The Summer finale of Pretty Little Liars ended with the explosive "A" reveal, as promised, but we still have so many questions. Now, after many torturous months, the Winter premiere is finally here. Of course, we've spent the hiatus watching and rewatching the first four minutes, and we've gotten as much info as we can about the new "big bad" on the horizon, but that wasn't enough. We got creator I. Marlene King on the phone for a one-on-one interview, and she dished on the time jump, the fate of CeCe, and the show's next villain. Keep reading to see what she had to say.
"The girls have all sort of gone their separate ways over these five years, and although they're still friends, they don't see each other regularly. So there is an event — or a reason — they come back to Rosewood. Some new secrets and lies. A new mystery unfolds. And the results of that mystery unleash a new 'big bad.'"
"We will find out who did that, yes. That's connected to this new mystery, and the new 'big bad' moving forward."
"Let's see. We'll see Charlotte, we'll see Mona. We'll see all the guys: Toby, Caleb, and Ezra. Lucas comes back; he's got a nice surprise he's going to tell us about. All of the parents will be back. Jenna will be back. Melissa will be back."
"Julian has committed to Hand of God, so he'll be working while we're filming. But we will find a way. Wren's character is very much alive and well on our show, even though we don't have the actor right now. We'll definitely bring him back to Rosewood before it's all over."
"Sara is still in our show. She's coming back. And the girls are trying to find out if she's telling the truth about something or not. That's sort of a new mystery we have moving forward: why was she in that dollhouse, and was it voluntarily or not? And I'll give you this: she's coming back a very changed person."
"Yes, the Carissimi Group is part of our story moving forward."
"The ladies are really loving playing characters that are closer to their age, and the stories are more grown up and fun. And I will say that we have saved the greatest twist for the end. That one's still coming."