Joshua Safran takes us inside HBO Max’s continuation of the scandalous CW series.
But a weekend of pondering drew him back into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite.
“I walked away, and I had this idea I couldn’t shake,” Safran says.
‘Gossip Girl.'.Emily V. Aragones/HBO
Though we know from the trailer that these days the scandalmonger’s preferred platform is Instagram.
“Gossip is a tweet that somebody posts and then everybody retweets.
For example, “nowadays kids are fluid even before high school,” he says.
A scene from ‘Gossip Girl.'.Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max
“The show is elevated; it’s more sophisticated and it’s bigger,” says Safran.
“It’s more likeDownton Abbeyin terms of sprawling cast and one event every episode.
Being a millionaire at a private school back in 2007 is so much different than now.
Zión Moreno, Jordan Alexander, and Savannah Lee Smith on ‘Gossip Girl.'.Karolina Wojtasik/HBO MAX
We’re dealing in global billions.”
“Now, 9-year-olds can go online and find out who donated to the Republican Committee.
That really shifted a lot of dynamics for the teens on this show, because they are aware.”
“The show’s really about the sins of the parents,” says Safran.
“[On the original] the kids didn’t know better.
On this version, the kids know.
The kids know where their parents’ money came from.
They know what their parents did to get there, or maybe they turned a blind eye to it.
Right now, life is a lot about turning a blind eye to things.
And for these elite influencers, both the smiles and the messes are far reaching.
But for all the changes, one thing remains guaranteed.
We already know we’ll love her.
Gossip Girlpremieres Thursday on HBO Max.
Read more fromI Want My Teen TV, EW’s summerlong celebration of teen shows past and present.
