The Lying Game seemed like it could go either way for me when I saw the pilot previews.  But after watching just one episode, I feel overcome with relief. Why? Because this is going to be a great show.

the lying game cast

5. Alexandra Chando is fantastic. And yes, she does have a voice that sounds exactly like Nina Dobrev‘s (The Vampire Diaries) and that’s a little odd, but you get over it. She even looks a bit like Nina, come to think of it… (And Allie Gonino who plays Sutton’s sister, Laurel, looks so much like Samaire Armstrong it is freaky!)

4. The fashion. Pretty Little Liars does not have a lock on having the best fashion on ABC Family shows. (For a long time, Ashleigh and Casey of Greek were the most fashionable gals, I think!) Emma has very basic, pretty boring fashion… but Sutton. Well, she’s rich and into style. Did you see the inside of her closet in the pilot? That’s a dream closet! It rivals the closet that Jennifer Garner‘s character had in 13 Going on 30!

3. This is silly, but I kind of love when I get inspiration to do different kinds of exercise. Seeing Emma-as-Sutton kick Nisha’s butt at Tennis made me want to play Wii Tennis again. I also felt this way when we used to see Spencer Hastings (Pretty Little Liars) play. But it’s more than just that. I think this show is going to provide a lot of different sorts of inspiration – whether that’s music, style ideas or even jargon.

2. Because Emma is learning about Sutton as we are, and she’s slipped into “being” her, it makes it so easy for the viewer to pretend what it might be like to pretend to be Sutton. And who wouldn’t want to pretend to be Sutton for at least a day? Even if she has troubles, she has 2 guys who want her attention, a sweet sister, well-meaning parents who obviously buy her nice things, tons of popularity, respect and fear…and I mentioned her killer closet up there, yea?

1. This is a real mystery, and I love it. Call me crazy (you will) but I get a couple Veronica Mars vibes from it. There is a lot of emphasis on  secrecy. It’s kind of like a not-overly-scary thriller that we get to watch every week.

The Lying Game airs Mondays on ABC Family at 9/8c.

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