Spotted: Gossip Girl returning to TV screens this summer. HBO Max‘s reboot of the CW teen drama will debut in July, the show’s official Twitter account announced on Wednesday.
The 10-episode first season will “introduce a fresh crop of gorgeous Manhattan private-schoolers to Gossip Girl’s all-seeing eye,” per the official description. It will also address “just how much social media — and the landscape of New York itself — has changed” in the years since the original series wrapped in 2012.
The update stars Emily Alyn Lind (Revenge), Thomas Doherty (Legacies), Tavi Gevinson (Scream Queens), Adam Chanler-Berat (It Could Be Worse), Zion Moreno (Claws), Whitney Peak (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Eli Brown (Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists), Johnathan Fernandez (Lethal Weapon) and Broadway vet Jason Gotay. Although the show features an all-new cast, it won’t be without at least one familiar face voice: Kristen Bell is set to reprise her role as the omniscient narrator/voice of the Gossip Girl blog.
In a November 2019 interview with Vulture, showrunner Joshua Safran — who was an EP/writer on the CW drama — confirmed that the reimagining will be more reflective of New York City’s diversity. “This time around the leads are nonwhite,” he said. “There [will also be] 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.”
Original series creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are also on board as executive producers.
Gossip Girl fans, you know you love me, so leave a comment with your excitement.
Good afternoon, followers. I need no introduction, but these New York elite do. Pleased to present your newest obsession — coming to @hbomax this July. Clear your calendars accordingly. pic.twitter.com/msIEgKyT23
— Gossip Girl (@gossipgirl) April 28, 2021
I really thought that was Penn Badgely at first…
I believe it’s 12 episodes.
They sure slapped this together fast.
Ordered to series July 2019
Cast announced March 2020
Started filming fall 2020
Debuts July 2021.
2 years between greenlight and air isn’t fast.
I wouldn’t call over two years in development as fast.
Pretty sure this was ordered to series in the summer of 2019.
As someone that read the books in middle school, watched the original show in college and is now in her early 30s, I could not be more excited to see this version.
The cast looks underwhelming compared to the original, missing the magic that made the cast. It seems like they were just checking the standard boxes of today and not thinking of anything else but that which is a huge mistake for a show you want to make it past the first season.
As if the original didn’t do the same thing for it’s time. They plucked a ton of semi-attractive white people and the show was a hit (at first) let’s not act like the original cast were anyone’s A-listers or as a “spark” before it even aired (they didn’t)
My thoughts exactly
I remember that the show was expected to spectacularly bomb as a result
all of the main younger cast for Gossip Girl were unknown actors
But where’s the scandalous viral marketing campaign? They are keeping too quiet. Leak a fake sex tape or something. They need better publicity. HBO max is still not mainstream. HBO’s marketing unit needs to work on that.