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A week before the show airs its season and season 2 finale, HBO Max confirmed that Gossip Girl (2021) won’t be renewed. Titled I Am Gossip and written by Sigrid Gilmer and Carmen Pilar Golden, the final episode of the show will be streamed on Thursday, January 26, 2023.
Developed by Joshua Safran, Gossip Girl (2021) serves as the standalone sequel to The CW series by the same name. The show premiered on July 8, 2021, and received mixed or average reviews. Although the second season performed slightly better than the first installment, it still fell short of expectations.
Naturally, instead of being heartbroken, fans were elated that the HBO Max teen drama won't be revived for the third installment. Taking to Twitter, several users shared their feelings upon hearing the news. User @sonyablaze_ wrote:
"I just feel like they should'vw never tried to reboot it. OG gossip girl is still iconic to this day."
Based on Cecily von Ziegesar’s 2002 novel of the same name, Gossip Girl (2021) only brought back Kristen Bell from the original show. As such, the actress reprised her titular role as an anonymous and omniscient blogger from the TV series.
Fans plead the makers to make original programs in the midst of Gossip Girl getting canceled
The original Gossip Girl spanned over six seasons and 121 episodes. Television network The CW aired it from September 19, 2007, to December 17, 2012. Considered an evergreen classic series, the show received a 7.5 rating on IMDb based on 177K votes.
However, the reboot version fell flat and didn’t receive an encouraging reception upon its release. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season had a dismal average rating of 4.9/10 and its critical consensus read:
“An ambitious misfire, Gossip Girl stutters more than it struts, stranding a stacked cast in a sumptuous sea of rudderless drama.”
Meanwhile, season 2 managed a 7.1/10 on the review-aggregator website, but the traditional viewership data remained low, explaining the cancelation. Whatever may be the reason, netizens are glad that they don’t have to watch Julien Calloway and his team working on the show again.
Safran announced the show's annulment “with the heaviest of hearts”
Showrunner Joshua Safran told The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, January 19, that Gossip Girl “will not be continuing on HBO Max.” The statement, which the TV screenwriter shared on social media, read:
“So here’s the goss: it is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to announce Gossip Girl will not be continuing on HBO Max. The EPs and I will forever be grateful to the network and studio for their faith and support; the writers for their devious brains and dexterous talent; the superstar cast for being the greatest of collaborators and friends; and the crew for their hard work, dedication, and love for the project.”
It further continued:
“[They] are currently looking for another home, but in this climate, that might prove an uphill battle, and so if this is the end, at least we went out on the highest of highs.”
Apart from this, the statement also requested viewers to look forward to the final episode on next Thursday "to see how it all comes together.”
Meanwhile, HBO Max expressed their gratitude to Safran and co-executive producers Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz “for bringing us back to the Upper East Side and all the scandals at Constance Billard.” The network said:
“Although we are not moving forward with a third season of Gossip Girl, we thank them for the enticing love triangles, calculated backstabbing and impeccable fashion this series brought to a new audience.”
The premise of the original show revolved around the adventurous lives of a few attractive and privileged teens who reside in Manhattan's Upper East Side. It further expanded on how the characters betrayed each other while “a vicious but well-known blogger” watched them.
The show was successful in establishing the careers of Blake Lively, Kristen Bell, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, and Ed Westwick, among many others.
Watch the original Gossip Girl on Amazon Prime and the reboot on HBO Max.
