Tabby and Imogen’s bond on Pretty Little Liars: Summer School will always be a priority for Chandler Kinney and Bailee Madison.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Kinney, 23, discussed how she and Madison, 24, make sure to maintain Tabby and Imogen’s connection from season to season.
“It is of the utmost importance. Bailey and I, we feel so grateful to bring their story to life,” she explained to Us. “[Creators] Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa] and Lindsay [Calhoon Bring] were very clear in season 1. They’re like, ‘This is the love story between you two and how you bond through your trauma. But then, also just the ways that you’re similar and the ways that you’re different.’”
Kinney has loved getting to show how Tabby and Imogen “compliment each other,” adding, “It’s just a really beautiful thing to see. It’s beautiful to see just two women having very similar paralleled experiences and finding their strength in each other. I think they’re always going to be each other’s home at the end of the day.”
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The Pretty Little Liars reboot, which debuted on Max as Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin in 2022, picked up where the original series left off by introducing a group of friends who get tormented by a person named A.
In addition to tracking down their stalker, Tabby and Imogen realized during the first season that they were both sexually assaulted by the same person. Once they figured out that it was Chip (Carson Rowland), Tabby and Imogen got him to confess and he was later killed by Archie.
Tabby — and Imogen — are now focused on working through their trauma.
“[Season 2] is about reclaiming [Tabby’s] voice. It’s a story about learning how to trust again and finding that courage and bravery within her to be empowered and to take up space and have a seat at the table,” Kinney told Us. “And I think a lot of that is exemplified through [Tabby’s] relationships.”
The biggest challenge for Tabby will be addressing her PTSD, which starts when she dives back into filmmaking.
“You see a lot of [the PTSD] with her relationship with film and removing herself and her trauma [from that]. [She’s] trying to compartmentalize or separate what she’s endured and then also find her love and passion for it [again],” Kinney teased. “That’s a lot for anyone to move through, but I think she does it so gracefully — and also truthfully as a teenager would.”
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Pretty Little Liars: Summer School also allows Tabby to explore a romantic relationship with newcomer Christian (Noah Alexander Gerry).
“So much of Tabby’s journey is challenging these knee jerk reactions to things, which is just the manifestation of trauma in her body [and] in her mind. I think sometimes [that means] creating things that are not necessarily there in [Christian] and accidentally maybe projecting some of that trauma onto him,” Kinney told Us about Tabby and Christian’s journey. “[Although] some of it is valid because he does do some sus[picious] things where it’s like, ‘Dude, what the heck?’”
Despite taking down Archie, Tabby and her friends now have a new A in their lives in the form of Bloody Rose. Season 2 sets it up in a way where anyone could be a suspect, which is something Kinney has loved getting to explore.
“It’s kind of fun to play the guessing game with the audience of, ‘Is this someone that I can put my trust in and actually let into my inner circle?’ That’s a question you’re going to be asking through it all [with Tabby and Christian],” she added. “Even as you see them have their little summer romance, which I think is so cute. I’m happy that Tabby gets to have that. But as you said, everyone’s always a suspect.”
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Kinney also opened up about the show’s strong fanbase, telling Us, “It’s really interesting because season 1, we didn’t think about [fan response] at all. And now after seeing all the buzz and all the love and support from season 1 going into season 2, it’s like you have to block that out a little bit. You want to honor the character and speak their truth and live it in the way that you would without that outside noise.”
She continued: “Of course when you are moving into the second season, you don’t want to think, ‘Oh, what can I do for the fans?’ But then also in the back of your mind you’re like, ‘Well, what would they like?’ So it’s kind of a balance between the two.”
Pretty Little Liars: Summer School is available to stream on Max with new episodes released on Thursdays.
