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Gossip Girl (2021 TV series)

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Gossip Girl
GenreTeen drama
Based onGossip Girl
by Cecily von Ziegesar
Developed byJoshua Safran
Starring
Narrated byKristen Bell
Music byAriel Rechtshaid
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Ashley Wigfeld
  • Billy Redner
Cinematography
  • Jeffrey Waldron
  • Jamie Cairney
  • Crille Forsberg
Editors
Running time56–59 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkHBO Max
ReleaseJuly 8, 2021 (2021-07-08) –
present (present)

Gossip Girl is an American teen drama streaming television series developed by Joshua Safran for HBO Max. It is an extension and a standalone sequel to The CW television series of the same name which is based on the novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series is executive produced by original series' co-creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, along with Safran, who was an executive producer on the first series and who also serves as showrunner.

It was given a straight-to-series order in July 2019 by HBO Max. Filming takes place in New York City and was originally scheduled to begin in March 2020 before being delayed to November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The series is narrated by Kristen Bell, who reprised her role as the voice of "Gossip Girl", an anonymous and omniscient blogger. The series features an ensemble cast led by Jordan Alexander, Whitney Peak, Tavi Gevinson, Eli Brown, Thomas Doherty, Emily Alyn Lind, Evan Mock, Zión Moreno, and Savannah Lee Smith.

Gossip Girl premiered on HBO Max on July 8. The first season will consist of 12 episodes, split into two six-episode parts, with the second half debuting in November 2021. In September 2021, the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise

Nearly a decade after the conclusion of the original series, a new cast of Manhattan private schoolers takes the lead under the watchful eye of Gossip Girl, while demonstrating how much social media – and the landscape of New York City itself – has changed in the intervening years. Gossip Girl is slated to feature more adult content than the original on The CW, owing to the relaxed standards of the HBO Max streaming service. The series is also slated to be more diverse, with non-white leads and LGBT characters.[1]

In regard to continuity, executive producer and showrunner Joshua Safran stated that it is officially in the same continuity of the original Gossip Girl series. However, rather than a direct continuation of the story, it is instead set in the same world where previous characters existed and can be freely referenced and potentially reappear, but stars a different set of characters from a different point of view.

Cast and characters

Main

  • Jordan Alexander as Julien Calloway,[2] Audrey, Luna and Monet's best friend and Obie's ex-girlfriend who has recently been united with her maternal younger half-sister, Zoya. She is the it girl and queen bee at Constance Billard and a fashion influencer.
  • Whitney Peak as Zoya Lott,[2] Julien's morally upstanding maternal younger half-sister and a scholarship freshman at Constance Billard who goes on to form a relationship with Obie
  • Tavi Gevinson as Kate Keller,[2] an English teacher at Constance Billard who, tired of being bullied by Luna and Monet, leads a ring of teachers as "Gossip Girl"
  • Eli Brown as Otto "Obie" Bergmann IV,[2] an extremely wealthy do-gooder who is considered a guilty rich and is Aki's best friend and Julien's ex-boyfriend who later forms a relationship with Zoya.
  • Thomas Doherty as Max Wolfe,[2] a pansexual and headstrong flirt who is interested in Aki, Audrey and Rafa
  • Emily Alyn Lind as Audrey Hope,[2] a dismissive teenager who is Julien's best friend and Aki's girlfriend but has an interest in Max.
  • Evan Mock as Akeno "Aki" Menzies,[3][2] Obie's best friend and Audrey's bisexual boyfriend with an interest in Max
  • Johnathan Fernandez as Nicholas "Nick" Lott,[4] Zoya's caring father who is a lawyer
  • Adam Chanler-Berat as Jordan Glassberg,[4] a computer science teacher at Constance Billard who helps run the Gossip Girl account.
  • Zión Moreno as Luna La,[2] a transgender[5] stylist and Julien and Monet's best friend who is always scheming
  • Savannah Lee Smith[a] as Monet De Haan,[2] the intimidating and powerful lesbian best friend to Julien and Luna who serves as Julien's social media manager
  • Jason Gotay as Rafa Caparros,[4] a classics teacher at Constance Billard who catches Max's eye and a sexual predator who preys on his students
  • Todd Almond[b] as Gideon Wolfe, Max's father and a theatre impresario.
  • Laura Benanti[c] as Kiki Hope, an athleisure wear designer and Audrey's alcoholic mother. She has a complicated relationship with her daughter following her divorce after her husband's cheating.

The series is narrated by Kristen Bell as the voice of "Gossip Girl", an online anonymous figure, reprising her role from the 2007 series.

Recurring

  • Megan Ferguson as Wendy, an administration staff with a strong knowledge of the original Gossip Girl account and goes on to help Kate and Jordan run the new Gossip Girl account
  • Luke Kirby as Davis Calloway, Julien's music mogul father and Lola's boyfriend
  • Donna Murphy as Headmistress Vivian Burton, the headmistress of Constance Billard[6]
  • Elizabeth Lail as Lola Morgan, a singer-songwriter and Davis Calloway's girlfriend
  • Lyne Renée as Helena Bergmann, Obie's mother who is an extremely wealthy real estate mogul

Guest

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date [7]
1"Just Another Girl on the MTA"Karena EvansTeleplay by : Joshua SafranJuly 8, 2021 (2021-07-08)
As the students return to school after the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of worn-out teachers create an Instagram account as the omniscient and anonymous "Gossip Girl" to take back power from their teenaged tormentors. Determined to start a feud that rivals that of former students Blair and Serena, the teachers set their sights on Julien Calloway, an influencer and student who has secretly paid off the staff to have her younger half-sister, Zoya, admitted. Julien and Zoya are finally united, but keep their long history of social media messaging a secret from their fathers and Julien's friends. After Julien invites Zoya into her group of friends, "Gossip Girl" exposes their secret friendship and how Julien paid for Zoya to receive a scholarship before catching a picture of Zoya and Julien's boyfriend, Obie, and claiming the two to be secret lovers. Julien develops a plan to clear Zoya's name at Julien's fashion show, but Monet and Luna secretly concoct a scheme that gets Zoya kicked out. After Julien does not help Zoya, the two denounce their friendship as Zoya announces her plan to overthrow Julien and becomes close with Obie after he dumps Julien. Meanwhile, Audrey and Aki both develop attractions to Max.
2"She's Having a Maybe"Karena EvansApril BlairJuly 15, 2021 (2021-07-15)
As the teachers prepare for parent–teacher conferences, Audrey is disappointed after her mother, Kiki, fails to show up. Audrey convinces Kiki to attend the school's black-tie fundraiser, but is enraged when Kiki becomes drunk and acts inappropriately. Meanwhile, Obie attempts to form a relationship with Zoya. After "Gossip Girl" posts a picture of the two together, Julien photoshops a picture of herself and Obie together, causing "Gossip Girl" to be denounced as a liar. When it appears Zoya will have to leave the school, Julien steps in to apologize to Zoya and convince their fathers to let Zoya stay. Elsewhere, Max sets his sights on Rafa despite the fact he is a teacher. He makes multiple advances, including making out with Aki at a bathhouse to make Rafa jealous, before Rafa agrees that they can hook up after Max graduates. Audrey then sleeps with Max after she is angered by Aki.
3"Lies Wide Shut"Jennifer LynchLila FeinbergJuly 22, 2021 (2021-07-22)
After Julien and Max spend a night out partying, they discover Max's father is cheating and Julien's father has a secret girlfriend, Lola. Obie meets Nick who finally agrees to let Zoya and Obie go on a date, but after Zoya deals with Internet backlash, she turns to Luna for a makeover of sorts. "Gossip Girl" posts about students cheating in relationships, and both Audrey and Aki are convinced the post is about their own affairs with Max. Max asks Aki to create a fake dating profile under the guise of Rafa to catch his father in the act, and Max and Julien secretly invite Rafa and Lola to the opening night of a Broadway play. Max exposes Roy's cheating to Gideon and, heartbroken and high, reveals Aki and Audrey's infidelities to the two before staying the night on Rafa's couch. Julien and Davis agree that he no longer needs to hide Lola. Meanwhile, the school hires an intelligence team to crack down on "Gossip Girl". Feeling desperate, Kate and Jordan trick Reema into posting while their firewall is down, allowing Reema to get caught and take the blame for the account.
4"Fire Walks with Z"Jennifer LynchCourtney Perdue & Baindu SaiduJuly 29, 2021 (2021-07-29)
5"Hope Sinks"Pamela RomanowskyAaron FullertonAugust 5, 2021 (2021-08-05)
6"Parentsite"Pamela RomanowskyAshley WigfieldAugust 12, 2021 (2021-08-12)
Absent: Savannah Lee Smith as Monet De Haan.

Production

Development

WarnerMedia ordered a revival of the series for HBO Max in July 2019.[8] Although called a "reboot", it was confirmed to be a continuation of the original story by Josh Schwartz.[9] On November 2, 2020, it was announced that Karena Evans would direct the first two episodes of the series.[10] On September 9, 2021, HBO Max renewed the series for a second season.[11]

Writing

The creator and executive producer of the reboot, Safran, says that his priorities for the series are "to focus on stories that are not limited to one demographic.".[12] He also stated "I wanted to be more inclusive; I wanted to showcase a more diverse universe; I wanted to tell more queer stories.".[13]

Casting

In November 2019, it was announced Bell would be returning as the voice of Gossip Girl in the new series.[14] In March 2020, it was reported Alyn Lind, Peak, Brown, Fernandez and Gotay were cast.[15] Later that month, Gevinson, Doherty, Chanler-Berat and Moreno were reported to have joined as well.[16] In April 2020, it was reported Smith had joined the cast.[17] In August 2020, Jordan Alexander joined the cast in a starring role.[18] In October 2020, Evan Mock was cast as a series regular, while Benanti was cast in an undisclosed capacity.[19][20] In March 2021, Lail joined the cast in an undisclosed role.[21] In May 2021, Renée joined the cast in a recurring role.[22] In June 2021, Ferguson and Harris joined the cast in an undisclosed capacities.[23][24]

Filming

Filming for the series was scheduled to begin in March 2020 in New York City[25] but was put on hold due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and as a result, the release date was pushed back to 2021.[26] Production for the series began on November 2, 2020.[10]

Release

Gossip Girl premiered on HBO Max on July 8, 2021.[27] It is scheduled to air its first six episodes weekly, with the second slate of six episodes scheduled to air in November 2021.[28][29] In June 2021, it was announced that The CW would broadcast the first episode of the reboot on July 9, the day after it premieres on the streaming service, with the episode available to stream on The CW's online platforms after its broadcast.[30]

The series was acquired for the United Kingdom by BBC One and BBC iPlayer,[31] and for Canada by Crave.[32] In Belgium, the series was released on Streamz on July 9, 2021.[citation needed]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 38% based on 50 critic reviews, with an average rating of 4.90/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "An ambitious misfire, Gossip Girl stutters more than it struts, stranding a stacked cast in a sumptuous sea of rudderless drama."[33] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[34]

Notes

  1. ^ Smith is only credited as "Starring" in the episodes that she appears in.
  2. ^ Almond is only credited as "Starring" in the episodes that he appears in.
  3. ^ Benanti is only credited as "Starring" in the episodes that she appears in.

References

  1. ^ Ausiello, Michael (November 11, 2019). "Gossip Girl Reboot Update: Expect 'Non-White Leads,' a 'Lot of Queer Content' and... a Mysterious 'Twist'". TVLine. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Swift, Andy (May 28, 2021). "Gossip Girl Reboot Cast Photos". TVLine. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  3. ^ Gossip Girl [@gossipgirl] (January 1, 2021). "Akeno "Aki" Menzies: Innocence". Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2021 – via Instagram.
  4. ^ a b c Behbakht, Andy (July 8, 2021). "Gossip Girl Reboot Cast & Character Guide". Screen Rant. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  5. ^ Arthur, Kate (July 8, 2021). "'Gossip Girl' Boss Joshua Safran Dishes on All the Spoilers From the HBO Max Series Premiere". Variety. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "Tony Winner Donna Murphy Joins HBO Max's GOSSIP GIRL Reboot". Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  7. ^ "Gossip Girl – Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  8. ^ Porter, Rick (July 17, 2019). "'Gossip Girl' Update Lands Straight-to-Series Order at HBO Max". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  9. ^ Bastidas, Jose (July 26, 2019). "'Gossip Girl' Creator Reveals Details of Upcoming HBO Max Reboot". PopCulture. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (November 2, 2020). "'Gossip Girl': Karena Evans To Direct First Two Episodes Of HBO Max Series Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  11. ^ Cordero, Rosy (September 9, 2021). "'Gossip Girl' Renewed For Season 2 At HBO Max After Record-Breaking Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  12. ^ "How HBO Max's 'Gossip Girl' Rebooted a World of Chuck and Blair 'Archetypes' Without Making Carbon Copies". TheWrap. July 3, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  13. ^ Aurthur, Kate (June 30, 2021). "A 'Gossip Girl' for a New Generation? How Joshua Safran Reinvented TV's Wicked Teen Soap Opera". Variety. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  14. ^ Otterson, Joe (November 7, 2019). "Kristen Bell to Return as Narrator for HBO Max 'Gossip Girl' Reboot". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  15. ^ Porter, Rick (March 2, 2020). "'Gossip Girl' Reboot at HBO Max Casts Quintet of Actors". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  16. ^ Otterson, Joe (March 11, 2020). "'Gossip Girl' Sequel Series at HBO Max Adds Four to Cast". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 1, 2020). "'Gossip Girl': Newcomer Savannah Smith To Star In HBO Max Reboot Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 24, 2020). "'Gossip Girl': Jordan Alexander Joins HBO Max Series Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  19. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 5, 2020). "'Gossip Girl': Model & Skateboarder Evan Mock Joins HBO Max Series Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  20. ^ McPhee, Ryan (October 29, 2020). "Laura Benanti Joins Gossip Girl Sequel Series". Play Bill. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  21. ^ Petski, Denise; D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 19, 2021). "Elizabeth Lail To Star In Romantic Comedy Mack And Rita, Joins Gossip Girl Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  22. ^ Petski, Denise (May 28, 2021). "'Gossip Girl': Lyne Renée Joins HBO Max Series Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  23. ^ Porter, Rick (June 7, 2021). "HBO Max's 'Gossip Girl' Adds Megan Ferguson to Cast". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  24. ^ Galuppo, Mia (June 9, 2021). ""By Tweet 15, I Was There": 'Zola' Director and Writer on Their Journey to Turn a Stripper's Wild Twitter Thread Into an Absurdist Thriller". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  25. ^ "Gossip Girl - Production Listing | Backstage". Backstage. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  26. ^ Adalian, Josef (May 21, 2020). "XO, Oh No: HBO Max's Gossip Girl Now Won't Arrive until 2021". Vulture. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  27. ^ Swift, Andy (May 28, 2021). "Gossip Girl Reboot: Kristen Bell Speaks in First Teaser for HBO Max Series". TVLine. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  28. ^ Hemmert, Kylie (June 24, 2021). "The series will debut on HBO Max on Thursday, July 8 with its first six episodes. The remaining six episodes of the season will release later in the fall". ComingSoon. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  29. ^ Petski, Denise (August 12, 2021). "'Gossip Girl': HBO Max Sets Fall Return For Second Half Of Season 1". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  30. ^ Pedersen, Erik (June 24, 2021). "'Gossip Girl' Reboot Premiere To Air On The CW One Day After HBO Max Debut Next Month". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  31. ^ Chilton, Louis (July 2, 2021). "Gossip Girl reboot will launch on BBC One in the UK". The Independent. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  32. ^ Chilton, Louis (June 25, 2021). "Here's How You Can Watch The 'Gossip Girl' Reboot In Canada". Narcity Media. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  33. ^ "Gossip Girl: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  34. ^ "Gossip Girl: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
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