity with the viewers. In fact, Troian mentioned that, at the time of the interview, they were filming episode four of the new season; and after watching episode four from the first season, it “felt like it was eons ago because so much has happened since filming the first season.” It may only be a few weeks for their characters, but if “feels like a lifetime ago to us”.

Without revealing too much of the storyline for season two, the girls did share that the season premiere picks up moments after the last scene in the season finale. “There is no ‘days or weeks later’ you see exactly what happens next” stated Shay. What will be revealed in the new season includes what really happened to Ian, how much Noel will play into the stories now that he seems to be back and that Spencer and Tobey are together as a couple, but it won’t necessarily be an easy road for the two of them, according to Troian. Lucy also shared there will be a love triangle for Aria between her and Ezra and a new mystery guy. She also shared that Aria’s parents are back together, but her brother is rebelling for which Aria feels responsible.

Lucy Hale Photo by Rueben

They, however, don’t know that much about the future storylines as the writers don’t reveal too much, at least not until the girls receive the next script. When asked what was the biggest shock in the stories, Shay simply stated “every episode is a surprise. When we have the cast read-through we are trying to imagine what a particular scene is going to be like because there is always something dramatic happening.”

The one thing the girls could all agree on is that none of the cast knows who “A” really is with Lucy saying that she “gave up guessing about halfway through the first season”. This season “A” is now trying to “pit them against each other, but the girls’ bond is rock solid, making them friends for life,” says Lucy, but there will be “some insight into why Allison was the way she was” in future episodes according to Shay and Troian.

Pretty Little Liars returns Tuesday, June 14 at 8/7c on ABC Family .