A Gossip Girl Reboot appeared on HBO Max this morning for those of us in the United States–
The trailer for the show premiered earlier this year, and looked to be the next generation has finally graced the halls of Constance Billard. I had grown up watching Gossip Girl when it had first premiered in 2007, so I was of course a bit more reserved about this next generation. However, I can appreciate that my Gossip Girl I grew up with was tailored towards a millennial audience whereas this new show will be more than likely fit for viewers of a Gen Z audience.
But there’s a few moments of the new Gossip Girl that had me going “What the hell?” and here they are…
For those of you who don’t want to find out what happens…SPOILER ALERT!
Gossip Girl is Not Unknown to Viewers – and It’s Creepy
Gossip Girl is not unknown to viewers in this new reboot. Which is fair, since Gossip Girl was exposed at the ending of the old series. However, the direction the writers decide to take with the new Gossip Girl is…questionable.
Why would they choose the teachers to be the new face behind Gossip Girl? Just why? Why are grown adults this involved in the inner workings of the student body? The fact that they’re doing it as a form of “teaching their students a lesson” is a little more than veiling the true malice beyond their actions.
We get it, teachers of Constance. They’re spoiled and self-entitled brats and you don’t want them to become “the next Brett Cavanaugh” as one of the faculty members put it. But I don’t think standing outside their homes taking candid photos of students really is going to send them the right message, thanks.
So the teachers are actively trying to protect their crummy, underpaid jobs as academics by giving those snotty, power-wielding shitheads a complex and turning them against one another. Okay, got it.
Missing the Soundtrack
Where is the music? From the starting sequence of Serena Van Der Woodson on the train back in ’07, Gossip Girl had a great soundtrack for the time. The first premiere episode was lacking in this category.
Remember when Serena crashed Blair’s party? Yeah, you wouldn’t remember that scene if “What Goes Around…Comes Around” by Justin Timberlake wasn’t playing in the background.
Fashion, Fashion, Fashion
The reboot had some great fashion choices again, and that’s what’s held true throughout both shows. This reboot was much bolder and more daring with the fashion choices in a very fashion forward and feminine and powerful way. Shaved heads, bright colored hair, bold neon dresses and stunning heels, this premiere really stepped up to take the fashion choices to the next level.
The fashion show during A and Z’s stand-off was eye-catching, and is probably the only post on Gossip Girl that would have really made sense on an Instagram timeline. The show-off was a powerful landing.
Diverse Characters – Let Me Love Them
Contrast to it’s 2007 original show, the new version of Gossip Girl would feature a much more diverse cast. It’s 2021 and it’s about time we’re starting to see representation of all communities and backgrounds in shows. There’s no reason why Gossip Girl would have reasoning to pick a cast type based off of any certain background, since the most important background of these characters are the same–Upper East Side (at least part time).
The cast of the new show are newcomers to Hollywood, and I would really like to see their acting potential. However this dialogue is about as dry as a bottle of champagne, with some moments making me cringe. I really hope the next episode does this group justice.
Random Sex
I know there was talk about this show being more risque than it’s original– but come on now at least make the sex scenes make sense. There is a total of at least four sex scenes, with one even in the middle of a very crowded party. Come on now, even Chuck Bass is jealous of the amount of time these teens have just to get it on. It would make much better sense if the sex was at least being used as a plot device, but so far it doesn’t seem to make much sense beyond trying to grab an audience and drag them in.
Gone are the days of Virgin Queen B.
So far, this just seems like it’s going to be a corny one season run-off of an otherwise great show if something doesn’t change. If you haven’t watched it yet, I’d suggest passing up on it to watch the original.
