For Troian Bellisario, starring in Prime Video’s gritty new procedural, On Call, couldn’t be more different than her Pretty Little Liars experience. In that show, Bellisario played Spencer Hastings, a people-pleasing yet highly competitive young woman who delivered some of the greatest lines on the popular Freeform show, which ran for seven seasons from 2010-2017. It’s another world entirely for the Dick Wolf-produced On Call, but the actress still credits her time on Pretty Little Liars for honing her chops.
“It’s very different,” Bellisario told MovieWeb about her On Call vs. PLL experience. “What was really wonderful stepping from that show [into On Call], is that you literally couldn’t have, like, shaken a bag and gotten a more polar opposite world.” Bellisario continued:

“It’s a primarily male-dominated world [in On Call]. I mean, my hair was never down except for one time. I remember I showed up on set with my hair down and people were like, ‘Sorry, who are you? Sorry, you can’t be on this set.’ But you know, [the character’s] not worried about her makeup. She’s not worried about the way she looks. She’s not worried about flirting with somebody.”

Bellisario said that was actually a big relief. “I was like, ‘I get to be in a world that is primarily men and be really just sort of jockeying for power and experience and position and leadership and trying to figure out how we can all be a team,’” she added. “It wasn’t about like, ‘Here’s the girls’ side of it.’ It was just really human and gritty, and I really appreciated that.”
The Big Differences Between ‘On Call’ and the ‘Pretty Little Liars’ Experience

Fans of action-packed procedurals may appreciate it, too. Pretty Little Liars and On Call are vastly different, of course. The former was frothy fun, while On Call is intense with its handheld cameras and bodycams, which get audiences deep into the action on hand. The ride-along police saga tracks a seasoned cop with a troubled past (Bellisario’s Traci Harmon) and her new rookie (Brandon Larracuente’s Alex Diaz), who himself is braving family drama. Eriq La Salle, Rich Ting, and Lori Loughlin also star. Noting the differences between her two series, Bellisario said:

“On Pretty Little Liars, we were always on the studio lot. We never went on location. I think in seven years, we maybe went to two locations. There was a lot of familiarity, especially in the characters, the relationships, the stakes, and the storylines. It was really about the friendships between these young girls that then grew up into women.”

On Call quite obviously goes in a different direction, and it’s even different from other Dick Wolf productions, including the iconic Law & Order shows, the Chicago franchise (Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Hope), the FBI shows, and others. Still, Bellisario admits she was intimidated by entering the revered Dick Wolf universe.
“Look, I’m not going to deny that walking into the Wolf offices [is intimidating],” she said. “In order for us to go upstairs to audition with each other, you have to walk down a very long hallway of headshots of other characters on Dick Wolf shows and of ensemble shots. So, you’re up there and you’re looking at faces that you have either grown up with or adore or hero worship.” She added:

“There’s a real sense of you’re walking into an establishment. You’re walking into a legacy. So, even though I think what’s really cool about On Call is we get to run in a direction, and in a way that maybe previous shows in the Wolf universe do not get to, we are still part of a huge legacy. It’s a real honor.”

On Call is streaming on Prime Video through the link below:
Watch On Call