Kristen Bell, who was the narrator in the original show, is returning to lend her voice to the project, but the rest are newcomers, rather than returning old faces.
The leads are nonwhite. There's a lot of queer content on this show.
Executive producer, Joshua Safran
On March 2, Deadline reported that Revenge's Emily Alyn Lind has been cast as the lead role, Audrey, who was described as having "been in a long term relationship, beginning to wonder what more could be out there."
Deadline also confirmed that HBO has cast The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's Whitney Peak, Pretty Little Liars' Eli Brown, Lethal Weapon's Johnathan Fernandez and Peter Pan Live!'s Jason Gotay, although the roles that these stars will be playing has yet to be revealed.
The spin-off may cover new ground, but Deadline claim that the show will follow a "similar character dynamic" as Peak, Brown, and Lind is set to lead, whilst Fernandez and Gotay star as "members of the core ensemble."
Whilst some reports indicate that the show is a 'reboot', executive producer Joshua Safran claimed that it is more like the "Marvel universe" in that "it's not a continuation or a sequel. It truly just is looking at a different angle. The universe still exists. The characters talk about Serena, Blair, Chuck, Dan."
He said that the original actors could return at any time should they so desire and that he would actually love for them to do so, and so the door is absolutely open, meaning that the spin-off could crossover with its beloved past.
On top of this, the spin-off is set to be more diverse, as Safran claimed, "There was not a lot of representation the first time around on the show. I was the only gay writer I think the entire time I was there. So, this time around the leads are nonwhite. There's a lot of queer content on this show."
Related: Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin to adapt The Last of Us on HBO
It seems as though Gossip Girls will be leaping into the modern day with an updated roster and a passionate mind at the helm, so it should be in safe hands.
Featured image credit: @Weegee (Twitter)
