Gossip Girl is the latest TV show to
announce its return to the small screen but calling it a reboot isn’t quite accurate. It’s also not a remake or a sequel. So, what is it exactly? According to
Gossip Girl creator Josh Safran, it’s tough to explain. We’ll call it a continuation.Safran appeared on the US Weekly podcast
Watch With Us this week and spoke about the return of
Gossip Girl, which is slated to arrive with ten new episodes on HBO Max sometime in 2020. The show’s creator said he was hesitant to describe the series in one word because the new
Gossip Girl won’t include the same characters but exists in a space where the original show and its storylines did take place.“I wish there was the proper word because it isn’t a remake, isn’t a reboot. It truly is just years after the original. It’s hard to say how many years because the original ended in 2012. But it was 2017 for the characters, because we flash forward five years,” said Safran. “It really is the same world. It’s 2020. If these characters were to talk about Blair Waldorf, they’re going to talk about Blair Waldorf. I kind of look at it as sort of what Marvel does or the DC Universe. You’re just looking at a different angle inside the universe. I think, because of that, it allows us to not feel super tied. … It’s still in the same location, it is still [about] fashion, still about privilege, about the 1 percent.”
As for any lingering hopes that Blair Waldorf and co will be making a return to the Upper East Side, Safran was quick to snuff those out. “You heard it here first. The truth of the matter is, we covered so much ground the first time around, you would have seen all the relatives,” said Safran. “Kids is not possible because they were, like, 15 when we started, so they wouldn’t have kids in high school now. As for relatives, we went so deep into the family history, there are no relatives left! But that isn’t to say that people won’t pop in.”One of the people who has been confirmed to pop in is Kristen Bell.
The Good Place star was the narrator for the original series and made a brief cameo in the series finale. It’s been
confirmed that Bell is returning to deliver her signature ‘XOXO’ as the show’s narrator, acting as a reminder that Princess Anna has a devious side.Safran also said that fans can expect the first season to feel more current because of its 10-episode arc, which he compares to
Big Little Lies. “There is an arc to season 1 that probably is more of an arc than had previously existed on
Gossip Girl, because it is only 10 episodes,” said Safran, adding “But I will not tell you what that arc is!” That’s a secret he’ll never tell. Well, until the new series premieres.[video_embed id='5613264478001']Blake Lively Wears Three Outfits in One Morning[/video_embed]
