When ABC Family started showing commercials for a new show “Pretty Little Liars” in March 2010, I had the same thought a lot of people probably did:  It’s just another primetime show of ABC Family to fill a timeslot for the summer.  But when I watched the show for the first time, I was immediately hooked.

The show had a steady audience of viewers every Tuesday at 8 p.m. for 10 weeks during the summer , and fans were left speechless after the season finale left many questions unanswered.

But Jan. 3, all of the fans can breathe again as the show returns for its second half of the first season with 12 additional episodes, quickly produced by ABC Family due to the show’s immediate popularity.

Fans can expect to be as shocked as they were in the first half of the season.

For those who are not familiar with ”Pretty Little Liars,” the show is about four 16-year-old girls, Aria (Lucy Hale), Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Hannah (Ashley Benson), and Emily (Shay Mitchell), who live in the small and mysterious town of Rosewood, Pa.

The four girls recently reunited after the one year anniversary of the disappearance of their best friend and the queen bee of the group, Alison (Sasha Peteirse).

After Alison’s body ’s discovery, the four friends receive messages from a mysterious person using the name “A” who is threatening to reveal secrets that only Alison knew.

Throughout the season, the four girls struggle with their own personal issues, which add to the suspense of the show, while attempting to reveal the mystery person “A.” While many clues pinpoint multiple characters throughout the show to be the possible killer, including town bad boy Toby Cavanaugh (Keegan Allen) and Alison’s love interest at the time of her murder, Ian Thomas (Ryan Merriman), all paths lead to dead ends.

The identity of “A” is nearly revealed multiple times with suspects like Jenna (Tammin Sursok) a girl  blinded in an accident caused by Alison, Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hannah, and Mona, a mean-spirited and recently popular girl, who found herself at the butt of the five friends’ jokes before Alison’s disappearance.

Throughout the season, Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hannah seem to be holding back secrets of their own as well, which could unravel the true story of Alison’s disappearance and murder.

The first half of the season ended with a bang, leaving it up to fans’ imaginations and a five month wait to get their answers.  And with episode 11 named “Moments Later…” fans can expect the show to pick up right where it left off.

Check out the popular “Pretty Little Liars” book series, which the show was based off of, written by Sara Shepard.