Gossip Girl Is Back...Sort Of
The Upper East Side is once again being terrorized by an all-knowing social media god, but this time things are a little different. Dan Humphrey is long gone, and a new mystery is unfolding, though we don't yet know what that mystery is. (We will when it premieres on July 8!)
The new show is set in the same world as the original Gossip Girl, but it follows a whole new group of young people whose lives are being watched and ruled over by a whole new era of social media.
Per HBO Max, "This extension of the pop culture classic takes us back to the Upper East Side finding a new generation of New York private school teens being introduced to social surveillance nine years after the original blogger's website went dark. Gossip Girl explores just how much social media—and the landscape of New York itself—has changed in the intervening years."
There's a Twist
A Cosmo feature revealed that the series features a big twist that hasn't yet been reported. "My hope is that we make it to airing and people don't know," showrunner Joshua Safran said. "I would love to see that conversation happen in the context of people having seen it as opposed to talking about something they haven't seen."
What we do know is that Gossip Girl is no longer supposed to just be one person. What that actually means has yet to be seen...
Kristen Bell Returns
Gossip Girl may have taken on a different form this time around, but she's going to sound the same. Kristen Bell returns as the iconic narrator for the reboot, and you can hear her do so in the first teaser.
Bell is the only cast member from the original series who is currently signed on for the new show.
Tavi Gevinson plays Kate Keller
The real-life fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson plays Kate Keller, and her name is pretty much all we know about her. She's purposely a mystery.
Whitney Peak plays Zoya Lott
Whitney Peak stars as Zoya, who is described as being sort of like Dan Humphrey in that she acts as the audience's tour guide through the Upper East Side as she begins her journey at Constance Billard without any of the money or influence that her fellow students have.
Jordan Alexander plays Julien Calloway
Jordan Alexander plays Julien, an impossibly cool teen influencer and model who rules the school. She's dating Obie and is best friends with Audrey.
Emily Alyn Lind plays Audrey Hope
Emily Alyn Lind stars as Audrey, a posh, queen bee student whose mother designs athleisure. She's dating Aki and is best friends with Julien.
Evan Mock plays Aki Menzies
Evan Mock plays Aki, the long-time boyfriend of Audrey.
Thomas Doherty plays Max Wolfe
Thomas Doherty stars as Max, who was described in the Cosmo feature as "libertine." When asked if he makes out with boys, Doherty confirmed to the magazine that Max does get naked, and does "indulge."
Eli Brown Plays Obie Bergmann IV
Eli Brown plays Obie, a rich do-gooder from Germany who is pretty immediately lovable.
Zion Moreno plays Luna La
Zion Moreno plays Luna. She's BFFs with Monet and is obsessed with fashion and beauty and has a lot of opinions on the drama surrounding her.
Savannah Smith plays Monet de Haan
Savannah Smith plays Monet, who is BFFs with Luna and offers quite a lot of commentary on the goings on at Constance Billard.
Other Cast Members
Elizabeth Lail, who starred in season one of You, and Broadway star Laura Benanti will also appear in the new series, along with Adam Chanler-Berat, Johnathan Fernandez, Jason Gotay and Donna Murphy.