​The home of social media darling “Pretty Little Liars” is undergoing a bit of a makeover over the next few years.

Now that Tom Ascheim has taken over since Kate Juergens’ departure, ABC Family’s new aim is to attract an older audience with a more mature brand perception. Its millennial-focused programming and teen hits such as “Pretty Little Liars,” “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and “The Fosters” have created a young audience for the network, especially in the past few years. But as it increases scripted and unscripted fare to its lineup, the channel wants more 20-somethings watching than their teenage counterparts.

ABC Family’s typical viewer has a median age of 29, reports The Hollywood Reporter, and its original programs can go as low as 25. Ascheim wants that number to go up a few digits over the next five years with added programming like “Freak Out,” an unscripted show that makes its bow this October. “When we’re deeply teen-focused, it feels like we’re a little bit young,” he said. “So we’re trying to get from high school to college and then from college to graduate school.”

Under the new leadership, ABC Family wants to focus less on its acquired content as well. Right now, it airs reruns of “Gilmore Girls,” “Reba” and ABC sitcom “The Middle.”

Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.

Brief Take: ABC Family, whose viewership has increased 1 percent over the last year, has also seen setbacks in ad revenue. By catering more to 20-somethings and young adults rather than families and young teens, it hopes to cater future programming and gain a more valuable audience to sponsors and advertisers.

[Image courtesy of ABC Family]

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