The picture of the new Gossip Girl reboot has been making its rounds on social media. According to show-runner Joshua Safran, the new series exists in the same world as the wildly popular original that centered the lives of private school teenagers in the Upper East Side of New York City, only 12 years later. The same creators, one of the original writers, and the original costume designer are attached to this new version of the show; production has already started and the show is set to be released in 2021.
The viral picture was taken at the iconic Met steps and got everyone feeling nostalgic. At the moment, the only original member returning to the cast was Kristen Bell as narrator. Joshua Safran reportedly said that the difference he is “most proud of” in the reboot is a “majority of characters being diverse and/or queer.” He said that he was perhaps one of the only gay writers of the original show and representation will be much better this time around, with “nonwhite leads” and a “lot of queer content.”
The first images of @HBOMax’s upcoming #GossipGirl spin-off are here!
It shows a new and more diverse generation of teens sitting on the steps of the Met. pic.twitter.com/IJmPJgmTLV
— Pop Crave (@PopCraveMusic) November 12, 2020
people on tiktok calling the new gossip girl cast cheap 💀💀 im done pic.twitter.com/yXumvx1cHg
— lisa (@piscesaangel) November 12, 2020
Whitney Peak, who you might’ve seen in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and who played a small role in Oscar-nominated Molly’s Game, is one of the leading trio on the show. Peak was born in Kampala, Uganda, and grew up in Canada. Some other members to watch out for include Jordan Alexander, model and skateboarder Evan Mock, and newcomer Savannah Smith, who still goes to school at NYU.
While we don’t yet know what the queer storylines will look like, a core member of the ensemble, Adam Chanler-Berat, identifies as gay, while Zión Moreno is a trans Mexican-American woman.