Gossip Girl (2021 TV series)

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 now features more adult content than the original series on The CW, owing to the relaxed standards of the HBO Max streaming service. In regard to continuity, executive producer and showrunner Joshua Safran stated that it is officially in the same continuity of the original Gossip Girl run. 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, an influencer and it girl who goes to Constance Billard as the queen bee. At the beginning of the series, she's dating Obie and is recently united with her half-sister, Zoya. • Whitney Peak as Zoya Lott, • Tavi Gevinson as Kate Keller, • Eli Brown as Otto "Obie" Bergmann IV, • Thomas Doherty as Max Wolfe, • Emily Alyn Lind as Audrey Hope, • Evan Mock as Akeno "Aki" Menzies, a bisexual skateboarder and movie enthusiast who is Obie's best friend and Audrey's boyfriend with an interest in Max • Johnathan Fernandez as Nick Lott, Zoya's caring father who is a lawyer • Adam Chanler-Berat as Jordan Glassberg, • Zión Moreno as Luna La, • Savannah Lee Smith as Monet de Haan, • Jason Gotay as Rafa Caparros (season 1), • Todd Almond as Gideon Wolfe, Max's father and a theater impresario • Laura Benanti 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. • Grace Duah as Shan Barnes (season 2; an administration staff at Constance Billard with a strong knowledge of the original Gossip Girl blog who goes on to help Kate and Jordan run the new Gossip Girl account 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 • John Benjamin Hickey as Roy Sachs, Max's father who works as a landscaper • Carla Hall as Rocky • Donna Murphy as Vivian Burton, the Headmistress of Constance Billard • Luke Kirby as Davis Calloway, Julien's music mogul father and Lola's ex-fiancé • Elizabeth Lail as Lola Morgan (season 1), a singer-songwriter and Davis Calloway's ex-fiancée • Ella Rubin as Bianca Breer, Julien's rival from another school • Katherine Reis as Pippa Sykes, Bianca's best friend • Lyne Renée as Helena Bergmann, Obie's mother who is an extremely wealthy real estate mogul • Malcolm McDowell as Roger Menzies, father of Aki, Jake, Hamish, and Eliza as well as Jodi's ex-husband who is a widely known media tycoon • Edmund Donovan as Scott, a teacher from another school who's involved in "Gossip Girl" • Angelic Zambrana as Tati • Cole Doman as Rex Huntington • Kathryn Gallagher as Heidi Bergmann, Obie's sister who took Max's virginity • Amanda Warren as Camille de Haan, Monet's mother and a powerful biotechnologist billionaire • Anna van Patten as Grace Byron, the daughter of Virginia state senator, Charlotte Byron and Obie's new girlfriend • Pico Alexander as Mike Shubin (season 2), a teacher at Constance Billard who just returned from a long sabbatical • Rick Worthy as Greyson de Haan (season 2), Monet's father • Jarvis Tomdio as Graham (season 2), Julien's love interest Guest • Jeremy O. Harris as himself (season 1) • Princess Nokia as herself (season 1) • Billy Porter as himself (season 1) • Marc Shaiman as himself (season 1) • Hettienne Park as Jodie Menzies (season 1), former wife of Roger and Aki's biological mother • Lucy Punch as Saskia Bates (season 1), Max's surrogate mother and an actress • Elizabeth Stanley as Charlotte Byron (season 2), Grace's mother and a controversial senator • Charli XCX as herself (season 2) • Andy Cohen as himself (season 2) • LaChanze as Mimi (season 2), Julien and Zoya's aunt • Lukas Gage as himself (season 2) • Aaron Dominguez as Phillip Price/Pip/Pablo (season 2) • Gonzalo Aburto de la Fuente as Alejandro (season 2) Guest characters from Gossip Girl (2007) • Yin Chang as Nelly Yuki, a high-ranking employee at a magazine company and a former member of Blair Waldorf's clique • Azhy Robertson as Milo Sparks (season 1), Georgina Sparks's son who helps Zoya get revenge on Julien. This character was introduced in the 2007 series played by uncredited child actors. • Zuzanna Szadkowski as Dorota Kishlovsky (season 1), the Waldorfs' Polish housekeeper • Wallace Shawn as Cyrus Rose (season 1), Gideon's lawyer and Blair Waldorf's stepfather • Michelle Trachtenberg as Georgina Sparks (season 2), a manipulative socialite who blackmails Kate. This was Trachtenberg's final television role before her death in February 2025. • Matt Doyle as Jonathan Whitney (season 2), Eric van der Woodsen's husband ==Episodes==

Series overview Season 1 (2021) Season 2 (2022–23) ==Production==

Development WarnerMedia ordered a revival of the series for HBO Max in July 2019. Although called a "reboot", it was revealed to be a continuation of the original story by Josh Schwartz. On November 2, 2020, it was announced that Karena Evans would direct the first two episodes of the series. On September 9, 2021, HBO Max renewed the series for a second season. On January 19, 2023, the series was cancelled after two seasons. Writing The creator and executive producer of the sequel, Safran, says that his priorities for the series are "to focus on stories that are not limited to one demographic". He also stated "I wanted to be more inclusive; I wanted to showcase a more diverse universe; I wanted to tell more queer stories.". Casting In November 2019, it was announced Bell would be returning as the voice of Gossip Girl in the new series. In March 2020, it was reported that Emily Alyn Lind, Peak, Brown, Fernandez and Gotay were cast. Later that month, Gevinson, Doherty, Chanler-Berat and Moreno were reported to have joined as well. In April 2020, it was reported Smith had joined the cast. In August 2020, Jordan Alexander joined the cast in a starring role. In October 2020, Evan Mock was cast as a series regular, while Benanti was cast in an undisclosed capacity. In March 2021, Lail joined the cast in an undisclosed role. In May 2021, Renée joined the cast in a recurring role. In June 2021, Ferguson and Harris joined the cast in an undisclosed capacities. In June 2022, Michelle Trachtenberg is set to reprise her role from the original series as Georgina Sparks in an undisclosed capacity for the second season. In October 2022, it was announced that Grace Duah has been promoted to series regular for the second season. Filming Filming for the series was scheduled to begin in March 2020 in New York City 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. Production for the series began on November 2, 2020. The series was also shot in Rome, Italy, in August 2022. ==Release==

Gossip Girl premiered on HBO Max on July 8, 2021. The first six episodes of the series aired weekly, while the second slate of six episodes was released on November 25, 2021. The first-season finale was released on December 2, 2021. In June 2021, it was announced that The CW would broadcast the first episode of the sequel 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. The second season premiered on December 1, 2022. The series was acquired by BBC One and BBC iPlayer for the United Kingdom. For Canada, it was acquired by Crave. In Belgium, the series was released on Streamz on July 9, 2021. The series was released on Amazon Prime Video India on July 21, 2022. ==Reception==

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 38% based on 56 critic reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10. 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." On Metacritic, the first season has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 90% based on 10 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. On Metacritic, the second season holds a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". According to Samba TV, 550,000 US households watched the new series in its first four-day streaming on HBO Max. ==Notes==