Look out, guys. There’s a new kid on ABC Family’s block, and it’s The Lying Game. Also produced by Alloy Entertainment and based on a book series by Sara Shepard, it has a lot in common with its sibling show, Pretty Little Liars.
In the first three episodes, we’re introduced to estranged identical twins, foster kid Emma and rich girl Sutton. When Sutton decides to leave for Los Angeles to find their birth parents, she gets Emma to take her place back home in Arizona. Could this be ABC Family’s newest hit?
I’m enjoying it and will continue watching The Lying Game, but I think the show needs to find its own identity first. So far it feels a little too much like Pretty Little Liars-lite. I get that ABC Family’s hoping to win over its built in audience with the mysteries and cliffhanger endings that already worked on Pretty Little Liars, but it’s going to get old really quick if the shows are too similar. Still, I think The Lying Game has the potential to find its own niche given time.
The Lying Game (s01e01): Pilot
Emma (as Sutton): A lie’s a lie, but if the reasons are reasonable, then maybe you can forgive the lie.
Of course, on any show with one actress playing both twins, there are some things you just have to decide to ignore. (And I’m not even talking about the really bad CGI backgrounds and exposition dialogue we’re treated to in the first episode.) For instance, how likely is it for estranged twins to have the exact same build, haircut, freckles, etc.? Yeah, the observant among us want to know.
But I digress. At its best, The Lying Game does what any good mystery show would do. It gives just enough information to keep you interested without revealing too much. So one of the most pressing questions of the series has become: How much do Sutton’s parents know about the twins? And are they hiding anything? For now, it looks like the only person Emma can trust is Sutton’s secret boyfriend, who’s become aware of the switch, Ethan.
The Lying Game (s01e02): Being Sutton
Emma: I keep doing things I think Sutton would do.
Meanwhile, Emma also has to learn to become Sutton but not lose herself in the process. (It’s a good thing she has Ethan to show her the ropes.) One of my favorite themes in body-swapping is when the double becomes an even better version than the original. We get to see Emma pulling that off as she pretends to be Sutton. Sutton’s friends and family are already noticing the new here, and they like it. Ouch.
The Lying Game also retains its promise of crazy teens with even crazier adults. Adrian Pasdar from Heroes plays one of these crazy parents as Sutton’s friend Mads’ alcoholic father. There is definitely something suspicious going on between him and Sutton’s father. And Sutton’s friend Char doesn’t have it any better with her overbearing mother.
The Lying Game (s01e03): Double Dibs
Emma: Some people are just really good at deceiving you.
Then there’s also the mystery of Sutton’s laptop which was stolen by Mads’ father in the first episode. Sutton says she kept information about their birth parents and ‘the lying games’ on it. What are the lying games? It’s not clear, yet. What is clear is that Mads’ dad may be trying to split up Ethan and Sutton, who’s actually Emma, by planting the missing laptop in Ethan’s jeep.
And the real Sutton is still in Los Angeles solving the mystery of their birth parents, but even she can see how close Ethan and Emma are getting while she’s away. I’m not sure Sutton has any room to talk because there’s definitely some sexual tension brewing between her and Mads’ brother, Thayer, in Los Angeles. Wow, all these twin escapades are getting confusing.
Even more confusing is why their birth mother gave up the twins and then later went back to get Emma. Emma eventually went into the foster care system, so we can assume something happened to their birth mother before she was succesful. And what does Mads’ father have to do with it all? He clearly knows more than he’s telling.
Things are just getting interesting on The Lying Game. So be sure to check it out, Mondays at 9pm on ABC Family!