Kristen Bell: Everything to know about HBO Max’s new ‘Gossip Girl’ reboot

The streaming wars are in full swing, bingewatcher. Protect your bank account and prepare for a load of new exclusive content. While the next couple months will be dedicated to the brawl between Disney+ and Netflix, even more services are preparing to head into the fray. The major debut will be HBO Max, which is the service for Warner Bros. media in all shapes and forms.

While the service promise a lot of interesting content new DC series, a bunch of new pilots, and other projects, one of the most anticipated series is the reboot of classic teen drama Gossip Girl.

Running from 2007 – 2012 on a nascent The CW, Gossip Girl was key to launching the network into the go-to destination for hit teen dramas. Gossip Girl followed a group of Manhattan’s teens on the Upper East Side and the drama that was their lives, all documented on a website called “Gossip Girl” run by an anonymous individual with an ear on the pulse of the elite. 

Who knows what this new series will look like? Will we see the return of characters from the original? Is this a true reboot or is past continuity still in play? Well, Upper East Siders, here’s what we know about the new Gossip Girl.

The creative talent behind the scenes remains the same

Series creator Josh Schwartz (The O.C., Chuck) returns for the revival with original showrunner and series written Joshua Safran involved in the project as well. Safran will be working with Schwartz’s Fake Empire production company (co-run with his partner Stephanie Savage), Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros. TV, and CBS Television Studios.

There’s no word whether any of the old writers will return to the new series at this time. 

New groups of teens forefront the series.

Even though the Gossip Girl website has been dark for eight years in the series, it doesn’t mean that it’s down and out. She (or he or they) will be back to dish about a new group of elite teens in the social media age.

The logline for the series is: “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 prestige series will address just how much social media—and the landscape of New York—has changed in the intervening years.”

It’s definitely a new twist for the series. During the original, social media wasn’t as omnipresent as it is in the present day. How will a new Gossip Girl function in the social media age?

Kristen Bell will return to narrate

Bell narrated all 121 episodes of the original six-season run. She even appeared in a brief cameo in the series finale. While she won’t appear on-screen in the new series, Bell’s voice will always be Gossip Girl.

In a statement from the producers, they essentially said that Kristen Bell has always been and will always be the voice of Gossip Girl, providing a solid through line between the series. As of the time of this article’s writing, Bell is the only member of the original cast set to return for the new Gossip Girl. 

Leighton Meester & Blake Lively are open to returning

While Bell is the only cast member definitely returning, that doesn’t mean others aren’t interested. Leighton Meester, who played Blair Waldorf, and Blake Lively, who played Serena van der Woodesen, have both stated that they’re open to returning to a new iteration of Gossip Girl. This comes with the caveat that both Meester and Lively said this in 2017, which is before this new series was announced with none of the original on-screen cast returning.

No release date for the new Gossip Girl has been announced.

As HBO Max gains more traction, you’ll probably hear more about the status of its various projects. Right now, we know this new iteration of Gossip Girl exists and is happening, but that’s pretty much it. No casting has been announced outside of Bell’s return. The show is tentatively slated for a 2021 release.

When Gossip Girl returns, you will too. After all, you know you love it. XOXO, Film Daily