InstagramSo you've finally answered your show's biggest mystery after six seasons. Now what do you do? You stage a massive time-jump, of course!
After revealing A's identity after six seasons (Spoiler alert: It was Cece Drake!), Pretty Little Liars is set to move five years forward when it returns in January. And the show gave fans a taste of Aria (Lucy Hale), Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Hanna (Ashley Benson), Emily (Shay Mitchell) and Alison (Sasha Pieterse) all grown-up in the midseason finale's final scene, while simultaneously teasing a new mystery AND villain. (You can try and take the girls out of Rosewood...)
So what are the Liars up to five years in the future? And who, if anyone, are they dating? We went straight to showrunner Marlene King for some answers. And while she couldn't reveal much, she did give us details on our girls at 23. Plus, we broke down the trailer for Season 6B's return...
"They're all in very different places," King teases of the girls five years later. "I don't want to give you all the answers because that's part of the fun of the story when we find them. They're still friends, but like what happens after you get out of college, you don't get to see your friends all the time. So there's a reason they have to come back to town and they're bringing some secrets back with them, too."
Spencer: SPENCER HAS BANGS. OK, aside from that, in the trailer, Mona approaches Spencer, asking if she still has nightmares. But what intrigued us the most? The campaign signs behind Mona, which say Veronica Hastings, meaning Mama Hastings has probably gone into politics, and we bet Spencer has too after graduating from Georgetown.
Hanna: Our girl is engaged! But is Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) the lucky guy? I can't say who it's to," King says. "It might be Caleb, it might not be. A lot can happen in five years."
Emily: We didn't get a lot of info on Emily, but judging from the trailer, it seems like she didn't have the best college experience. "College isn't what I thought it was going to be," she tells Toby (Keegan Allen).
Aria: Again, we didn't get much about Aria, but there is security-cam footage of her and Ezra (Ian Harding), who now has a mustache (?!), in the trailer. And she's seen sitting a desk, so we're getting a journalist/writer vibe.
Ali: Who has changed the most? Probably the only Liar to stay in Rosewood as King confirms "Alison is married," and that her name is "Mrs. Rollins," which she is seen writing on the chalkboard in the midseason finale's last scene. King says we can expect Ali to be "more grounded."
Oh, and she will definitely have a relationship with her sister Charlotte (aka Cece aka A!) "Ali is staying behind to take care of Charlotte," King says of Ali's decision to stay in Rosewood. She wants to make her connection with her sister, the same with Jason. That really becomes a big part of her story over the next five years, is being the family to Charlotte that Charlotte never had.
As for the boys? Don't worry, King promises, "Caleb, Toby and Ezra are still very much a part of our world when we come back in five years."
In addition to new jobs and new looks, fans can expect a new mystery in Season 6B, centering on the "He" the Liars warn Ali about in the final scene of "Game Over, Charles."
King previews, "There's a new mystery. There's a little bit of old mystery dabbled in there, but not a lot. It's mostly new mystery. There will be a new Big Bad in their lives and a new mystery to solve."
And believe it or not, King says this "final mystery" will top the six-season-long A journey.
"This last mystery, we've saved the best for last," King says. "There's one last very, very big, twisty-turvy mystery."
Pretty Little Liars will return in January 2016 on ABC Family.