GOSSIP GIRL: Josh Schwartz on the HBO Max Continuation

GOSSIP GIRL is the latest show to get a reboot/continuation, with the former CW series getting a new life on the upcoming streaming platform HBO Max.

“[Co-creator] Stephanie [Savage] and I talked about it at points over the years,” co-creator Josh Schwartz told reporters after a TCA panel for his upcoming series LOOKING FOR ALASKA. “Obviously we’re seeing more shows get revisited. Certainly there were people on social media asking for it.”

The new series, written by former GOSSIP GIRL showrunner Josh Safran, will follow a new group of New York kids. “Part of ‘why now’ is because we sat down with Josh Safran, who was a critical part of the show in the first go-round, and was such a big voice and became an executive producer of the show with us,” Schwartz said. “He had a really great take and a really great idea, and that’s what made us think this was the moment. We heard other takes and had gone down some roads and explored stuff, but when we heard Safran’s take, we knew it would be so fun…and it subverts the original paradigm.”

“Even with our cast grown up, regardless of what the challenge would be with getting those actors again, it didn’t really feel like a group of adults would be controlled by Gossip Girl,” he continued. “It felt like there was something interesting in the idea that we are all Gossip Girl now in our own way. We are all purveyors of our own social media state, and how that has evolved and morphed and mutated. [We are] telling that story through the eyes of a new generation of UES.”

And while the original series kept the mystery of who Gossip Girl was up until the very last episode, Schwartz confirmed this go-round there would be no whodunnit.

But the biggest question for fans of The CW’s take on the show might be which, if any, of the original cast might pop up in the new version. While Schwartz confirmed that Serena (Blake Lively), Blair (Leighton Meester), and co. exist in this new universe, it’s entirely up to the performers—many of whom are committed to other television projects—whether they reprise their roles.

“If they want to be involved in some way…we reached out to them to let them know it was happening,” Schwartz said. “If they want to be involved, they can be involved. But we certainly didn’t want to make it contingent [on their availability]. They played those characters for six years.”

Are you excited for more GOSSIP GIRL?

RELATED:

• Former GOSSIP GIRL Boss Josh Safran on Why He’s Glad He Didn’t Know the Titular Blogger’s Identity — Plus Who Did He Think it Was?
• GOSSIP GIRL Series Finale: The Big Reveal and Other Thoughts

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