Honestly, nothing quite hits like the first time you saw a text signed by "A." That specific brand of Rosewood chaos—the perfect hair, the questionable life choices, and the constant threat of a black-hooded stalker—created a void that most teen dramas just can’t fill. You’ve probably tried rewatching the original seven seasons, but let’s be real: we all know how the Spencer-twin saga ends.
If you’re looking for similar series to pretty little liars, you aren’t just looking for high schoolers with secrets. You want that "don't go in there" tension. You want the fashion. You want the "who can I actually trust?" paranoia.
The good news? The "teen noir" genre has exploded since 2010. Whether it’s 2026’s newest hits or the cult classics you missed, there are plenty of shows that capture that same addictive, slightly unhinged energy.
The Modern Successors: What’s Dropping Right Now
If you’re caught up on the 2026 TV landscape, you know the mystery genre has gotten a bit darker and a lot more sophisticated.
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A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (Netflix)
This is basically the spiritual successor to PLL. Based on Holly Jackson’s novels, it follows Pip Fitz-Amobi, a girl who decides to solve a closed murder case for her school project. Why? Because she’s convinced the "guilty" guy didn't do it. It has that specific small-town-with-secrets vibe that made Rosewood so claustrophobic. Pip is a bit more of a "Velma" than a "Hanna," but the way the mystery unravels is pure gold.
Run Away (Netflix - 2026 Release)
Harlan Coben is the king of "everyone is lying," and his latest adaptation, Run Away, just hit the charts with massive numbers. It’s not strictly a teen show, but it captures that "underworld hiding in plain sight" feeling. If what you loved about PLL was the feeling of being watched and the slow reveal of a family's dark past, this is your next weekend-ruiner.
Cruel Summer (Hulu)
If you haven't seen this yet, stop everything. It’s an anthology, so Season 1 and Season 2 are different stories, but Season 1 is the one you want. It jumps between three different years in the 90s (1993, 1994, 1995) to show how one girl’s disappearance changed the lives of everyone in town. The way the lead characters' personalities shift as they get more "famous" and more "hated" is very reminiscent of the Liars' evolution.
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The "I Need a Stalker" Fix
Let’s talk about "A." The anonymous harasser is the engine that ran PLL. If you miss that specific "ping" of a terrifying text message, these shows are calling your name.
- You (Netflix): This is the dark, twisted cousin of PLL. Instead of a group of girls being stalked, we see the perspective of the stalker, Joe Goldberg. It stars Penn Badgley (Dan Humphrey from Gossip Girl), and it is genuinely creepy. Joe’s inner monologue is fascinating—and horrifying.
- One Of Us Is Lying (Peacock): Five students walk into detention, but only four walk out alive. The dead student? The school's biggest gossip-monger. Suddenly, everyone has a secret they’d kill to keep. It’s basically The Breakfast Club meets a murder mystery.
- Gossip Girl (Original & Reboot): While not a murder mystery per se, Gossip Girl is the blueprint for the anonymous "all-seeing" eye. The original series has the fashion and the drama, while the HBO Max reboot tried to lean more into the "cancel culture as a weapon" angle.
When You Want That Small Town Gothic Vibe
Rosewood was a character in itself. It was foggy, it was historic, and it felt like a trap.
Riverdale (The CW)
Look, Riverdale gets a lot of flak for its "epic highs and lows of high school football" dialogue, but the first season is a masterclass in teen noir. The murder of Jason Blossom is a legitimate hook. It’s got the aesthetic—neon diners, dark woods, and hidden legacies. As the seasons go on, it gets... weird (cults, superpowers, time travel), but if you liked the "everything is possible" logic of the later PLL seasons, you'll actually love the insanity of Riverdale.
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Yellowjackets (Showtime)
This is for the "trauma-bonded friendship" fans. It follows a high school girls' soccer team that survives a plane crash and gets stranded in the wilderness for 19 months. The show jumps between the 90s and the present day, where the adult survivors are being blackmailed by someone who knows what they did to survive. It’s gruesome, it’s female-led, and it is incredibly well-acted.
Quick Binge Guide: Which One Should You Watch First?
| If you liked... | You should watch... | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| The "A" mystery | Cruel Summer | It’s all about who saw what and who is lying. |
| The friendship & fashion | Elite (Netflix) | It’s a Spanish series (subtitles or dubs) about a private school where a murder happens. It is very messy and very high-fashion. |
| The "wrongly accused" trope | How To Get Away With Murder | It’s more adult, but the "hiding a body" stress is identical to PLL. |
| The supernatural hints | Nancy Drew (The CW) | It’s a darker, moodier version of the detective stories with actual ghosts. |
Why These Similar Series Still Work
The reason we keep looking for similar series to pretty little liars isn't just about the mystery. It’s about the stakes. In these shows, a secret isn't just a social faux pas; it’s a life-ending event.
We love seeing characters who are undeniably flawed—like Aria’s questionable relationships or Spencer’s intense pressure to be perfect—navigating a world that wants to tear them down. Most of these "successors" understand that the mystery is the hook, but the characters are the reason we stay for 100+ episodes.
Your Next Steps to Ending the PLL Withdrawal
Don't just scroll through Netflix for three hours. If you want to dive back into a world of secrets, here is your game plan:
- Start with "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" if you want a classic, clues-based mystery that feels modern.
- Queue up "Yellowjackets" if you're in the mood for something much darker that explores the psychological toll of keeping secrets.
- Check out "Elite" if you want the "rich kids behaving badly" drama with a high body count.
- Try "Tell Me Lies" (Disney+/Hulu) if you want that toxic, addictive relationship drama that was always bubbling under the surface in Rosewood.
The mystery is out there. You just have to decide which town's secrets you want to uncover first.