Pretty Little Liars actress, Shay Mitchell, recently disclosed she will be expecting her first child, and the entire experience is intended to be documented through her partnership with YouTube as a stand alone series. The project will be titled Almost Ready and premieres on Wednesday, July 17th.
The stars announcement, comes on the heels, of the recent disclosure through her Instagram profile that she suffered a miscarriage back in January of this year. “It didn’t feel right to just put up a photo and be like, ‘I’m pregnant’ and have people just think that everything is peaches and rainbows,” Mitchell mentions in the trailer.“This is real life, and I want people to come along with me on this journey in real time.”
Mitchell rose to prominence as Emily Fields in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars from 2010–2017, and in 2018, starred as Peach Salinger in Bravo’s Netflix-turned series You, before taking the lead role in The Possession of Hannah Grace. She also hosts her own YouTube lifestyle channel and is active on several different social media platforms as well.
YouTube also had a recent declaration of their own intended to address their new digital strategy, which will involve a significant shift in its original programming strategy, and will run through a free subscription ad-supported streaming network. Mitchell’s upcoming series being amongst the first to roll out this year aside from collabs with other celebs such as Justin Beiber.
Production of several new reality and documentary programs being it’s most featured content in different categories such as: music, learning and personalities, while other future scripted series will remain apart of the company’s development and programming plans — an ongoing trend for other streaming services as well.
In a trailer for the series, the star bravely offers an intimate look at her first few months of her pregnancy, and includes tidbits on the role the public played in her decision to originally keep her growing baby bump a more private affair. Mitchell’s boyfriend, Matte Babel, participated with the actress in a pregnancy photo shoot, which also served as her official announcement to the public that she will soon be a mom.