Guilty Pleasures: Pretty Little Liars

Unless you are a girl between the ages of 12 and 22, Pretty Little Liars, currently airing the second half of its third season (the show splits seasons into a summer and winter segment) Tuesdays on ABC Family, is probably one of the best examples of a guilty pleasure you could ever find. However, as anyone who's seen a decent part of the show can attest, it is addictive as hell, roping you in with mysteries on top of mysteries and their solutions yield twice as many new questions as they do answers. Pretty Little Liars follows four high school girls, picking up as the body of their fifth  BFF, classic mean-girl Alison, is found after she went missing a year earlier, her murder completely unsolved. At the funeral, the girls all receive a text from someone only known as A, who seems to know all of their secrets and continues to mess with them throughout the series. Those are the two primary mysteries of the show, and even though the identity of A was eventually discovered, there turned out to be more than just one A-ntagonist. Similarly, the case of Aly's murder has also yielded a variety of seemingly sure-thing suspects, only for crucial new information to be revealed (often through flashbacks, naturally) that of course clears the person you were so sure did it an episode ago. Add those to the ever increasing number of other mysteries involving the upper class citizens of Rosewood, PA, and you have the twistiest and most secret-filled town this side of Twin Peaks.

In addition to these perpetual mysteries, the other main aspect that keeps you coming back are the show's four talented leads and, as a guy, their attractiveness certainly doesn't hurt (and like most high school-set programs, they are all well into their twenties of course). Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario) is the over-achiever, facing constant pressure to live up to her family name and her sister's academic success. Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) is the sensitive athlete who experiences an awakening as she realizes her sexual orientation. Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale) is the artsy old soul who becomes romantically involved with her English teacher. And Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson) is the formerly-hefty rebellious one who never met an authority figure she couldn't flout or a situation she couldn't lighten with a sassy line. Together they attempt to fight back against the A-team, uncover the true identity of Alison's killer, and the reason for her murder. All while simultaneously trying to navigate the academic and social drama of high school (and never wearing the same outfit twice apparently). This being a show directed at teenage girls, there are of course a variety of guys present as well (ones who typically end up shirtless at least every other episode), but the show also devotes a substantial amount of time developing the adult characters (parents, teachers, school alumni, etc.) as well. Add these fully developed characters to Pretty Little Liars' juicy mysteries, plot twists, and crazy cliffhangers, along with healthy doses of humor (intentional comedy as well as the often hilarious melodrama), and you have a show that just might lure you out of your own demographic to tune in as well.