Gossip Girl is an American drama television series based on the
book series of the same name written by
Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by
Josh Schwartz and
Stephanie Savage, and premiered on
The CW on September 19, 2007. On February 24, 2009 The CW renewed the show for a third season.
Narrated by the omniscient yet unseen blogger "Gossip Girl", voiced by
Kristen Bell, the series revolves around the lives of privileged teenagers attending an elite private school in New York City's
Upper East Side.
The series begins with the return of
Serena van der Woodsen (
Blake Lively) from a mysterious stay at a boarding school in Connecticut.
(
Leighton Meester), who creators describe as the queen at the center of their chess game,
is a longtime friend and occasional rival of Serena's, and the
Queen Bee of
Manhattan's social scene.
The story also follows
Chuck Bass (
Ed Westwick), the resident bad boy of the Upper East Side and boyfriend of Blair Waldorf,
Nate Archibald (
Chace Crawford), Chuck's best friend, and certain outsiders who become part of the turbulent
Manhattan scene:
Dan Humphrey (
Penn Badgley), Serena's friend and Nate's on-again, off-again ex;
Vanessa Abrams (
Jessica Szohr), Dan's best friend; and Dan's ambitious sister
Jenny (
Taylor Momsen).
Cast and characters
Gossip Girl features ensemble cast of nine regular speaking roles which were mainly adapted from the book series. The first few episodes of the first season included the original concept from the books, mainly following the lives of the five teenagers.
Serena van der Woodsen (
Blake Lively), is a attractive former 'it girl', the protagonist of the show.
Dan Humphrey (
Penn Badgley), an outsider who becomes a part of the turbulent
Manhattan scene, is Serena's main love interest.
Blair Waldorf (
Leighton Meester) is a beautiful
Queen Bee of Manhattan's social scene, as well as Serena's best friend and occasional rival.
Nate Archibald (
Chace Crawford) is a wealthy guy, often confused by his feelings and the path he wants to take in life.
Chuck Bass (
Ed Westwick) serves as the show's
antihero, being a womanizer and party lover with a troubled life and past, but possessing a soft side to him as well.
Beside the five regulars mentioned above, three more characters appeared in the pilot episode -
Jenny Humphrey (
Taylor Momsen) is Dan's younger sister, who desperately tries to become the next Queen Bee, a goal that makes her realize the true values of life;
Lily van der Woodsen (
Kelly Rutherford) and Dan's father Rufus Humphrey (
Matthew Settle), both of whom share a romantic past which follows them throughout the show, and eventually leads to marriage.
Vanessa Abrams (
Jessica Szohr), enters the show in its first season as Dan's past love, and becomes a series regular after the 14th episode. Other characters include
Eric van der Woodsen (
Connor Paolo) Serena's overly caring gay brother, who becomes very close with Jenny, but ultimately schemes her, and
Georgina Sparks (
Michelle Trachtenberg), the main
antagonist in the show, with a recurring role.
Seasons
Season One: 2007-2008
Season 1 featured 18 episodes and began airing on September 19, 2007. However, due to the
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, only 13 episodes were produced from the planned 22, but once the strike ended, the network announced five more episodes to be produced, and finally the season concluded on May 19, 2008. The season premiered with 3.5 million viewers,
and ended with 3.00.
Although the ratings were low the network renewed the show for second season due their aiming on male and female demographics on age 18-34.
In the beginning of the first season, the episodes focus on why Serena initially left. It is soon discovered that she felt an overwhelming guilt for sleeping with her best friend Blair’s boyfriend Nate Archibald behind Blair’s back. However, as the season progresses, Georgina Sparks, a new character with malicious intentions, comes back to haunt Serena. It is soon discovered that the real reason Serena left was because one night she and Georgina were hanging out in a hotel room after a night of drinking and partying. Things soon got out of hand when the man they were with asked for his cocaine and Serena gave the drugs to him. Immediately after, the man began having a seizure and the two girls panicked and ran away. Serena felt obligated to at least call 911 for help, and as she ran across the street in hiding, she saw that the man they were with had died. This is the full reason why Serena left because in the same night she had slept with her best friend’s boyfriend and killed a man. Part of the main story arc also involves Serena's relationship with Dan Humphrey, an outsider from Brooklyn who she begins to date but has a rocky road with because of their different family backgrounds.
Other storylines include Blair breaking up with Nate and falling for his best friend
Chuck Bass, which leads to her dethroning as
Queen Bee; Jenny's training to become the next Queen Bee lead by Blair, which contribute to both of them later in the season beginning war for the throne; Nate's family problems; Lily's marriage with Bart Bass; Rufus' troubled marriage; Dan's relationship with Serena, which is interrupted by his former love
Vanessa Abrams; and the friendship of Chuck and Nate.
Season Two: 2008-2009
Season 2 featured 25 episodes and began airing on September 1, 2008 starting at the end of the summer instead of the more conventional start in the fall along with larger TV networks. The season concluded on May 25, 2009. The season premiered with 3.43 million viewers,
similar to the first season and ended with 2.23, lower than expected.
The second season mainly explores the
senior year of most of the characters, the continuity of their new found relationships, their final encounter with "Gossip Girl", and their attempts to get into college. The first couple of episodes feature part of the summer vacation, respectively week before the start of the school year. The role of "Gossip Girl" is slightly decreased. She continues to run her blog, but she keeps the ultimate information for herself, sending it in the final episode as the last blast, where Serena decides to find out who "Gossip Girl" really is, but ultimately fails.
The second season also focuses on Blair and Chuck, who were labeled "the heart of
GG" by
People magazine.
At first, both characters negate their feelings for one another, and go through random schemes and manipulations. After all the games are done, both of them eventually say "I love you" to each other. Other storylines include Blair's attempt to enter
Yale University; the death of Bart Bass which proves to be a very bad influence on Chuck and the exploration of his involvements; Dan's transformation from outsider to insider and his relationship with Serena's teacher Rachel Carr; Serena's relationships after breaking up with Dan; Jenny's career as fashion designer and her rebellions which ultimately ends with her becoming the next
Queen Bee; the end of Nate and Chuck's friendship and Nate's friendship with Dan; Nate's family problems which continue to grow and affect on his new found relationship with Vanessa; Rufus and Lily's relationship after Bart's death, their engagement, and revelation that they have a son; and Serena's involvement with Poppy Lifton, a secretive socialite that tries to steal money from Serena and her friends which ultimately leads to the return of Georgina Sparks, who claims to be changed but eventually decides to get revenge on Blair.
The penultimate episode of the season, "
Valley Girls", was a
backdoor pilot for a
Gossip Girl spin-off series also titled
Valley Girls. The series was set in 1983 and chronicled the teen years of the
Gossip Girl character
Lily van der Woodsen.
Season Three: 2009-2010
Gossip Girl's third season premiere aired on the CW on September 14, 2009. The cast began filming on June 29, 2009 in
New York City.
Hilary Duff joined the show for a multi-episode guest arc in this season as Olivia Burke, a famous movie star who wants a normal college experience, and eventually starts dating Dan Humphrey. This character was inspired by real life actress
Emma Watson's decision to attend university.
also joined the show for the first four episodes as Bree Buckley, an "evil Miss America" type from the Archibalds' rival family - she served as a love interest for Nate, until he found out she was just using him to get back at her cousin's
fiancé Carter Baizen.
creator
Tyra Banks appeared in the fourth episode as Ursula Nyquist, a larger than life actress, for whom Serena Van Der Woodsen temporarily works as a publicitor. Also appearing in this episode was Sonya Harum, an up and coming actress, and designers
Tory Burch and
Georgina Chapman.
Also,
Gina Torres got an recurring role as Vanessa's mother, Gabriela Abrams.
Music group
Sonic Youth made a guest appearance in the season's fifth episode, "Rufus Getting Married", where they played an acoustic version of their song "Starpower" at Rufus and Lily's wedding.
. The ninth episode of the season caused a significant amount of controversy. Parent groups urged the CW not to air the episode that contained a
threesome. The preview for the episode revolved around an "OM3" theme. CW ignored these requests and announced that it was going to air the episode as planned. The show is also gaining more attention due to the fact that it is bringing in many new guest stars.
Lady Gaga made an appearance in the episode "The Last Days of Disco Stick".
It has been confirmed that
Robert John Burke who plays
Chuck Bass's father,
Bart Bass will return for a '
Christmas Carol' themed episode in January, also
Desmond Harrington will return to the show in episode 15 as Chuck's uncle, Jack Bass.
, who played Jenny's model friend Agnes, confirmed on her
Twitter account that she'll appear in Gossip Girl again.
Season three premiered in the
United Kingdom on Wednesday 7 October 2009 on ITV2 at 8PM, and will premere in Australia on FOX8 on December 1.
Reception
U.S. Nielsen Ratings
The first episode of the show was watched by 3.5 million viewers, coming in last place in its 9:00 p.m. timeslot on Wednesday nights.
Despite this, the show was noted to have held the best audience retention of
America's Next Top Model in spite of a decline of 30% in the advertiser-craved 18-49 demographic and in total viewers.
[A solid premiere for CBS's 'Kid Nation'] The show wasn't able to cling to its viewers in its second outing, however, losing more than half of
ANTMs audience and 22% of its own debut numbers in the face of strong competition from other shows such as ABC's Private Practice and NBC's Bionic Woman each of which made impressive debuts that night.
- Seasonal ratings
Seasonal ratings based on average total viewers per episode of
Gossip Girl on
The CW:
| Season
| Timeslot
| Season Premiere
| Season Finale
| TV Season
| Rank
| Viewers (millions)
|
| 1
| Wednesday 9:00 P.M. (September 19, 2007-January 9, 2008)
Monday 8:00 P.M. (April 21-May 19, 2008)
| September 19, 2007
| May 19, 2008
| 2007-2008
| #196
| 2.60
|
| 2
| Monday 8:00 P.M.
| September 1, 2008
| May 18, 2009
| 2008-2009
| #168 | 2.80
|
| 3
| Monday 9:00 P.M.
| September 14, 2009
| May 2010
| 2009-2010
|
| 2.30(to date)
|
Critical response
Gossip Girl initially received mixed reviews. Due to the show's pedigree as an adaptation of the
New York Times bestselling novel series, the show was considered to be one of the more anticipated new shows of the 2007-2008 television season. An August 2007 survey by OTX, a global media research and consulting firm, placed the show on the list of top ten new shows that viewers were aware of.
Though the pilot was the recipient of positive reviews from publications such as
Variety,
Washington Post,
San Francisco Chronicle and the
Boston Globe, other reviewers described it as a guilty pleasure rather than an hour's worth of must-watch television.
gave it a score of 54, based on the reviews of 26 different publications.
However, author
Cecily von Ziegesar has expressed support for the show, noting that all of her major plot points were present in the pilot.
The
Parents Television Council has shown particular criticism of the series, especially with its "
OMFG" ad campaign from April 2008.
It also named the episode "Victor/Victrola" the worst television program of the week in which the episode originally was broadcast.
Quotes from the Parents Television Council review, as well as negative quotes from the
San Diego Union-Tribune,
New York Post and the
Boston Herald, were used on various advertisements for the second season. The
Hartford Courant chronicled a variety of negative responses to the ads. The ads included quotes like "Every Parent's Nightmare", "Mind-Blowingly Inappropriate" and "A Nasty Piece of Work" in what appears to be an effort to continue the 'rebellious teen' style of the show.
[Bad Reviews Make Good Ads, The Courant. Retrieved September 1, 2008.]
As the show continued its first season, the response become considerably more positive, and by the second season critical response was favorable.
Metacritic gave the new season an improved score of 71. "Summer's been good to this girl," claimed
Entertainment Weekly, who awarded the series its highest grade of "A."
[[2]] The New York Daily News claimed the show had found its footing by stating "It knows exactly what it wants and needs its new hybrid product to be. The hockey fights video of teen romance drama."
Gossip Girl was designated the "Best. Show. Ever." in April 2008 by
New York magazine.
[NY Magazine. "Gossip Girl": The Genius Of The "Best. Show. Ever."www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/21/gossip-girl-the-genius-of_n_97711.html]
Toward the conclusion of the first season, Janet Malcolm of
The New Yorker criticized the show for its deviations from the novels, stating that the series was "related to the original only in the names and outlines of the characters." She further asserted that, "Without von Ziegesar's fast, mocking commentary to propel them, the TV episodes are sluggish and crass — a move from Barneys to Kmart."
The PTC, has had many problems with Gossip Girl over the years. In Season 1, for the underage drinking, drugs, and sex going on. Although it was milder in Season 2, the Ad's and the campaign to promote season 2 sparked much controversy, which involved 4 of the main characters in a controversial pose or picture. In Season 3, the PTC fired yet again, but this time stronger than ever. For the ninth episode of the season would include a sexual threesome. It would also last out through the 10th episode of the series in flashbacks. The PTC said this was "
[3]rresponsible and reckless".
Awards
DVD releases
| Complete Season
| Box-Set Image
| Release dates
| Dvd Extras and Bonus Features
| Number Of Discs
|
| Region 1
| Region 2
| Region 3
| Region 4
|
| 1st
|
| August 19, 2008
| August 18, 2008
| October 22, 2008
| November 13, 2008 (Brazil)/April 15, 2009 (Australia)
| Unaired Scenes, 3 All-New Featurettes, Music Videos, Gossip Girl Featurette, GG Couture Featurette, A Gossip Girl Wedding Featurette, Gag Reel and Free Download of the Original Bestselling Book, read by Christina Ricci.
| 5
|
| 2nd
|
| August 18, 2009
| Part 1: April 13, 2009
|
Part 2: August 10, 2009
Complete: September 28, 2009
TBA
| September 24, 2009 (Brazil), October 28, 2009 (Australia), October 28, 2009 (New Zealand)
| 5th Ave. Meet Gossip Girl: Click icons on a graphic map and tour the Gossip Girl crowd's favorite haunts. Faces Behind the Design: Creative forces behind the show's art and fashion. Chasing Dorota Webisodes. Gag Reel. Downloaded audiobook of the bestselling novel Gossip Girl, You Know You Love Me by Cecily von Ziegesar, read by Christina Ricci. Unaired Scenes.
| 7 (8 in Special Edition)
|
International distribution
The show aired on
CTV and
MuchMusic in Canada (For season two, CTV sent the series down to the relaunched
A), the
Warner Channel in
Latin America, Musicbox in
Georgia (country),
ProSieben in Germany,
ORF 1 in Austria,
NET 5 in the Netherlands,
ETC Entertainment Central in the
Philippines,
Zee Café in India,
ITV2 in the United Kingdom,
Go! and
FOX8 in Australia,
VIJFtv in
Belgium,
AXN,
Cosmopolitan and
Cuatro in
Spain, in
Sony Entertainment Television and
SIC in Portugal, Mya and later on
Italia 1 in Italy,
TVN Siedem in
Poland,
PRO TV in
Romania,
Nova in
Bulgaria, on
Kanal 2 in Estonia and
Kanal A in Slovenia. It will air on
8TV in Malaysia,
TV Norge in Norway,
Sub (TV channel) (season 2) in Finland,
HOT3 in Israel,
Kanal 5 in Sweden,
Kanal 4 in Denmark,
Stöð 2 in Iceland,
TF1 in France, On Style in South Korea, TV2 in New Zealand,
Trans 7 in
Indonesia and Cool TV in
Hungary. Currently airing Season 2 on
TVB J2 in Hong Kong.On
TG4 in
Ireland.On
CNBC-e in
Turkey.Season 1 currently airing on
CBC TV 8 in
Barbados. The first season has also been shown in South Africa on the Go channel (now called Vuzu) which in July 2009 began airing the second season on Wednesday Nights at 20:30. The second season has finished airing in
Greece on
Star Channel.
