Familiar Faces From the Original ‘Gossip Girl’ Set to Make Cameos in the New Reboot
Fans eagerly await the Gossip Girl reboot, which will premiere tomorrow, July 8, on HBO Max. The show centers around a new generation of New York socialites and their lives as spoiled rich kids. However, a surprise excited fans: the original cast will make brief appearances throughout the show. Kristin Bell will return as the show’s narrator. Unfortunately, creator Joshua Safran revealed that Serena (Blake Lively) and Blair (Leighton Meester) would not make cameos.
“There are some cameos in Season 1 from people on the original show, but not the series regulars,” Safran explained. “We made a decision early on, and I was nervous about this decision, but definitely came to believe it was right that the audience would never accept these characters if they were in the shadow of the original characters. They’re already in the shadow of the original characters, but if the original characters were there with them in some way, why would you want to briefly get to know Zoya if you suddenly can see Nate?”
never watched gossip girl but i’m excited about the reboot (?) pic.twitter.com/mstd3jJJNr
— els (@cIown13) June 29, 2021
Ooooh the Gossip Girl reboot starts tomorrow pic.twitter.com/CEuEl1CfMj
— BK ✌🏼✨ (@Reinhoren) July 7, 2021
I’m so excited for the gossip girl reboot pic.twitter.com/4D9Yg9mgS6
— Heather🍸 (@JGallianogirl) July 7, 2021
In addition, Safran shared how the reboot will be bigger than the original, with 16 characters and 22 recurring characters, about half the original size.
“Because the show is bigger, there isn’t enough screen time. If Blair showed up for two scenes, you’d say, ‘I want more Blair.’ The decision was: Let’s get season 1 under our belt, and should we get Season 2, we’ll have the chance to bring in cameos that are more than glorified cameos but actually give them storylines. Hopefully, we’ll get there and will reach out to the cast if that time comes and see if they’ll want to come.”
Furthermore, the new Gossip Girl is set in a new era. In addition to facing social media challenges, the new generation of rich kids is “wrestling with their privilege.” The show faced mixed feelings about it being “woke.”
“The term ‘woke’ any term that becomes a stand-in to mean so many different things is ridiculous, but I don’t feel that at all about this perspective inside the show where the kids know their privilege. If anyone’s ever hung out with any rich kids right now, they’re aware of their privilege. They have to be,” Safran said. “The Kardashians talk about it all the time. Just because you’re aware of your privilege doesn’t mean you don’t abuse it.”
You can watch the show on July 8 on HBO Max.
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