Lucy Hale told a story about starring in a failed TV pilot with Meghan Markle

Picture this: Lucy Hale starring side-by-side with Meghan Markle in an ABC primetime show. Too good to be true, right? Well, it *almost* happened. In a video interview with Entertainment Tonight, Hale said that she nearly costarred with Markle in a series, and she actually taped the pilot with the Duchess of Sussex.

“So get this—I did my first-ever pilot with Meghan Markle,” Hale said in the May 14th video chat.

“I didn’t realize this because none of my scenes were with her, but it was an ABC pilot,” the Katy Keene star continued. “I had just moved to L.A. I was like 16. It was called Secrets of a Small Town, and she was in that pilot. I remember at the table read I was like, ‘Oh my god, she’s so beautiful,’ but I don’t think I ever spoke to her.”

According to IMDb, here’s the synopsis of the show: “The mysterious murder of a teenage girl and the disappearance of her sister shake up a small town.” It was also set to also star Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester, Angie Harmon, Denise Richards, and Kaley Cuoco.

The cast. The show’s title. The mystery. Why did this project never come to fruition? We need it!

Of course, back when the pilot of Secrets of a Small Town was filmed in 2004, neither Hale nor Markle were as big of stars as they are now. Perhaps if the show had aired on ABC, their careers may have gone in massively different directions. Hale had smaller roles on The OC and Wizards of Waverly Place before starring as Aria in Pretty Little Liars in 2010. Markle also had small roles in Fringe and 90210 before starring in Suits and, you know, marrying Prince Harry and becoming royalty.

“It’s a small world,” Hale said. “Now she’s who she is, and it’s great.”

Meghan Markle is now Meghan freaking Markle! And Lucy Hale is now Lucy freaking Hale! They’re each famous and loved in their own right, and have made waves for themselves both in Hollywood and beyond. Maybe now that Markle is dipping her toes back into the entertainment world, there’s a potential for future collaborations between these two once more.

Our fingers are crossed.

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