Ravenswood sported low viewership during its first (and only) season
ABC Family
Spoilers for “Pretty Little Liars” and “Ravenswood” to follow.
While every character in “Pretty Little Liars” undergoes something deeply traumatic, Caleb contends with especially difficult circumstances that are impossible to simply move past. A troubled foster kid with a complicated outlook towards close relationships, Caleb perennially sought out parental figures (along with his real father) after being abandoned as a child. In season 1 of the show, Caleb crosses paths with the titular Liars and develops an intense dynamic with Hanna (Ashley Benson), whom he gradually begins to view as a source of comfort and stability. Caleb and Hanna experience a strong, eventful romantic arc in “Pretty Little Liars”, and Caleb’s skills as a technical expert come in handy while uncovering who “A” is as a part of the show’s central mystery.
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Once Caleb decides to leave Rosewood, he makes his way toward — you guessed it — Ravenswood, but soon gets embroiled in a supernatural mystery that can only take place in “a town where people throw parties in cemeteries.” Caleb’s description of Ravenswood isn’t too far-fetched, as it is a quaint, eerie place that has more headstones than houses, lined up neatly beside the narrow, somber streets. The town seems to come alive and loom maliciously over its residents, as spooky stuff like haunted mansions and cursed objects are pretty commonplace here. While all of this does sound fun, “Ravenswood” indulges in the stalest interpretation of horror tropes and doesn’t bother to mask it with competent storytelling. In fact, things often get so lackluster that the dark, campy shenanigans of the Liars feel infinitely superior to such drab genre fare.
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Is “Ravenswood” unwatchable? No, far from it. But it is an aggressively mediocre supernatural show that has little in common with its frenetic parent series. While this would usually be a good thing (like how “The Vampire Diaries” spin-off “Legacies” takes a fresh, lighthearted approach to the franchise’s supernatural core), “Ravenswood” fails to stand on it own merits, and its association with “Pretty Little Liars” only serves to hurt its credibility. Perhaps this is why viewership fell off by the time the show wrapped up its season 1 finale, dropping from 2.1 million viewers (at launch) to 1.1 million viewers (which is less than half of the viewership “Pretty Little Liars” steadily drew in per episode).
In case you’re looking for a “Pretty Little Liars” spin-off that is closer to the lead-in series in terms of tone and subject matter, be sure to check out “Original Sin,” which does a great job of granting a fresh spin to a familiar premise.
