Troian Bellisario sought plenty of advice ahead of making her directorial debut

Troian Bellisario gladly took advice from her colleagues and loved ones as she prepared to direct an episode of Pretty Little Liars.

The 31-year-old actress went behind the camera for the first time to helm this week's episode, In the Eye Abides the Heart, which aired on Tuesday night (23May17). And with zero experience of directing, Troian had no intention of blagging her way through the job, happily relying on her family and husband, Suits actor Patrick J. Adams.

"I didn’t try to like pretend that I knew what I was doing. I asked everyone from (Pretty Little Liars executive producers) I. Marlene (King) to Joe (Dougherty) to my dad and my mom to my husband, Patrick," she explained to website Entertainment Tonight of her producer mother and father, Donald P. Bellisario and Deborah Pratt. "I happen to be surrounded by directors, which is kind of wonderful," she said. "I was just like, 'Guys, give me anything you've got.' And they all gave me wonderful and very, very different advice."

She also praised the performance of her co-star Lucy Hale, who plays Aria Montgomery in the program and showed a "bad side" during the episode Troian helmed.

It seems the hard work Troian put into the show paid off as she received plenty of positive feedback from fans. Taking to Twitter after it aired, the brunette beauty was quick to share her gratitude to everyone who watched it.

"Thank you all so much for watching my directorial debut of @PLLTVSeries with me!!!!! I so appreciate all your support #pllchat," she gushed. While her husband Patrick praised Troian in a post on Instagram, "Proud of you, captain. Excited to see where the wind takes us next."