ABC Family Renews 'Pretty Little Liars' for Third Season

It should come as no surprise that ABC Family has picked up one of its top performing shows, 'Pretty Little Liars', for a third season.  And while the pick-up was expected, the studio has asked for a whopping 24 episodes.  Granted this is the same pick-up that the series got last year, but the order rivals that of many broadcaster dramas, which is an enormous feat for the cable series.

'Pretty Little Liars' broke many ABC Family records in numerous young demos this past year and will return with all original episodes on January 2, 2012.  The show is concerned one of the station's 'triple-threat' originals that includes Switched at Birth andThe Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Pretty Little Liars stars Lucy Hale, Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson and Shay Mitchell as four friends who band together against an unknown nemesis who threatens to unearthed their darkest secret.  It airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c