‘Gossip Girl’: Do the Original Characters Exist in the World of the Reboot?
Gossip Girl fans are rejoicing as a reboot of the original show is underway. Though fans are excited to see what this reboot entails and where the Gossip Girl brand goes from here, some want to make sure that the original characters that made them fall in love with the show will still be around. While there hasn’t been an official statement about which cast members will return, we do know if the original Gossip Girl characters will make appearances.
The reboot
If you were hoping to pick up right where we left off with the original Gossip Girl cast and story, then you’re going to be disappointed.
“Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of ‘Gossip Girl,’” the log line reads, according to Deadline. “The prestige series will address just how much social media—and the landscape of New York itself—has changed in the intervening years.”
The 10 episode reboot will feature hour long episodes that cover issues like social media and online privacy.
“I think it very much represents where we will be at in 2020 when the show airs. It really looks at how social media has changed,” executive producer Joshua Safran told Entertainment Tonight before the show’s premiere had to be rescheduled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “You know, the first time around, when the show started people were, like, checking in places on Foursquare and updating their locations on Facebook. Things we would never do now because we don’t want anyone to know where we are. That change alone changes the dynamic of what Gossip Girl means and how Gossip Girl interacts with the kids this day and age, so I think it’s gonna be really interesting to see. The modern age reflected through Gossip Girl.”
Will the original ‘Gossip Girl’ characters exist in the world of the reboot?
Though no official list of returning cast members has been released, Safran revealed that the characters themselves will still exist in the world of the reboot.
“They are a part of the world. The characters talk about them and that they do exist,” Safran said. “So yeah, I would love to have them come back. The show jumped five years in the future when it ended and we are past that five years now, so it’s whole new things that they could be doing. I think of [the new show] like the Marvel universe. It’s not a continuation or a sequel. It truly just is looking at a different angle.”
Even if the actors and actresses don’t come back to the show, the character’s storylines will continue.
“Well, we talk about what happened to Dan [Humphrey], so I might have to text Penn and see if he’s really available,” Safran said. “Penn also works constantly, but we’ll see if we can rope him in there. That would be great. I would love for everyone to come back if they wanted to. The universe still exists. The characters talk about Serena, Blair, Chuck, Dan.”
The exact Gossip Girl reboot release date has not yet been set but it will premiere sometime this year.
