Pretty Little Liars’ Lucy Hale has joined the cast of a spinoff. Sorry PLL fans, it is not The Perfectionists. Instead, Hale has been cast to lead the pilot for the new Riverdale spinoff, Katy Keene, which is currently in the works over at the same network the Archie-related series currently airs, The CW.
Lucy Hale will star in the eponymous role of Katy Keene. The character is a New Yorker who dreams of being a fashion designer, part which sounds fun so far! What is Katy doing in the meantime? Well, she is currently working a job that incorporates her passion for fashion. Katy is a personal shopper at a “luxury department store” at the start of Katy Keene, according to EW. The project is being produced Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Jon Goldwater. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Michael Grassi are penning the pilot script, which was greenlighted back in January; in addition, they will also executive produce.
Along with her career ambitions, Katy has other focuses in her life. Those include friendship and taking on the dating scene in New York City. For fans of Lucy Hale’s Pretty Little Liars character, there should be a lot of crossover appeal. While Aria professionally focused on becoming a writer, she had a keen (wink) eye for fashion.
Aria also dealt with a myriad of trials and tribulations relating to her friendships and dating. Fans excited to see the Pretty Little Liars spinoff and one of the series’ original stars in a new show, could be in for a double television treat. “Could” is the crucial part of that sentence.
The Riverdale spinoff is only in the pilot stages with no straight-to-series order. Thus, its future remains in question. Lucy Hale’s casting follows that of current Riverdale star, Ashleigh Murray, who plays Josie McCoy on The CW series. If the pilot for Katy Keene gets picked up, Murray will reprise her role as Josie in the spinoff, per THR.
It is important to note that Katy Keene takes place years ahead of Riverdale, which means if charters show up, it will be at a different point in the timeline.
So how will this tie into Riverdale? The storyline for the spinoff reveals that Katy Keene will follow "four iconic Archie Comics characters" as they chase their dreams. On the characters’ radar is making it on “Broadway," on "the runway," and in "the recording studio.” With her interest in fashion, Katy seems primed to pursue that secondly mentioned goal but we'll have to wait and see how the project pans out. Josie’s dreams could find her taking on all three.
Katy Keene would mark Lucy Hale’s second CW series since leaving Pretty Little Liars. She previously headlined the short-lived drama, Life Sentence. The series ran for 13 episodes, ultimately getting cancelled. You can currently watch the show on Netflix.
It is unclear if Lucy Hale signing up for Katy Keene could impact her availability to put in an appearance on Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. Fans hopeful that Hale may be able to reprise her role as Aria in the spinoff will have to wait and see.
Stay tuned to find out if the Riverdale spinoff, Katy Keene, gets picked up to series. While you wait, you can watch new episodes of Riverdale when they air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. It is among the series airing new throughout the midseason.
