Half of Pretty Little Liars season three is in the record books after Tuesday's summer finale. To hold over fans until the hit show returns Oct. 23, ABC Family has launched Pretty Dirty Secrets, an eight-part web series.
Meanwhile, this week's episode broke the record for most social media comments during a single TV episode, garnering 1.6 million on Twitter and Facebook (see infographic below). The episode -- "The Lady Killer" -- beat out American Idol's 2012 finale, which incited 1.4 million comments, according to data from Bluefin Labs.
Pretty Dirty Secrets will reveal a new character, Shana (played by Aerial Miranda), who is a Halloween store clerk. The web series star some PLL cast members and tells the story of Rosewood preparing for Halloween.
"We want to keep our millennial fans engaged and invested while the show is on hiatus," Beth Johnson, ABC Family's VP of digital media, tells Mashable. "Pretty Dirty Secrets gives them something new from the show to talk about every Tuesday that is organic and pivotal to the upcoming special."
The Oct. 23 televised Halloween special -- "This Is a Dark Ride" -- will lead off the back end of season three.
For now, fans can tune into Pretty Dirty Secrets every Tuesday at 8 p.m. Here's what to anticipate:
"The local Halloween store in Rosewood is a busy place these days and a good spot for someone who wants to keep tabs on certain people. But as the usual suspects come in and out of the store, will they find more than just the ultimate Halloween costume?"
The series' first part is more of a teaser (watch below). The Sept 4. episode will ramp things up.
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Fresh face Shana will reappear in early 2013. The web series approach for ABC Family differs from previous strategies because the network wants to take more advantage of its audience's heavy use of social media.
"In the past, when we've posted photos from the set or costume pieces fans have speculated infinitely in ways we wouldn’t have foreseen," Johnson says. "This series is making even more room for that.”
