Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, which first premiered on The CW on September 22, 2007. Set in New York City and filmed mostly in Manhattan and Prague, it revolves around the lives of privileged teenage girls at an elite private school.
The show was originally developed as a book series in 2004 by Schwartz under the title Privileged. The series was created to be as realistic as possible, with the writers taking inspiration from their own lives and experiences at a private school in New England.
The books have sold more than three million copies worldwide. Schwartz said of the plot: “The show is about the catfights and the back-stabbing and the gossiping and who’s sleeping with whom and all that stuff”.
The Storyline of the Series
Privileged follows three girls in their junior year of high school as they prepare to head off to college. Blair Waldorf, is a natural beauty, who’s known for her “A-list” status, more specifically her relationship with Nate Archibald, the most talked-about and hottest guy at Constance Billard School for Girls. Chuck Bass, the school’s quintessential bad boy with his other girlfriend, Serena Van der Woodsen. And Jenny Humphrey, an artsy and intelligent girl who is more connected to the world than anyone would expect.
The girls and their friends spend their day upsets decisions about the future and what they’ll do once they graduate from boarding school in New York City. The other girls also focus on relationships as well as finding themselves in high school and attending parties with their friends.
Cast and Character of the Series
- Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen,
- Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf,
- Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey,
- Chace Crawford as Nate Archibald
- Taylor Momsen as Jenny Humphrey
- Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass
- Kelly Rutherford as Lily van der Woodsen
- Matthew Settle as Rufus Humphrey
- Jessica Szohr as Vanessa Abrams
- Kaylee DeFer as Ivy Dickens
Background of the Series
This show is created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. The two were inspired to write the series because they wished they could be as popular as Blair Waldorf, portrayed by Leighton Meester. The show’s fictional setting also draws inspiration from their own lives at a private school in Massachusetts. He went to an independent private school that was like Constance Billard and he knew kids who were like Serena van der Woodsen.” The writers strove to make the show as realistic as possible. They did this by including adult themes such as sex, drinking, drugs, and smoking.
Schwartz knew that he wanted to write the story of a teenage girl in a wealthy family. He also wanted to incorporate the culture of young women living in New York. He came up with the idea for Gossip Girl after reading an e-mail from a family friend about a party she went to on the Upper East Side. The title is derived from the anonymous gossip blog that narrates the lives of Blair, Serena, and their classmates.
Review of the series
Gossip Girl received generally positive reviews from critics. The show is listed as #45 on Entertainment Weekly’s “New TV Classics” list. In January 2010, Entertainment Weekly named Gossip Girl one of the “New TV Classics.” The opening credits are shot at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of Josh Schwartz’s favorite places to go when he was a teenager. He wanted to incorporate it into the show because he felt that such a place could express Serena and Blair’s lifestyle. We wanted people in the city to see themselves or want to go to a place like that.”
Award won by series
The show was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series during the 62nd Golden Globe Awards and won the award for Best TV-PG Musical/Drama at the 2nd TCA Awards. Gossip Girl also received critical acclaim from critics. TV Squad.com calls it the “go-to show for teen dramas that make you feel like you’re watching a great movie.” E! Online’s Alessandra Stanley said the show was “so addictive in part due to its perfect tabloid storyline” and “so juicy, it’s hard not to get caught up in g
