ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars continues to thrive in social TV. The teen drama has continued to break records and set precedents for how a show can grow when a powerful social TV savvy audience embraces the story lines and characters beyond the traditional screen. Now they’re going a step further and launching a web series with cast members as the third season comes to an end.
The show’s third season finaled Tuesday night, breaking an all-time record according to Bluefin Labs (infographic below). There were 1.6 million tweets — 200,000 more than the two-hour American Idol finale in May.
The show’s new web series, “Pretty Dirty Secret” is “specifically designed for fans on social media while the show is off the air,” according to the network. It will bridge the storyline between this week’s finale and their special Halloween episode. We spoke with Beth Johnson, VP of Digital Media for ABC Family about the big launch. You can watch the first installment, which teases the series here.
Lost Remote: Why are you launching this series?
Beth Johnson: The “Pretty Little Liars” fan base is so passionate – they can’t get enough of the show. “Pretty Dirty Secrets” is being created to keep our millennial fan base, which is incredibly active online and within social media, engaged while the show is on hiatus. This gives them something new to talk about every Tuesday that is organic and true to the overall show experience.
The web series focuses on the time between the Summer finale tonight and the special Halloween episode airing in October, when the town of Rosewood is getting ready for Halloween. We’ll be introducing a new character, Shana (Aerial Miranda) as the local Halloween store clerk. She’ll be seen in an on-air episode later in early 2013. With Halloween fast approaching the store is a major hub of activity and the primary set for the series. And familiar Rosewood residents will be in and out of the shop while searching for the perfect costume — so it’s a great place to drop clues and hints about what might unfold in the upcoming special episode.
LR: Who produced it?
Johnson: We took the idea of doing a bridge web series to Warner Bros, who produces the show. They loved the idea and were already working on the Halloween episode that had a rich secondary storyline. The web series provides them with the perfect platform to delve more deeply into that story, which they wouldn’t normally have time for on-air. It all just clicked right away and they came through with an amazing creative vision that connects so perfectly to the show itself. And I don’t think either of us would have wanted to do it if we didn’t feel it was a great experience for the fans – so it worked out really well!
LR: How will it help make the linear show more social? How will you be promoting it?
Johnson: The series was created to drive social conversation while Pretty Little Liars is off the air. There is a high degree of speculation among our fan base about the tiniest pieces of information, so we have crafted the webisode series to be a huge conversation starter. In the past, when we’ve posted photos from the set or costume pieces (doorknobs, black hoodies, etc) — fans have had speculated infinitely in ways we wouldn’t have foreseen. This series is making even more room for that, while also delivering satisfying plot points that are relevant to what is happening on air. We expect to see a lot of wild theories about what’s coming next!
The promotion begins tonight when we premiere the first episode of “Pretty Dirty Secrets” online and on mobile web. The on-air episode will be promoting the series at the end of the finale and we’ll have continued on-air promotion leading up to the special. We’ll also be posting mysterious visuals taken during the web series shoot on all of our social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest) that will pay off weekly.
LR: How are talent involved?
Johnson: Because we are focusing on a storyline right out of the show, fan favorites like Brant Daugherty, Yani Gellman, Vanessa Ray, Brendan Robinson and Drew Van Acker will all be featured. At the shoot, the talent were talking about how excited they are to give back to the fans in the social media space and how they love having that connection.
LR: How is this enabling you to extend the brand before and after the show airs.
Johnson: It gives “Pretty Little Liars” fans a reason to visit ABC Family Digital Media at a time when there isn’t typically new show content available. It keeps fans involved, connected and engaged. Fans are used to getting something new from their favorite show every Tuesday, and this keeps fulfilling on that promise – even when the show is off the air.
Here’s the infographic:
