Pinoy culture takes front seat in latest season of ‘Pretty Little Liars’
Since its premiere this May, not only is the new season of the “Pretty Little Liars” reboot being praised by its young adult audiences globally for its storyline and hot take on today’s issues such as teenage pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, LGBTQIA+ romance and such a small setting like Millwood.
The diversity is also at the forefront. Usually, we just see Filipinos being part of the cast of certain shows but never at the front and center of it all, especially with such a foreign and global scale of a platform like HBO.
But when we spoke to the showrunners and executive producers of the show, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Lindsay Calhoon, they pointed out how important it was for them to give an in-depth look at what a Pinoy household would be like as they actively sought out our very own Lea Salonga to be part of the cast of the show.
“When we were conceptualizing the show, we knew we wanted the girls to be super diverse to reflect the times of today. But Lea Salonga is an icon. We were so lucky to get her for Season 2 cause she’s so busy!” they said.
One of the leads is Malia Pyles, who plays Lea’s daughter Mouse. Malia grew up in the United States and had her breakthrough career there so it’s always a moment for her to get to talk to journalists like us who are rooted in the motherland.
She said, “I love talking to anybody from the Philippines! It is really intimidating to represent the Philippines because it is one of the most beautiful countries ever. I hope I do a good job but it becomes easy when I’m playing alongside Lea Salonga!
“We have a very Filipino show, I’m so happy to be a part of it,” she added.
Besides Lea who plays Malia’s mom, the show also introduced her Lola Honrada who is played by “Here Lies Love” star and Tony award nominee Loretta Ables Sayre.
The young actress shared that they had such a Filipino set because Loretta brought in so much food on the show like a real lola. “Loretta, who plays my lola, brought so much goodies. Every time she brings so many food, I say I cannot anymore, I have had too much of those hahaha!”
Jordan Gonzales, who plays Ash Romero in “Pretty Little Liars: Summer School,” added, “We have Loreta who is also Filipino and Lea Salonga is Filipino. At this point, I am kind of in the Filipino family now.”
Another tidbit came from Maia Reficco who plays Noa Olivar. She revealed that Lea even sang her iconic rendition of Aladdin’s A Whole New World for the whole group to listen to during their downtime on set. Wow!
Maia shared, “As an Argentine, it is something that moves me to see unity with Lea and Loretta. It is so moving to watch and see them so proud it has been one of my favorite things to witness.”
“Pretty Little Liars: Summer School” is streaming on HBO Go.
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