Gossip Girl is an American
television teen drama inspired by the popular
novel series of the same name, written by
Cecily von Ziegesar.
Gossip Girl satirizes and revolves around the lives of socialite young adults growing up on
New York City's
Upper East Side who attend elite academic institutions while dealing with sex, drugs, jealousy, and other teenage issues.
Each episode is narrated by omniscient yet unseen narrator "Gossip Girl" (voiced by
Kristen Bell). Most of the main characters are private high school students, primarily consisting of
Serena van der Woodsen (
Blake Lively),
Blair Waldorf (
Leighton Meester),
Dan Humphrey (
Penn Badgley),
Nate Archibald (
Chace Crawford), and others. Their family members and other recurring characters play supporting roles in the series.
The series first aired on September 18, 2007 in Canada on
CTV before premiering in the U.S. a day later on
The CW.
["Fall 2007 Premiere Dates," CTV, August2007. Retrieved on September 1, 2007] The show received the first full season order of 18 episodes of the 2007/2008 television season of the five major broadcast networks in October 2007.
Following the
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike,
Gossip Girl returned on Monday, April 21, 2008 to close the first season.
In March 2008,
The CW renewed
Gossip Girl for a second season, which began on
Labor Day of 2008.
