Netflix quietly added an underrated ABC Family drama you haven't thought about in years

Lately, Netflix has been a treasure trove of nostalgic television series. The streaming service has been adding so many old favorites that are perfect to rediscover, like teen mystery drama Veronica Mars, crime procedural Rizzoli & Isles, and the upcoming additions of comedies like Mike & Molly, Suburgatory, and What I Like About You. The past is present on our watch lists!

If you're looking to keep digging into the archives for something a little more nostalgic to watch, a real millennial classic was recently added to Netflix in the United States and it hails from a cable network that was once our go-to for juicy drama series: ABC Family. Unfortunately, the network's biggest hits haven't returned to Netflix, but the hidden gem The Lying Game was quietly added to Netflix.

When you think of classic ABC Family shows, you probably think of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Greek, Pretty Little Liars, and Young & Hungry. It's likely that you haven't thought about The Lying Game in years or maybe even forgot how much you loved watching new episodes back in the early 2010s. However, we can now relive every dramatic moment.

The Lying Game now available to stream on Netflix

While both seasons of The Lying Game are also available to stream for free on Tubi, its addition to Netflix in January 2026 arrives as the show's most recent resurgence on a major streaming platform. This might be one of those shows that are constantly brought up in TikTok carousels about "shows I'm convinced no one thinks about but me." It's time to rediscover its campy greatness!

There's no release date to remember. The Lying Game's two seasons — which contain 30 episode total (20 in season 1 and 10 in season 2) — are already streaming on Netflix. The series first made its premiere on ABC Family, which is now called Freeform, back in August 2011 and only lasted for two seasons, ending in March 2013 (three years before the Freeform rebranding).

Based on the book series of the same name by Sara Shepard, The Lying Game stars Alexandra Chando as Emma Becker, a foster child who suddenly learns that she has an identical twin sister named Sutton Mercer. While Sutton was adopted into money, Emma was not, which leads her to leave her home in Las Vegas to join her sister in Phoenix. Emma takes over Sutton's identity while she goes off to search for their birth mother, but when she doesn't return, Emma's left with a choice.

Sadly, ABC Family canceled The Lying Game after two seasons and left the story on a cliffhanger, never resolving the central storyline about Emma and Sutton and their birth mother. The show was likely canceled due to lower ratings than the network would have liked, which is why season 3 never happened. That's a frustrating thing to hear before watching a show for the first time, or even rewatching one, but at least there's a book series that can wrap up the plot.

Chando and the cast have been promoting the show to fans on Instagram since its arrival on Netflix, and even though an older show that doesn't resolve its narrative doesn't sound like the most enticing binge-watch, it's worth watching as a throwback. It's definitely worth checking out again if you were a fan the first time around. Never underestimate the power of a good walk down memory lane!