Ravenswood (TV series)

Plot

Set in the fictional town of Ravenswood, Pennsylvania, the series follows five strangers whose lives become intertwined by a deadly curse that has plagued their town for generations. They have to dig into the town's dark past to solve the mysterious curse.

Main cast

Caleb Rivers

Caleb Rivers (Tyler Blackburn) – Caleb meets Miranda on the bus to Ravenswood where he's going to help his girlfriend, Hanna Marin. After Hanna meets Miranda and hears her story, she asks Caleb to stay in Ravenswood to help Miranda. She promises to visit Caleb from time to time, which could possibly mean a crossover episode between Pretty Little Liars and Ravenswood. Caleb finds a tombstone bearing his name and picture in the town cemetery and vows to stay until he figures out what it means.

Miranda Collins

Miranda Collins (Nicole Gale Anderson) – Miranda meets Caleb on a bus to Ravenswood where she is going to find her uncle, Raymond Collins, her last remaining relative. Walking into her uncle's house, she helps Hanna escape, not knowing that she is Caleb's girlfriend. Miranda also finds a tombstone with her name and picture on it.

Raymond Collins

Raymond Collins (Steven Cabral) – Miranda's uncle who runs a funeral home. He sent Miranda into foster care when her parents died over 10 years ago. Miranda comes to Ravenswood to find him.

Luke Matheson

Luke Matheson (Brett Dier) – Olivia's twin brother and Remy's boyfriend. Luke doesn't trust his twin sister's friends, and vows to protect both his mother and sister as the man of their family.

Olivia Matheson

Olivia Matheson (Merritt Patterson) – Luke's twin sister. Olivia is more out in the open than her brother. She cares about what people think of her mother, but that doesn't stop her from living her life. Olivia formerly dated Dillon but the relationship ended after she found out Dillon killed her father.

Remy Beaumont

Remy Beaumont (Britne Oldford) – An employee at the Ravenswood Gazette, the town newspaper, where her father is the editor-in-chief, who helps Caleb find the death record of his look-alike. Remy is Luke's girlfriend and is the first to form a theory about the curse.

Dillon Sanders

Dillon Sanders (Luke Benward) – Olivia's ex-boyfriend. In the series finale, he was revealed to be the murderer of Olivia's father, and is hit by a train at the end of the episode.

Recurring cast

Meg Foster as Carla Grunwald, A no-nonsense, stubborn 10-year resident of Ravenswood who used to be a house mother for a college sorority. She reprises her role from Pretty Little Liars. She has a sense for the paranormal and can see ghosts when she sleeps at night. She tries to make contact with Alison and other deceased residents of Rosewood.

Henry Simmons as Simon Beaumont, Remy's father who is distrustful of out-of-towners.

Sophina Brown as Terry Beaumont, Remy's mother. She has recently returned home from military deployment and is struggling with survivor's guilt. Like the previous survivors, Terry could be the reason for her own daughter's near death.

Haley Lu Richardson as Tess, Olivia's former best friend who is not involved in the curse. Tess stakes her claim on the position of queen bee with Olivia off of the throne.

Laura Allen as Rochelle Matheson, Luke and Olivia's mother. She is a confident woman and is the main suspect in the murder of her husband.

Justin Bruening as Benjamin Price, a teacher at Ravenswood High School.

Jay Huguley as Chief Tom Beddington.

Corrina Roshea as the Edwardian ghost, a spirit who is haunting Ravenswood and the five teens.

Mary Elise Hayden as Bea Hamilton, Carla's deceased mother.

Special guest stars

Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin (2 episodes)

Casting

On April 30, 2013, it was revealed that Tyler Blackburn would reprise his Pretty Little Liars role as Caleb Rivers in Ravenswood. On May 6, 2013, it was revealed that Brett Dier and Elizabeth Whitson will play twins, Abel and Olivia, in the series. It was later stated that the character of Abel had been renamed Luke. On May 7, 2013, it was announced that Merritt Patterson would join the show as Olivia's best friend, Tess. On May 10, 2013, it was announced that Nicole Gale Anderson would join the show as Miranda Collins. In May 2013, it was announced that Meg Foster would join the cast as Ravenswood resident Mrs. Grunwald, who made her first appearance in season 4 episode 6 of Pretty Little Liars. On July 16, 2013, it was announced that Merritt Patterson would be replacing Elizabeth Whitson in the role of Olivia. Whitson has now departed Ravenswood, and Patterson has changed roles. In August 2013, it was announced that Steven Cabral joined the cast as Raymond Collins, Luke Benward joined the cast as Dillon, Henry Simmons joined the cast as Simon Beaumont, Sophina Brown joined the cast as Terry Beaumont, and Haley Lu Richardson joined the cast as a replacement for Patterson's former role of Tess. On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Justin Bruening joined the cast as Benjamin Price. In October 2013, Jay Huguley was announced to have joined the cast as Police Chief Tom Beddington. In November 2013, Mary Elise Hayden joined the cast as Bea Hamilton.

Filming

Filming started on August 21, 2013, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Reception

Television critic David Hinckley of the New York Daily News gave the show 3 out of 5 stars, saying that the show was "entertaining, and creepier than its parent show." Scott D. Pierce of The Salt Lake Tribune said the show was "ridiculous, but might be fun." Margaret Lyons of New York Magazine Vulture claims the show "only meets generic expectations and needs to show us more than cheap fright-gags if it wants to avoid cancellation..."