Everything We Know about the 'Gossip Girl' Reboot
Good news, Upper East Siders! The Gossip Girl reboot is officially underway with a new band of troublesome teens mixing it up with Manhattan's elite. After the success of the original series which aired from 2007 to 2012, the show's co-creators Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage, and Joshua Safran have joined forces once again to bring the hit drama into the streaming decade via HBO Max. We still have many questions left about what viewers can expect from the reboot (i.e. Who are these characters? What are their secrets? When will the show premiere so we can learn about them and their secrets?). However, in the meantime, L'OFFICIEL has collected all the must-know information about this highly anticipated series.
Trailer
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When will the show be released?
According to the trailer, the show is slated to premiere July 8 on HBO Max.
What will the Gossip Girl reboot look like?
Despite its moniker as a "reboot," the new series is closer to a "continuation" of sorts. The show features a new group of New York teens (more on that later) walking the same halls at Constance Billiard and St Jude's, over a decade since Serena, Blair, et al. have graduated. While the reboot will take place on the same hallowed Upper East Side streets as the original, the show is getting a major makeover.
"I was like, you know what, I'd like to do some things we were unable to do the first time around," said Safran to The Hollywood Reporter. "And that's what kept me up at night — a more inclusive show, a more queer show, looking at how social media has changed in the 12 years since the original Gossip Girl — and then I couldn't get that out of my head. There is actually a very different concept this time around, but we're not telling you. And that made me be like, 'sure, it's 10 episodes. Maybe that's all it'll be, but I'm really glad to look at it in a new way. It's different than most reboots."
Safran further elaborated on the diverse casting to Vulture, saying, "This time around the leads are nonwhite. There’s a lot of queer content on this show. 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."
What's this twist Safran is talking about? Unfortunately, that's one secret he'll never tell.
Who is Gossip Girl?
During all six seasons of the original, viewers were in the dark about Gossip Girl's real identity. However, Schwartz told E! News that, this time around, there is no singular Gossip Girl. He said, "We felt like a version that was just our cast grown up...it didn't really feel like a group of adults who were being controlled by Gossip Girl would make a lot of sense, so it felt like there was something really interesting about this idea that we are all Gossip Girl now, in our own way, that we are all purveyors of our own social media surveillance state."
Who are the characters?
To tease viewers, the show released photos of each character with a one-word bio on the official Gossip Girl Instagram page. Here's a look at GG's newest targets and the actors who play them.
Singer Jordan Alexander is set to play Julien Calloway, a Constance Billiard student who appears to be the new "queen bee," judging by the on-set photos released in early November. The word given to describe this character is "Influence."
Prior to being cast in Gossip Girl (her first acting job) as Monet de Haan, Savannah Smith was an NYU student at the Tisch School of the Arts. It's unclear what role her character will play within the friend group, but she may be a force to be reckoned with judging by her bio, "Power."
If the caption "Style" under her photo means anything, it's safe to assume that Luna La will be the show's fashion guru. Playing the role is Zión Moreno, a transgender actress who starred in the Netflix series Control Z and TNT's Claws.
Giving off major Chuck Bass vibes, Scottish actor Thomas Doherty is perfecting the mysteriously broody look as Max Wolfe. The actor has previously held recurring roles on Catherine the Great, Legacies, and High Fidelity. His word? "Freedom."
Former Broadway actress Emily Alyn Lind is no stranger to the screen—she made her film debut in The Secret Life of Bees when she was only seven years old. In the new Gossip Girl, Lind will play Audrey Hope, who has been described as "Grace." According to Deadline, Audrey is a girl whose been "in a long term relationship and is beginning to wonder what more could be out there."
Child fashion blogger-turned-actress Tavi Gevinson joins the cast as Kate Keller, whose bio reads "Ambition." The Rookie creator has previously guest-starred on shows like The Twilight Zone and Scream Queens.
Star of the Netflix film The F**k-It List Eli Brown will play Otto “Obie” Bergmann IV. Brown's previous credits include Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists and Spinning Out. His bio encapsulates his character in the word "Privilege," which seems quite non-descript when talking about a group of wealthy teens in New York City.
Skateboarder/photographer/model Evan Mock is adding "actor" to his resume with his first gig as Akeno “Aki” Menzies. Despite the rebellious vibe his pink hair may suggest, his Instagram post marked him with "Innocence." Before donning the St. Judes uniform, Mock briefly joined rapper Travis Scott on his Astro World tour as his photographer.
15-year-old Whitney Peak will star as Zoya Lott, a character that Deadline described as being a part of the "leading trio" with Lind and Brown. Despite her young age, Peak has already appeared in hit shows like Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and iZombie. As one of the leads, her bio sums up what we can expect from her character: "Perspective."
Will the original cast appear in the show?
While none of the original cast members have confirmed that they will be appearing in the reboot, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Kristen Bell will return to her voiceover role as Gossip Girl.
Schwartz spoke to audience members at the Television Critics Association summer press tour about bringing the former cast back, saying, "We've reached out to all of them to let them know it was happening and we'd love for them to be involved if they want to be involved, but certainly didn't want to make it contingent upon [them being involved]."
