The series imitates the madcap way those kids' drama felt urgent and real in a heightened, ludicrous environment, creating a soothingly ridiculous tone that is instantly recognizable. Serena van der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf, Nate Archibald, and Dan Humphrey are immediately name-checked and paid homage. Like any great legacy institution, perhaps like the very gilded-cage Manhattan private schools it salaciously voyeurs, the new Gossip Girl fastidiously holds on to the traditions of its past. I suppose that should be nostalgic for fans of the original show…īut here’s the thing. Save for a handful of dynamic performances-Thomas Doherty’s bisexual chaos agent Max has us wondering how any of us ever swooned for Ed Westwick’s Chuck Bass-the acting is egregiously wooden. Is it good? Was Gossip Girl ever? It doesn’t so much toe the line between soap opera and camp as it wobbles so dramatically that you fear it will fall to an ugly, violent death. The new Gossip Girl, coming nine years after the original stopped scandalizing pop culture’s pearl clutchers and delighting naughty teens, is a lot of fun. Like any good rumor, it’s all somewhat true. It has a sharper commentary on privilege, which is both good and no fun. (Though the word “woke” has been neutered of meaning to the extent that anything labeled as such is an immediate buzzkill.) It’s inclusive. It’s “woke,” and that ruins things, apparently. OK, now that the disclaimer is out of the way, we can finally dish about the new Gossip Girl.Įven though only some critics have seen the new series and all were barred from talking about it until now, there are already so many opinions and judgments about it. It’s pretty much the entire point of the series.) (Within the first 20 minutes of the episode, in fact. Don’t read on if you don’t want to hear the big reveal-though you’ll find out what it is soon enough.

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