Let me just start off by saying this; I love Gossip Girl. I believe that this series is one of the most easily identifiable shows that have aired in the last decade and truly defined a generation. Gossip Girl first aired on September 19, 2007, on The CW. Adapted from the novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar, Stephanie Savage, and Josh Schwartz developed it for the small screen. There had been plenty of teen drama shows before GG: One Tree Hill, The OC, and Gilmore Girls just to name of a few and while those shows had their place in mainstream culture with most of their main cast going on to become mega-celebrities, Gossip Girl became more than just your run of the mill teenage angst viewing. It had true cultural permeation that influenced other shows like Riverdale and Elite. Its relevance is still being felt today just as it was back then with the show being rebooted for 2021 on HBO's new streaming service, luckily with the same showrunners coming aboard.
So let's break it down. Gossip Girl is about a group of wealthy and privileged teenagers living in New York City whose daily lives are chronicled by an anonymous website called Gossip Girl. On its face you have the basic tropes of any teen story; Serena van der Woodsen, the golden "it" girl princess, Blair Waldorf, the Queen Bee of the Upper East Side, Chuck Bass, the resident bad boy, Nate Archibald, the preppy sulking golden boy, and Dan Humphrey, the straight man to this dysfunctional world. There is also a sixth main character of the show which is the city itself. New York is consistently and beautifully intertwined with the narratives of the characters and provides a physical reminder of what this story is all about. These teenagers are living the American dream. But, if we were to look at what the "American dream" really is, we would find some pretty gaping holes. The American dream is a farce and that is what the essence of this show is, stripping down the fantasy to see the truth of these people's lives. They also excellently capture the facade through their supporting cast, mainly Serena's mother Lily and Dan's father, Rufus.
In the second episode of the first season, " The Wild Brunch", Nate laments that facing a future that is already planned out for him is kinda depressing, and Chuck remarks that with the entitled life they live, happiness isn't on the menu. I think that sums up the dilemma each character who lives this charmed life has to face and comes to terms with throughout the show and for teens watching this, it's a good lesson. Money, popularity, perceived power, it doesn't mean anything if you aren't internally happy and have a solid foundation of friends and family around you. The lives of celebrities and Instagram influencers isn't something to strive for because it isn't real. That's just one of the deeper themes that runs throughout the series. More importantly, none of the issues these privileged teenagers face never feel trite. The problems they face are treated seriously and are relatable to the people watching who aren't in their social-economic landscape.
Gossip Girl was ahead of the curve in many ways. It was one of the first shows that had viewers commenting on the plot and pairings each week through message boards on the internet. Darena, Chair, Dair; sound familiar? Audience members had a lot of opinions on the couples of the show voicing said opinions on Twitter and Facebook which would become an integral part of the consumption of television during the 2010s and beyond. And who you were in relation to the show was a part of many endless discussions amongst high schoolers. For example, if you were more serious and high achieving you would consider yourself a Blair, while girls who were more relaxed with an easy-going deposition would align themselves with Serena. By the way, I'm a total Blair, I know y'all didn't ask but hey. The show also introduced its audience to new music and artists as well as places you could go to if you lived in NYC since the show was shot on location. This show put me on to Frank Ocean and my life has been forever changed. They also leaned heavily on great cinematic films for each of their episode titles and incorporated them into storylines. For example, since Blair loves Audrey Hepburn, a lot of her episodes began with some of Audrey's most memorable movies like Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady. And for their 100th episode, they recreated Marilyn Monroe's Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend from her 1953 movie, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Serena playing Marilyn and Blair playing Audrey Hepburn further enforcing the archetypes of the two women in the world of the show.
We have to talk about fashion! Like Sex and the City, fashion was a huge component to what made Gossip Girl great. Each character had a specific look that became iconic because most of the outfits put together by Eric Damien were not only created by the wardrobe department but were actual clothes, shoes, and jewelry from high-end designers like Elie Saab and Chanel. Not only was fashion important to the show but it was important to the characters as well, like how Dan's little sister Jenny is an inspiring fashion designer who is incredibly talented and even hosted two of her own fashion shows during the run of the series. Every fan of the show can remember their favorite major fashion moment from any member of the cast. The wonderful thing about the show is that the showrunners invited some of the titans of the fashion industry to be on the show which gave validity to the world the creators wanted to build. Michael Kors, Tim Gunn, Rachel Zoe, Vera Wang, and more all guest-starred on the show. This brings me to a major point on why this show was so groundbreaking.
This world already exists in New York City so in a way the show was like a scripted doc on the lives of Upper East Siders. And what Josh and Stephanie uniquely did was to include members of that community to be a part of the show like socialite Tinsley Mortimer and mentioning things that are exclusive to that world like having intellectual salons and going to the Hamptons for the summer. Gossip Girl was a fictional, scripted show but all of these elements elevated this show and gave it a special authenticity for all who viewed it. Gossip Girl had a day created in the state of New York by the former Governor Michael Bloomberg and was even name-dropped by former President Barack Obama. It truly stands the test of time and wasn't afraid of pushing boundaries which is why it remains one of my favorite television experiences to date.