Written by Morgan Leet
The iconic sound of Kristen Bell’s voice whispering xoxo, Gossip Girl will forever be ingrained into my mind. I fell in love with Gossip Girl from the very first episode, drawn into the drama, the fashion, the class, and the insane lives of these elite Upper East Siders. When I heard about the HBO Max reboot, I was doubtful. After all, how could you top perfection?
The release of the trailer though gave me a chill of excitement for the upcoming show. All of my skepticism washed away with the sight of the brand new cast, the hints of new twists, and the modernization of the show. It’s clear already that they aren’t simply trying to recreate the series, but they brought it up to the current generation.
It opens with suspenseful music, hinting at the newer and darker vibe of the show. Panning over the stunning cast, the scene is set for the tightly-knit group of prep school friends, all decked out in chic-ly styled uniforms. Frank Ocean’s Super Rich Kids comes in as the perfect soundtrack to give us a taste of the production; mixing the same overall theme and story baseline as the original, but in today’s world. From there it gives us everything from fashion shows and threesomes to partying and cheating. Gossip Girl seems more ominous now, intense and just a little bit creepy.
With a trailer like that, we had to find out everything about the reboot. So here’s the rundown of what we know about the series so far.
The Plot
Luckily, the trailer confirmed that Kristen Bell’s voice is the constant that will remain in the show. Other than that though, the entire cast is new so far. The casting gave the show a much-needed refresh, this time with proper representation and diversity throughout.
We also know from the short description released that the show is more of an extension than a reboot. It’s set to take place eight years after the Gossip Girl website that we all know and love went dark. The new Gossip Girl is introduced to this generation on social media, and comes with a darker intention. The show focuses again on a core group of friends, who all grew up together and are intricately linked. The onset also seems to be the same, with a new girl entering the scene and mixing things up.
The trailer also shows the school principal warning students of this social surveillance and stalking. Even the trailer highlights just how much the culture and landscape have changed over the years, bringing an interesting contrast.
The Cast
As mentioned, the cast got an entirely new reboot as well. There is a mix of well-known faces to first-time actors that we can’t wait to see on-screen. We are in love with these new characters and their unique spins on the original personalities.
In the trailer, Jordan’s character Julien Calloway seems to be the leader of the group, very Blair Waldorf-esque. We know that she’s an influencer, who seems to be ready to wield her power whenever necessary. Jordan is a Canadian actress who’s also been seen in the series Sacred Lies and Unbury the Biscuit.
Experienced actress and musician Emily Lind is going to be playing Audrey Hope. She previously acted in the series Revenge and Code Black. Her character in Gossip Girl is the daughter of an athleisure designer and has been dating Aki for a long time. Her character’s storyline seems to be a slight mix of Blair and Serina from the original series, showing us just how much the show is planning to mix things up.
Eli’s character is Otto Bergmann, who is the ultimate form of privilege with a very wealthy family. Although he is dating Julien, the trailer hints at him becoming close to Zoya, causing instant drama. He has also acted in Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, and the films The F**-It List and Run Hide Fight.
Already gaining recognition for his role in Descendants 2 and Catherine the Great, Thomas plays the character Max Wolfe. We can tell that he’s the wild card of the show, perhaps a Chuck Bass personality?
Entering the industry first as a model, Ziòn acts as the character Luna La. Her character is stylish and beautiful, but we’ll have to wait for the premier to learn more about her storyline.
Tavi is a writer, magazine editor, and actress who became known at the age of 12 for her fashion blog, Style Rookie. She founded the magazine Rookie then after, which became wildly popular. She was also in the iconic show Scream Queens, lest we forget. In Gossip Girl she plays Kate Keller, who is a mysterious character hyper-focused on ambition.
Cast as Akeno Menzies, this is actually Evan’s girl acting role. Aside from now accruing, he is also a skateboarder and model. In the show his character bi-sexual and dating Audrey Hope. In the trailer, his character shows that the series is going to integrate LGBTQ+ storylines, a further scope of the representation that we were looking forward to.
Also in her first acting role, Savannah is acting as Monet se Haan. We don’t know much about her character yet, only that she’s one of the main players. The Gossip Girl Instagram account posted a photo of her with the simple caption, ‘Power.’
Whitney stars as the new girl in town, Zoya Lott. She offers us a relatable perspective, with her naive entrance into this elite world of prep school teenagers living lavish lives. You probably recognize her from her role in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as Judith Blackwood, or her smaller roles in Molly’s Game and iZombie.
What’s Changed?
We know that the basic premise has remained the same, but here’s a list of what we know is different from the original show.
- Gossip Girl has upgraded to a social media stalker, as opposed to a blogger. The website has been deleted, and Gossip Girl is taking social media by storm.
- Inclusivity is at the forefront of this series. Nonwhite lead roles, queer content, and relatability.
- There’s more of an awareness of privilege. While the first one was all flash, this reboot will question the character’s privileged lives more and act as less of an ideal than a showcase.
- The roles have changed. There is no direct transfer of characters, but more of a fusion of personality types from the original.
- We aren’t sure if the original cast will appear. The original actors have been made aware of the reboot, and although there have been hints about cameos, nothing has been confirmed.
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