‘Pretty Little Liars’ Showrunner I. Marlene King On Season Six: ‘There Were A Lot Of Tears!’

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Pretty Little Liars.

In a rare opportunity, fans were invited to spend “An Evening with Pretty Little Liars,” courtesy of Citibank and hosted by The Grove in Los Angeles last Thursday night. The event emphasized the costumes seen throughout every season of Pretty Little Liars by honoring executive producer Marlene King and Pretty Little Liars‘ head costume designer Mandi Line.

“I’m really excited for Mandi,” PLL‘s King said, responding to news that Pretty Little Liars has sparked a fashion frenzy in its fans. “The girls are so passionate about what they wear on the show, and Mandi really brings that passion — she’s the leader of the passions.”

Ms. King echoed the feelings of PLL fans with the acknowledgement that fashion wasn’t just something to add to the visual impact of the Pretty Little Liars sets, but that it’s really another character unto itself.

“It’s really at times like this that it’s the sixth pretty little Liar,” the Pretty Little Liars showrunner continued. “I say Alison is the fifth and fashion is the sixth, so it’s pretty cool.”

Ms. Line revealed that she goes to great lengths to make sure the costumes worn by the Pretty Little Liars actresses are reasonably priced, so that they’re not unobtainable to PLL fans to add to their own wardrobes.

“I kill myself for all of [the Liars’] looks, but it’s never not obtainable,” Mandi said. “No matter what I put on the girls, I’ll share on Instagram, with hashtag Mandi’s Steals, the flip side or a cheaper item if the real one is too expense.”

Meanwhile, PLL fans may have noticed that the sixth season seems darker than past seasons and the Pretty Little Liars showrunner wants everyone to know that’s no coincidence.

“It gets as dark as we could possibly go on Pretty Little Liars,” King teased.

The Pretty Little Liars cast and crew have been hard at work, finishing up with the summer season finale just last week. Ms. King said that she was pleased with the big A reveal.

“It’s been so exciting. Everybody brought their ‘A’ game for his episode so it does get dark.”

Marlene admits that knowing Pretty Little Liars is nearing the end of the line has had a profound effect on the cast and on herself, as well.

“There were a lot of tears in this episode — both from all the actors and then while we were making it. I was sitting at that monitor crying on multiple occasions,” the Pretty Little Liars E.P. said. “It’s exciting! The final true unmasking of ‘A’ is really exciting, but to hear the story — it’s so compelling, and to know that this is also the end of a story that we started telling so many years ago, it’s bittersweet.”

King also revealed that the coming time jump was something that came about as a means to advance the story, but also because Pretty Little Liars‘ actresses have outgrown their roles as they are now.

“The Liars were a big part of that [flash-forward] decision because those incredible actresses really have outgrown the teenage years,” she explained. “Time was moving very slowly in Rosewood and we were ready to speed it up.”

“We just felt that when we ended this story it came at such a great time to just reset and jump to five years later where our actresses will be playing closer to their age,” King added. “Getting to be more grown-up, and getting to make more grown-up mistakes, and grown-up decisions.”

What can PLL fans expect, when Pretty Little Liars picks up after that time jump? The executive producer confirms that wedding bells aren’t completely out of the question.

“Oh it’s possible!” King teased with a coy smile. “It’s possible. There are some engagement rings flying around when we come back for the premiere.”

It seems everything will come together for PLL fans, when Pretty Little Liars airs its tenth episode. Entitled “Game over, Charles,” that Pretty Little Liars episode will unmask A once and for all, revealing the facts of the mystery that has kept PLL fans coming back season after season. King admits that some PLL theorists are already one step ahead of A, however.

“A lot of people are guessing it correctly. Some people are guessing the how and the why, so there are theories out there that are correct.”

“The finale is so exciting because we really put all of those pieces together and explain why it all happened and how it all happened.”

Pretty Little Liars airs Tuesdays on ABC Family.

[Featured image: I. Marlene King courtesy of Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images]