Pretty Little Liars: First look at Nicholas Gonzalez as Marco Furey

It’s safe to say that Pretty Little Liars fans are ready for some answers, which is why there’s a good chance they’ll like Nicholas Gonzalez’s Marco Furey.

EW has an exclusive first look at Rosewood’s newest detective, who’s brought in to handle open homicides (cough, Charlotte, cough). Marco Furey, will join the Rosewood PD as Toby’s boss because, as showrunner Marlene King puts it, “[Toby’s] always protecting Spencer so he can’t be so open-minded.”

But as far as Marco’s concerned, he brings a fresh pair of eyes to the open homicides of the town. “I told [Nicholas] that Mona and Spencer are probably the smartest of all the Pretty Little Liars, and he is their equal,” King says. “He is the first cop that’s come to town who could compete intellecutally with those two characters.”

And thanks to his lack of history with the town, King says, “He’s coming in with really no bias toward the girls and no understanding of their rich history in this town and how much trouble they’ve caused and been in and the torture they’ve been under as well. He really comes in with an open mind and sort of fresh take on things.”

Because of that, he could find himself becoming Rosewood’s most successful detective, which let’s face it, would not be a difficult title to earn. “They teased that maybe a crime will actually be solved for the first time in all these years,” Gonzalez says.

But if you’re thinking he’s only in town to handle Charlotte’s case, think again. King teases, “There will be new homicides as well” for Marco to work on. Gonzalez adds, “This season kind of feels like someone turning on a firehose and offering you a drink. It’s a lot going on.”

However, all of this isn’t to say that we won’t see Marco outside of his duties as an officer. King says romance is always an option. “He is new in town and I will say that before he starts duty, he has an interesting encounter with one of the Pretty Little Liars — she doesn’t know he’s a cop at the time and he doesn’t know that she’s trouble, so it’s a fun way to get to know him.”

While we don’t know the details of that interaction, we do know the one bit of advice Gonzalez was given by his male PLL costars: “Get comfortable with being shirtless.”

Pretty Little Liars season 7 premieres Tuesday, June 21 at 8 p.m. ET on Freeform.