A change is coming to "Pretty Little Liars" when it returns to ABC Family/Freeform next year. Aside from the five-year time jump, which will see Aria (Lucy Hale), Hanna (Ashley Benson), Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Emily (Shay Mitchell), and Alison (Sasha Pieterse) as they take on new challenges in their respective careers, a new villain is also coming to torment the girls.
Speaking to MTV News, Hale and Benson talked about the new Big Bad, saying that he's evil and unlike "A," he's not playing games.
"It's not all dolls and games," said Benson. "It's definitely not fun and games—he's not trying to play with them. He threatens them."
Hale said that the new villain will also be very deadly, and season 6B's Big Bad will be ready to take a life if the girls don't give in to his demands.
"The stakes are definitely higher," said Hale. "It's not 'I'm going to expose your secrets.' It's 'I'm going to kill you if you don't get me what I want."
Executive producer Marlene King said that the new villain's vengeful streak has something to do with a dead body.
"The Big Bad has an agenda, and it's to find out why this person passes away—and to seek revenge on the person responsible," King explained.
Whoever the villain is, his threats appear to carry enough weight to bring all the girls back to Rosewood. In the promo clip for season 6B, the girls are seen frantically rushing into Alison's classroom and telling her "he's back."
And despite their new careers, everyone will also head home to testify for Charlotte, who was revealed to be "A". Hale told TVLine that out of all the girls, Lucy will be the most hesitant to return because she has a new life in Boston.
"The only reason she's going back is because she loves Alison, and she'll do anything for her, but she's definitely being pulled by her hair," said the actress.
"Pretty Little Liars" 6B premieres on Jan. 12, 2016 at 8/7c on ABC Family/ Freeform.
