The 1 Important Way ‘Gossip Girl 2.0’ Will Be Different From the Original – Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Hey, Upper East Siders. Here’s the scoop on the new Gossip Girl series which was recently announced. Let’s take a look back at the original, what we know about the sequel series, and how the two will differ from one another.
‘Gossip Girl’ aired from 2007 to 2012
Once upon a time, when the CW was a brand new network, a teen drama, titled Gossip Girl, came into being. It starred a whole host of fresh faces as a group of prep school kids living in New York City, based on the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar.
Teen dramas weren’t exactly new, but Gossip Girl was something else entirely. It took the lives of the extremely rich and put them on full blast, highlighting class differences and the use of technology at the time. (It was very period-specific we should say.)
The series’ stars
Gossip Girl helped launch the careers of its young cast. Blake Lively, who starred as Serena van der Woodsen, went on to appear in films such as A Simple Favor and The Age of Adaline. Meanwhile, Serena’s best friend, Blair Waldorf, was played by Leighton Meester, who currently stars in the ABC sitcom Single Parents.
The rest of the show’s cast has also done fairly well. Penn Badgely, who portrayed Serena’s sometimes-love-interest Dan Humphrey, currently plays the lead in the Netflix series You. Chace Crawford, known as Nate Archibald in the show, stars in the Amazon Prime Video series The Boys.
What is the ‘Gossip Girl’ reboot titled?
Recently, it was announced that the upcoming streaming service HBO Max (owned by WarnerMedia) is creating what’s being referred to as a sequel series. As of now, it’s untitled, but some publications have referred to the show as Gossip Girl 2.0.
So what do we know about the new show? According to Entertainment Weekly, ten episodes have been ordered, and it’s expected to premiere sometime in 2020. Original series creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage return, as does producer Joshua Safran.
Here’s one way it’s different
The EW article highlighted many of the similarities between the new and old shows: Both take place in the same universe, with the new crop of students attending the same school and, of course, being similarly tracked by a mysterious person.
However, we know that it will also be a bit different. In addition to updated technology, there will be a more diverse group of people represented. “It is very much dealing with the way the world looks now, where wealth and privilege come from, and how you handle that. The thing I can’t say is there is a twist, and that all relates to the twist,” said Safran.
Will any of the original ‘Gossip Girl’ stars return?
Because the focus is on teenagers, the original cast isn’t set to return. There is, however, one exception: Kristen Bell will once again voice Gossip Girl herself (regardless of whether she’s a he, like in the original, or, perhaps, not a person at all).
Crawford has expressed that he is open to returning in a cameo if he’s asked. “I’m sure this is going to be a fresh take,” he said. “I’m always grateful for the opportunity they gave me and that whole experience,” Crawford added about his time on the original series.
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