Even casual “Pretty Little Liars” fans have heard of the A-Team, the shadowy group that terrorized the teens of Rosewood on the mega-hit teen drama. But now, “PLL” stars Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell, Sasha Pieterse, Janel Parrish, Ian Harding, Tyler Blackburn and Keegan Allen are throwing their support behind another “A-Team” — this one with very different motives.
The TV troupe banded together for a PSA ahead of Rare Disease Day (on Feb. 28) to drive awareness for INAD research and to support Aiden’s A Team, a nonprofit fighting for a cure.
“On TV, the A-Team was a mystery. A secret. A game. But in real life, the A Team is who shows up when there’s no script and no time to waste,” the actors said, introducing Aiden Steiner, an 8-year-old boy with INAD.
INAD (infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy) is a terminal, ultra-rare, neurodegenerative disease, often described as a combination of ALS and Parkinson’s Disease in young children. It slowly takes away a child’s ability to walk, talk, swallow and eventually, breathe. Most children with INAD do not live past 10 years old. The disease is often misdiagnosed and currently has no approved treatment.
After rapidly losing skills and initially being diagnosed with autism, Steiner was 7 years old when he was diagnosed with the juvenile version of INAD, called aNAD, meaning he had a later onset and has a slower progression of the disease. Those factors give Steiner more time, but unfortunately, aNAD has the same expected symptoms and outcome.
While there is no cure yet, scientists are exploring gene therapy to replace the defective PLA2G6 gene that causes INAD, but that research is not federally funded. And, as mentioned in the PSA, a first-of-its-kind gene therapy is now under FDA review, with plans for an initial clinical trial of 10 children. However, the trial can only move forward once the remaining funding is secured.
That’s where the “Liars” step in.
“On ‘Pretty Little Liars,’ the A-Team was fictional. This is not. This is a real child, a real family, one we love dearly, with a real race against time,” says I. Marlene King, “Pretty Little Liars” executive producer and showrunner. “Our ‘PLL’ family cast knows that storytelling can do more than entertain. It can mobilize. It can create awareness. Hopefully, it can help fund the science that could save these children’s lives.”
Steiner is the eldest grandson of “Pretty Little Liars” executive producer and WBD executive Lisa Cochran-Neilan, so King and the crew have known him since he was a baby.
“I’ve watched him grow up — his smile, his spirit, the way he lights up a room,” King says of Steiner. “As a mother of two boys myself, I cannot imagine what the Steiner family is facing. When you love a child, you do whatever you can to protect them.”
So, when Steiner’s mother Dana, a veteran comms executive, began crafting another PSA to promote the cause, King reached out to the show’s stars to participate.
“Everyone immediately responded and offered to jump in to help. Bringing the whole ‘PLL’ team together was simply our way of showing up for Aiden and the family,” King says. “Our ‘PLL’ team is a family, and we are all honored to support every family fighting this devastating disease. We’ve always told stories about friendship, loyalty, and showing up for one another. This felt like an opportunity to live that message in real life. The ‘A-Team’ is no longer a plot — it’s a community rallying around one of our own who needs us. That’s a story worth telling.”
The PSA is the Steiner family’s latest fundraising effort for INAD research. In 2024, Aiden’s story was featured on FOX NFL Kickoff’s Giving Tuesday with Charissa Thompson and New Orleans Saints star Cam Jordan, which helped raise nearly $100,000. In 2025, they hosted Rare Disease Day LA, a benefit sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery, among other entertainment companies, which raised about $200,000. Bellisario posted a video on social media to promote that event, as she and Mitchell, Hale, Benson and Harding have been vocal supporters of Aiden’s A-Team; this PSA marks the first time the entire cast has gotten involved.
Learn more about INAD and Aiden’s A-Team at their website.
English (US) ·