The New Paper
TV review: Gossip Girl
The new Gossip Girl reboot is more diverse, but the characters are not even half as appealing as those of the original series. PHOTO: HBO
Jul 16, 2021 06:00 am
GOSSIP GIRL (M18)
Watching the sequel to the popular teen drama of the same name that ran from 2007 to 2012 will just make fans of the original miss it even more.
And come to the realisation that its successor - currently showing on HBO Go - is but a pale replica of the real deal.
Sure, Kristen Bell s familiar voiceover for the anonymous and omniscient blogger-narrator known as Gossip Girl ( your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan s elite ) is the aural equivalent of comfort food.
For those of a certain age and inclination, that iconic phrase – sing-songed by the equally quintessential Kristen Bell – represents a weekly escapist retreat into the fictional lives of the young, rich and scandalous of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Based on the Cecily von Ziegesar novel series,
Gossip Girl debuted in September 2007, just before the economy collapsed and Barack Obama won the presidential election – respectively, the ruinous and uplifting milestones that kicked off a rollercoaster of a decade for millennials. In its six seasons, the infamous teen drama thrilled and frustrated a generation. It was aspirational in style and taste: characters like Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf became style icons who helped move serious units of alice bands for New York-based designers and beyond.
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It’s well-known that during times of trouble, such as a global pandemic, nostalgia becomes a comfortable place to dwell, whether that’s finding comfort in the foods you used to eat as a child or setting your Spotify playlist to 90s tunes. And Hollywood has welcomed the collective global nostalgia trip we’re all currently on with open arms.
Following in the footsteps of
Saved By The Bell, which was successfully rebooted under the premise that Zack Morris became the governor of California, and in a bid to make Bayside High more inclusive introduces a new group of working class students to the school who clash with the rich kids, it seems that every network and streamer is currently on a major reboot kick.