Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists knows exactly what it is -- Pretty Little Liars 2.0

Paste Magazine

"This is an excellent state of affairs, as far as The Perfectionists is concerned," says Alexis Gunderson of the second Pretty Little Liars spinoff. "Not only was Pretty Little Liars a monumentally popular series that helped define a whole generation of teen television," says Gunderson, "but with seven seasons of clever mystery-box storytelling under their belts, everyone on showrunner I. Marlene King’s creative team can turn out a classic PLL-style episode in their (nightmare-ridden) sleep. You want darkly pregnant narrative tension? King can give you darkly pregnant narrative tension. You want gorgeously framed, allusively rich images? Co-EP/director Norman Buckley and DP Larry Reibman can give you those damn beautiful shots. You want mysterious doll parts in jars? Oh, The Perfectionists will give you mysterious doll parts in jars. The problem is, committing to being Pretty Little Liars 2.0—at least so far as this critic can tell on the basis of the single episode provided for review—means committing to all the bad that came with the good." ALSO: PLL: The Perfectionists shooting on location in Portland, Oregon means no more green screens and backlot sets.