School’s out for Pretty Little Liars: Summer School as Max has canceled the show after two seasons.
One of the best streaming services has decided not to renew the series three months after it ended on Max. The reboot is a horror twist on the original 2010 hit mystery drama series Pretty Little Liars and was originally called Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (2022) before being renamed to Pretty Little Liars: Summer School in the second season.
It’s usually rare to see a reboot series receive higher critical praise than its predecessor, but that’s exactly the case for this show. Pretty Little Liars: Summer School has 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, while the original series has 81%. Looking at this achievement, I’m at a loss on why one of the best Max shows was canceled, and can only think that it was possibly due to low viewership figures.
Similarly to AMC Networks canceling Orphan Black: Echoes, one factor could also be that it’s because Pretty Little Liars: Summer School failed to gather a dedicated fanbase like the original series, with TechRadar’s editorial associate Rowan Davies saying: “The last thing we needed was another Pretty Little Liars series.” So maybe I can’t trust that 90% Rotten Tomatoes score after all!
What is Pretty Little Liars: Summer School about?
Set in the town of Millwood, the reboot follows five teenage girls who are being terrorised by a mysterious person wanting revenge for their mothers’ sins.
After revealing the villain who had been tormenting the group, the season two finale ended on a cliff-hanger as it teased a new threat with a group of girls wearing masks resembling the ‘Liars’ walking the corridors of the high school. Now, their identities will remain a mystery.
Max said in a statement to Decider: “While Max will not be moving forward with a third season of Pretty Little Liars[Summer School], we are so grateful to our co-creators, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Lindsay Calhoon Bring, as well as the team at Warner Bros. Television, for reintroducing fans to this new iteration of liars who band together to fight the latest creepy villain terrifying Millwood. Their unique and modern creative vision – combined with the immense talent of our cast and crew – gave the series a fun, horror-filled point of view that paid tribute to its original Rosewood roots.”
The series featured Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Zaria, Malia Pyles, and Maia Reficco as the next iteration of Pretty Little Liars.
