Gossip Girl


Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's Upper East Side whose private and social lives are chronicled by the unidentified blogger "Gossip Girl". The series was broadcast on the CW from September 19, 2007, to December 17, 2012, spanning six seasons and 121 episodes.
The series' main characters include socialite Serena van der Woodsen, her popular frenemy Blair Waldorf, her mother Lily van der Woodsen, and her love interest Dan Humphrey, an aspiring writer and scholarship student. Other main characters include Blair's ex-boyfriend Nate Archibald, his best friend Chuck Bass, Dan's sister Jenny Humphrey, Dan's childhood friend Vanessa Abrams, his father Rufus Humphrey, and the troublesome Ivy Dickens.
A ratings hit in its early seasons, Gossip Girl received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences but became known for using negative critical reviews in its marketing. The series won numerous accolades, including 18 Teen Choice Awards. It gained a large cult following, influenced other teen dramas and spawned several international television adaptations.
The series was followed by a standalone sequel, also titled Gossip Girl, which aired for two seasons between 2021 and 2023 on HBO Max.

Premise

The series focuses on a group of privileged teenagers who attend a prestigious high school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Their private lives are constantly commented upon by an unknown blogger under the pseudonym "Gossip Girl".
Gossip Girl chronicles the scandals and intimate details of the characters' lives during high school, college and in the years that follow. All of their ups and downs are available for the public to read about. Throughout this time, the characters strive to unveil Gossip Girl's true identity while covertly engaging in disastrous schemes.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

  • Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen, a socialite studying at the Constance Billard School for Girls. Serena frequently receives media attention and is romantically involved with Dan throughout the series.
  • Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf, the queen bee of Constance Billard. Her "frenemy" relationship with Serena is a constant theme in the series. Blair is highly focused on status, wealth and academic achievement and is romantically involved with Chuck.
  • Penn Badgley as Daniel "Dan" Humphrey, an outcast, scholarship student at St. Jude's School for Boys and aspiring fiction writer. Dan's romantic relationship with Serena is a constant theme throughout the series.
  • Chace Crawford as Nathaniel "Nate" Archibald, a legacy student at St. Jude's. Nate is romantically involved with numerous characters throughout the series, including Blair and Serena.
  • Taylor Momsen as Jennifer "Jenny" Humphrey, a student at Constance Billard's and Dan's younger sister and aspiring fashion designer. She uses underhanded tactics to gain social status and power, including becoming rivals with her friends and family.
  • Ed Westwick as Charles "Chuck" Bass, a promiscuous and wealthy legacy student at St. Jude's. Chuck is romantically involved with Blair throughout the series.
  • Kelly Rutherford as Lillian "Lily" van der Woodsen, Serena and Eric's socialite mother and former photographer. Lily's love life and relationship with her children are strained and rocky. Her primary romantic relationships throughout the series are with Bart Bass and Rufus Humphrey.
  • Matthew Settle as Rufus Humphrey, Dan and Jenny's father, who was a former musicican for the one-hit wonder rock band Lincoln Hawk and owns an art gallery in Brooklyn. Rufus shares a complicated romantic history with Lily.
  • Jessica Szohr as Vanessa Abrams, Dan's childhood best friend who later attends New York University. Vanessa aspires to be a filmmaker and has a romantic interest in Nate, Dan and Chuck during the series.
  • Kaylee DeFer as Ivy Dickens, a con-artist introduced to the Van der Woodsens as their cousin, Charlie Rhodes
The series featured uncredited narration by Kristen Bell, who appears in every episode. Bell portrays herself in the series finale.

Selected recurring

Development

The Gossip Girl novel series by Cecily von Ziegesar was originally supposed to be adapted into a film starring Lindsay Lohan with head Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. When the film project did not get off the ground, Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz took over, to create a television series. By October 2006, Schwartz was working on the pilot. He said: "I was very skeptical . I don't want to The O.C.. books are smart the characters are worldly". The characteristics for each character in the pilot were based on the first Gossip Girl book. In January 2007, the show was given the green light by the CW.

Production team

The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz and fellow writer Stephanie Savage served as the show's executive producers throughout the series' run, followed by Bob Levy and Leslie Morgenstein of Alloy Entertainment, who were assigned in aiding the adaptation of the novels into the series. Following the success of Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls co-producer, John Stephens was approached by Schwartz and Savage, having previously worked with him on The O.C., and hired him as an executive producer. Joshua Safran, who started as a writer/consulting producer before becoming co-executive producer, was later added as an executive producer. On April 24, 2012, it was announced that he would leave the show at the end of the fifth season to be the new show runner of NBC's now-cancelled musical series Smash. To fill in Safran's void, co-executive producer Sara Goodman was promoted to executive producer for the sixth season. Alexandra Patsavas who worked with Schwartz on The O.C. was in charge of the music. Eric Daman was at the head of the costume department; he previously had assisted Patricia Field on Sex and the City.

Casting

Featuring nine regular speaking roles, the majority of the ensemble cast was assembled from February to April 2007. Leighton Meester and Blake Lively–who started auditioning in December 2006–were the first two actresses to be chosen in February for the lead roles of Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen, respectively. Penn Badgley, who had previously worked with Stephanie Savage on The Mountain, Taylor Momsen, Chace Crawford, Kelly Rutherford, and Connor Paolo also auditioned successfully and landed roles in the series in March, as did Florencia Lozano who appeared only in the pilot, and was later replaced by Margaret Colin. Badgley at first turned down the part of Dan since he originally auditioned for Chuck Bass. In an interview with Vulture, he stated that he turned down the role of Dan at first because of frustration; Lively—who planned to attend college—also initially turned down the role of Serena. Actors for the roles of Chuck Bass and Rufus Humphrey were found in April when British actor Ed Westwick, and Matthew Settle were cast. Westwick first read for the role of Nate but was then asked to try Chuck. As rumors swirled about the impending cancellation of Veronica Mars, it was revealed at the CW's 2007 upfronts on May 17, 2007, that Kristen Bell had narrated the pilot, thus making her the title character of another show on the network. Of the casting, Bell said:
Jessica Szohr was signed on to portray the recurring role of Vanessa Abrams and received regular status during the fourteenth episode of the first season. Kaylee DeFer joined the series in the eighteenth episode of the fourth season and was promoted to series regular for the show's fifth season.
At the conclusion of the fourth season, Momsen, who went on an indefinite hiatus during the season while retaining regular billing, and Jessica Szohr both left the show. Throughout the series' run, Connor Paolo consistently declined to elevate his recurring role of Eric van der Woodsen to regular status, citing personal reasons for his decision. After becoming a regular on the ABC series Revenge, Paolo confirmed his departure from Gossip Girl in August 2011.
As the show progressed, numerous recurring guest stars appeared in the show. Michelle Trachtenberg signed on to portray Georgina Sparks. The role had previously been offered to Mischa Barton who declined the role. Francie Swift and Sam Robards took the parental roles of Anne and Howard Archibald, respectively. Caroline Lagerfelt portrayed Celia "CeCe" Rhodes, Serena and Eric's grandmother and Lily's mother. Sebastian Stan made several appearances as Carter Baizen throughout the show's first three seasons.