Exclusive Interview
Lucy Hale & Ian Harding on Reuniting in ’12 Dates of Christmas’ & Ezria’s ‘PLL’ Legacy
What To Know
- Lucy Hale and Ian Harding reunite in Hulu’s holiday romantic comedy The 12 Dates of Christmas.
- Hale plays Christina, who plans 12 dates before Christmas while reconnecting with Harding’s Peter, a former classmate.
- The actors acknowledge the problematic nature of their former Pretty Little Liars romance between student Aria and teacher Ezra.
With Pretty Little Liars icons and Swooon royalty Lucy Hale and Ian Harding out promoting their new Hulu holiday rom-com The 12 Dates of Christmas, out November 6, the ghost of TV romances past definitely has people talking.
“I think that’s to be expected,” Hale readily admits when asked about the discourse surrounding their taboo on-screen pairing as PLL‘s high school student Aria Montgomery and her teacher, Ezra Fitz. “I think that show was so important to us, that relationship was important. It was such a big part of my life for so long,” she continues. “And so I think we knew working with each other again with different roles, of course, we knew that certain things would be asked, and we’re trying our best to answer them in the best way possible.”
Adding that “we are obviously very aware” of how #Ezria is problematic, especially when revisited through today’s cultural lense and elevated attention to age-gap relationships, she and Harding agree that the coupling was not glamorized nor treated as aspirational, like the illicit Pacey-Tamara romance on Dawson’s Creek.
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“It is a different time [now], but it was in the books, and I think that many realities can exist at the same time,” Hale offers. “Above all, [we’re] just so happy to be reunited on something different so many years later.”
Courtesy of THE 12 DATES OF CHRISTMAS
Not just different but downright delightful. Instead of dodging deranged stalkers and doppelgangers, Hale and Harding get to let loose and get flirty as the surprisingly sassy Hale’s chronically single Christina attempts to go on one date a week for three months leading up to Christmas.
Harding, decked out in his undeniable charm, costars as Peter, one of Christina’s former classmates who clearly sets off sparks with her after moving back to their Mississippi town to start over. But with her social calendar crowded with a dozen of the worst dates imaginable (many inspired by the film’s production team), will Christmas come and go without Christina realizing that she’s been going about finding Mr. Right all wrong?
To be honest, even Jenna could see that these two still have the perfect Little spark.
The 12 Dates of Christmas, Streaming Now, Hulu and Hulu on Disney+
