Pilot (Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists)

Pilot is the series premiere of Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists.

Synopsis
Everything about the town of Beacon Heights seems perfect, from its top-tier college to its overachieving residents—but nothing in Beacon Heights is as it appears to be. When the high-stakes environment pushes the residents to a breaking point, someone snaps and kills someone. As they work together to solve the murder mystery, it soon becomes clear that behind every Perfectionist is a secret, a lie—and a needed alibi.

Summary
Welcome to Beacon Heights University, begins a dialogue as shots of the campus at night is shown, where one of them shown is Music Hall. A woman bids Dylan Walker, a gifted cellist, good night whereas her companion comments that he'll stay up all night. Dylan, hard at working playing, notices blood on his finger as he swipes his electronic notes. Unfazed, he continues playing. Elsewhere on campus, an athletic Caitlin Park-Lewis, dissatisfied with her jogging time, checks the time. Bothered that it's three in the morning, she continues running and later passes McCormick Hall, where Ava Jalali, the narrator and an aspiring fashion designer, resides. She is still up sketching, but crumbles up her drawings in frustration after her pencil breaks. Ava warns the high-stakes pressure will drive someone to kill, as shots are shown of a crime scene and a trio running from police sirens.

In the Oregon mountainside last at night, Alison is being chauffeured and is asked why she’s in Oregan by the driver. She responds she is now a faculty member of BHU, and doesn’t know a soul in town. Arriving her new house, she begins to hear these ominous noises around. Shaken, she opens the basement door and turns on the lights. Seeing nothing, she closes it and is surprised by Mona, who calmly states that she brought pie.

Mona sets the pie on the table and sits as Alison asks why she's here. Mona responds that she also works at BHU for recruitment and admissions, having come back to the States to devote her time on her passions - game design - after the reasons why she was in France escaped her. Alison is still not following, so she elaborates that ten months ago she was hired at BHU to refine their faculty selection process, and chose her to come. Alison is angered she wasn't told, but admits she wouldn't have come if she did ask. Mona admits she wanted to come here for a fresh start, and it was easier to gain people's trust when you haven't given them enough reasons not to. Alison relates - Emily loves her but is struggling with the past. Sometimes they're happy, sometimes they're not, which is why Alison is ready to shed her past as a mean girl. She wants to help the students, and Mona says she will as she begins to pack up the pie. That's when Alison notices Beacon Guard, which Mona explains it's the school's security system. She says she'll give Alison a tour tomorrow as she packs the pie, and asks Alison to store it for later. As she leaves, Mona, looking the mirror, comments that Alison is as determined as ever.

Mona and Alison begin the tour, with Alison commenting on the philanthropy of the Hotchkiss family to build BHU from the ground up.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Main Cast

 * Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis
 * Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal
 * Sofia Carson as Ava Jalali: A stylish trendsetter with a big personality, Ava hopes to have her own clothing line someday. But she has an edge over her fellow fashionistas: a brilliant technological mind, which she uses to blog and code. Just don’t ask her why her parents recently fled the country — it’s her one big secret.
 * Sydney Park as Caitlin Park-Lewis : The intelligent, motivated and easy-on-the-eyes daughter of two over-achieving mothers, one of whom is a United States senator, Caitlin is an expert at hiding secrets. She hopes to follow in her mother’s political footsteps — that is, if the weight of her own secrets doesn’t crush her first.
 * Eli Brown as Dylan Walker : A prodigious cellist who used his passion for music to escape his small-minded hometown, Dylan loves his music almost as much as he loves his boyfriend, Andrew. (And even that’s up for debate.)
 * Kelly Rutherford as Claire Hotchkiss : The matriarch of the Hotchkiss family, Claire along with her husband is the founder of Hotchkiss Industries and the respected Beacon Heights University. She believes perfection is attainable and is the person who pulls the strings behind the scenes to get what she wants.
 * Hayley Erin as Taylor Hotchkiss
 * Graeme Thomas King as Jeremy Beckett : A handsome Brit with more abs than you can count with just your fingers, Jeremy is also described as “charming and witty.” (Duh, he’s British!) What’s more, he’s also an intelligent scientist working for Hotchkiss Industries.

Special Guest Star

 * Chris Mason as Nolan Hotchkiss: A natural born leader, Nolan is the heir to his family’s empire. Though he puts forth the image of a golden boy, Nolan is actually a manipulator who uses his friends and family to maintain his image. Not a big fan of authority figures or the word “no,” Nolan isn’t used to losing.

Supporting Cast

 * Evan Bittencourt as Andrew : Dylan’s “nerd-chic” boyfriend is deeply committed to his architectural studies, spending what little free time he has cooking and being with Dylan. He is the supportive and well-adjusted boyfriend of Dylan, who is successfully navigating the world of the Perfectionists – for now.

Guest Cast

 * Sarah Siadat as Hotchkiss Tech
 * David Chattam as Driver
 * Dawn Greenidge as FBI Agent
 * Ashley Wright as Model
 * Bransen Sands as Photographer

Trivia

 * It was originally unknown if the episode would be named Pilot, but was later confirmed.
 * This episode will take place two years after 'Til Death Do Us Part.
 * On December 4, 2017, it was confirmed that Alison and Mona were going to be billed as series regulars.
 * The first death of the season occurs in the Pilot, and the first murder in Beacon Heights.
 * According to Sofia Carson, the show will not premiere until 2019.
 * On February 15, 2018, I. Marlene King tweeted a line from the episode that said, "What are you doing here?"
 * A few weeks later, another line was tweeted, "Welcome to Beacon Heights, Alison."
 * On June 18, 2018, a line from the pilot was tweeted out that read, "Why am I really here?!"
 * An Alison and Mona line was tweeted by Marlene King on July 21, 2018, that read, "Did you learn nothing in Rosewood? There are no coincidences!"
 * On December 12, 2018, Marlene tweeted out another line saying, "What the hell, Alison?!".
 * The official first-day of shooting for the pilot began on March 12, 2018.
 * Reshoots took place on December 5, 2018.
 * The teaser trailer was released on May 14th, 2018.
 * The official trailer was released on June 21st, 2018 on the show's official Facebook and Instagram pages.
 * Caitlin's last name was changed from "Martell-Lewis" to "Park-Lewis" between the Pilot and the second episode.
 * Janel Parrish's favorite line from the Pilot is Mona's first ever line in the series, "I brought pie!".
 * Sydney Park's favorite line(s) from the Pilot is a scene from Nolan Hotchkiss' welcome back party, when Alison says, "So, you're gonna follow in the footsteps and become a senator like your mom?" to which Caitlin responds, "That's the plan!".
 * A behind the scenes video that included clips from the Pilot was released via US Weekly and can be found here.
 * On Friday March 15, 2019 the official PLL:TP Instagram page revealed there was a travel to Oregon Sweepstakes.
 * Despite being credited as a Series Regular in press releases for the show, Chris Mason is actually credited as a Special Guest Star in the pilot episode.

Spoilers

 * Based on a headline in a behind the scenes photo, it would appear Nolan will be the Perfectionist dying at the end of the episode..
 * Despite being credited as a Series Regular in press releases for the show, Chris Mason is actually credited as a Special Guest Star in this episode.

Promotional

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