GOSSIP GIRL: Josh Safran Talks Gossip Girl’s (Possible) Unmasking, The Chuck-Blair-Dan-Louis Love Quad and More

Love triangles, gossiping bloggers, faked identities, oh my!

Yes, all that and much more is currently going on over at GOSSIP GIRL, so to try and make some sense of it, I tracked down GG executive producer Josh Safran to see what he could tease about what’s coming up for the Upper East Siders…

This may be a nitpicky, but was there a reason no one asked about the baby after Chuck and Blair’s car crash?
Josh Safran: I think when they asked about Blair, the [baby] might have been inferred, but the answer to that question is definitely in Monday[‘s episode]. You will learn in the opening moments the answer to that question.

Good to know. Chuck and Blair also seemed headed towards a reconciliation last time we saw them, but things aren’t so smooth with them right now. What went wrong?
JS: All I can say is that who knows if Chuck survives? And if he were to survive, just because the Royal Wedding is on, doesn’t mean that Chuck and Blair’s connection has dulled in any way.

What kind of input have you heard from fans about the Chuck-Blair-Dan triangle?
JS: Both sides are so vocal. One of the things that makes me so sad is when you go to look at something, say a YouTube video of scenes from next week, and there are all these things that say, “This has been marked as spam.” When you go to look at it, it’s all things that say, “We love Dair!” Or “We love Chair!” So they’re fighting each other and marking it as spam.

Well, given that passion for both couples, do you ever allow yourselves to take their opinions into account when you’re shaping stories?
JS: We’re so far out that as of right now, we’re breaking episode 20 and episode 11 hasn’t even aired. So it’s like…we can’t. Even though we are aware of it, we are too far out to do anything. As you can see, we’re a pretty serialized show and we definitely know our beginnings, middles and ends as we start the year. We spend a lot of time coming up with the whole arc. And so it would be hard to deviate from those arcs anyway.

Does that mean there’s no hope for Dan and Blair?
JS: Uhh…there is always hope. There is always hope. I will say the first half of the season was sort of Dan taking a backseat, watching Blair’s triangle with Chuck and Louis. In upcoming episodes, that triangle widens to a square.

Will Blair become more aware of Dan’s feelings or will he be more active about pursuing her?
JS: One of those things will happen.

You tease very well, sir.
JS: I know, I’ve been told this today!

Let’s talk about Serena for a moment. What can you tease about her upcoming storyline?
JS: Serena has a big story coming up, she has a big arc coming up. Last season was very Serena-centric with Juliet and the backstory, and we knew that this year with Blair and the wedding, [that] would take more of the focus. And now with the wedding approaching, there’s a bit of a hand-off of Serena’s story coming into focus. Especially with the Charlie/Ivy of it all. Serena is at the forefront of that story as that story continues.

Do you think the Charlie/Ivy character can stick around after her secret is revealed?
JS: As you saw in the last episode, she tried to reveal her secret and no one believed her. That’s a very strange prison to be in — to suddenly get what you want and realize you don’t want it and no one will let you out.

And what will Rufus and Lily’s involvement in this be?
JS: In the next episode, Rufus and Lily get very into that story. They get further down into that Charlie/Ivy story.

If they were to find out her true identity, do you think this family could accept her for who she really is?
JS: I think that would be a very tough struggle, but I think that’s to be determined.

Fair enough. What can you say about Nate and his arc?
JS: Nate is going to come to a resolution of the story of who was behind the crash in the upcoming episodes. And, also, he’s now running The Spectator, and that will create a whole host of problems for him as well.

The storyline with some of the characters trying to take down Gossip Girl feels in many ways like it could be a final season storyline. Have there been any discussions with the network and studio about how long you want the show to run?
JS: As far as I’m concerned, this isn’t the final season. As far as they’re concerned, I have no idea. We’re definitely not writing it as if it is. When we came up with the whole idea of the Gossip Girl of it all this year, we just felt like that was the organic story and it was time. That story will take some surprising twists and turns and we have not dropped it by any stretch of the imagination.  It’s really the baseline of the entire season.

Do you have plans to ever unmask Gossip Girl?
JS: In the past, I would have said we do not have plans. In the present, I will only have to say watch and see. There’s a spoiler in that. Sort of.

Will we be seeing more storylines with Dan’s book?
JS: Absolutely, 100%. It’s the subject — or the organizing principle, I should say — of an upcoming episode, written by Amy Harris, who wrote the first episode with the book and the book party. We had a lot of fun with the book in a new way that I think the audience will love.

And still no plans to release it in real life?
JS: Look, if someone had the time to write a 600-page book, we would totally do it. We just can’t. We have 24 episodes. We’re dying! [Laughs] We’re just so tired.

I know, and I know I’ve been asking you about this for months…
JS: No, you don’t understand. I have the prop book and I’m like, “This is so cool” and then you open it up and there’s nothing there. I’m like, “This is so depressing.”

It’s such a tease.
JS: I know! Someday.  Like the Laura Palmer diaries when TWIN PEAKS was on the air. They released the Laura Palmer diaries! Oh well.

Next time Dan writes a book, maybe you guys can starting writing the book a season or so in advance and you can get it on the shelves!
JS: Dan has a new book that we’re going to hear about very soon. So maybe we should get started. There, you got another spoiler. I need to stop talking now, I’ve given you more than anyone else!

Well, a few quick questions before I let you go — I know your team made the pro- and anti- Dan Twitter pages for a recent episode. Will you be doing any more fun social media things in the future?
JS: We’d like to. We really had a lot of fun with that.

I do adore how your episode titles are a play on famous movies. Are there any upcoming titles you’re excited about?
JS: Um, the Valentine’s Day episode is called “Crazy Cupid Love.” That’s the only one I can tease at the point.

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What tease has you most excited?

Related:

GOSSIP GIRL: Ed Westwick Talks Chuck, Blair and Dan

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