'Pretty Little Liars' season 6B spoilers: New villain related to one of the Liars

The new season 6B poster for Pretty Little LiarsInstagram/ prettylittleliars

"Pretty Little Liars" season 6 will return after the midseason break and it will begin with a time jump of five years. After living for some time without the threat of "A," the second half of the season will now feature a new villain, and according to a report from TV Guide it is actually someone related to one of the girls.

The report indicates that the villain is a male but series creator I. Marlene King refused to give any further details about the villain's nature or origins. She did, however, make it clear that the series would drag out the mystery as it did with "A" in previous seasons.

"By the end of [Season] 6B, you will pretty much know who or who's related to this big bad," King explained.

One reason for this is that there are speculations that the already confirmed season 7 might be the show's last. There were rumblings last year of a movie in development to wrap things up, particularly because the main characters are no longer teenagers, but it appears these plans have been altered to make season 7 the finale of the series.

With that in mind, it would be a disservice to the fans to drag the plot out for too long. With a probable ending in sight, it is likely the show runners and writers are picking up the pace to deliver a more consistent story to end the series strong.

According to a report from Enstarz, this new villain is "out for blood" and is perhaps more dangerous than the previous villains on the show. This would also lend to the concept of a faster paced season as the Liars need to deal with this villain quickly before they lose the battle and one or all of them end up killed.

"Pretty Little Liars" will return with season 6B this Jan. 12, 2016.