'Pretty Little Liars' romance report for season 6B: Q&A with creator Marlene King

A lot can happen in five years — especially when you leave Rosewood.

When "Pretty Little Liars" returns with its Season 6B premiere, after a major time-jump, the liars' love lives will be much different.

"It's definitely a sexy season. It's a very romantic season," creator Marlene King tells Variety. Now that "A" has finally been revealed, King says the new episodes have more time for love. "The show at its core is romantic, and as the show got deeper and deeper and deeper in who was big 'A' — Charlotte — we sort of ran out of time for the romance. So when we start up again, it's a little bit slower pace and it reminds me a bit of our earlier seasons with a lot of romance with that mystery."

King spoke to Variety, and although she was masterfully tight-lipped, she did offer up a few relationship updates, speaking about Emison, Ezria, Spoby and Hanna's fiancé.

(For an update on where the "PLL" couples' stand after the five-year time jump, click here.)

How will we be brought up to speed with all of the breakups and makeups and new significant others?
I don't know that we talked about it much in the special episode, but we are going to see some really awesome flashbacks over the season of our couples and how some of them met and how some of them broke up. It's a really dramatic way of looking at these relationships and how they have evolved and how they are evolving still.

A lot of the liars have moved on, but can we expect any old relationships to be rekindled?
It's romantic, so you'll have to read into that what you will make of it. I don't want to spoil the ride for anybody, but with Spencer Hastings, I do believe there's hope.

Variety broke the casting for Yvonne, who's described as "an important person in Toby's life." What can you tell us about Toby's new life?
He's extremely involved with someone, other than Spencer. We'll find out early on that with two people who grew apart, but still love each other so very much, this is the first person he's really been able to care about since he and Spencer grew apart.

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Does Emily have a love interest?
A sprinkling of one. But Emily's one of those characters who Alison was her first great love and then Maya, so she's been trying to find her way. But I have hope for her, too.

Is there a chance for an Emison reunion?
There's always a chance. They were the original love affair on the show in Emily's part. I would just say this to the fans: don't get frustrated and life is full of ups and downs and curves and bumps in the road, but I really do believe that by the time we get to the end of next season, most of our fans will be happy with where we go.

You've said that Emily comes back with the darkest secret in Season 6B. Any teasers?
She really has two secrets. One of the secrets informs the other. Over the course of the time jump, her father passes away unexpectedly and she will have a really difficult time dealing with that.

When will we meet Hanna's fiancé, Jordan, who will be played by Australian actor David Coussins?
We don't meet him in the first episode. It's within the first couple of episodes. Hanna is in the fashion industry when we meet her and they met through their worlds colliding. He's kind of her rock. There's an interesting quote that she says in one of the episodes — before she met Jordan, she was always spinning and twirling and she doesn't spin and twirl now. He keeps her grounded.

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When will we meet Liam, the guy with whom Aria is in a relationship (played by actor Roberto Aguire)?
Early on. There's also a workplace romance. They work together. He's definitely adorable, and they're really cute together.

In the new episodes, Aria and Ezra work together — is that correct?
Yes. Not at the beginning. But he's an author now and he has writers block because a very tragic event has happened to him in the five-year time jump.

What can we expect with Aria and Ezra's relationship, now that they're in the same space again. I don't necessarily mean romantically, but how will they act together?
They never really had a chance for a long-term relationship because their relationship started with so many secrets and lies, and I will say five years later, it's kind of an empty place and they are going to be friends first and foremost.

Why has Ezra gone down such a dark path?
I don't want to spoil it. Ian Harding is amazing this season and did such good job of finding this darker side of Ezra. He meets somebody to lean on and she's willing to be there for him.

"Pretty Little Liars" returns with Season 6B on January 12 on Freeform, the new name for ABC Family.