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Gossip Girl (season 1)
Encyclopedia
The first season of Gossip Girl
, an American teen drama
based upon the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar
. Developed for television by Josh Schwartz
and Stephanie Savage
. Airing on The CW from September 19, 2007 till May 19, 2008 with 18 episodes. It tells the story of Serena van der Woodsen
's return to Manhattan
's Upper East Side
in New York City
following her mysterious disappearance to boarding school in Connecticut
, while being watched by gossip website Gossip Girl.
The first thirteen episodes of Gossip Girl
aired in the US on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. on The CW, a terrestrial
television network
. With the exception of the twelfth episode "School Lies", the first thirteen episodes aired on CTV Television Network
one day prior to their US airdate. Following the 100 day writers strike
, the remainder of the season aired on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. The season was released on DVD as a five disc boxed set under the title of Gossip Girl: The Complete First Season on August 19, 2008 by Warner Bros. Home Video. The pilot episode
was made available as a free download registered users of the US iTunes Store
prior to its premiere on television. Following episodes became available to purchase following their original airing.
, Alloy Entertainment
and College Hill Pictures. The executive producers were creators Josh Schwartz
and Stephanie Savage
with Bob Levy
and Leslie Morgenstein
. K.J. Steinberg and Felicia D. Henderson
served as co-executive producers. Producers include Joe Lazarov
and Jessica Queller. The season was produced by Amy Kaufman. Jonathan C. Brody served as co-producer with Joshua Safran as consulting producer.
The staff writers were Schwartz, Savage, Henderson, Safran, Lenn K. Rosenfeld, Queller, Steinberg and Paul Sciarrotta. The regular directors throughout the season were Mark Piznarski
, J. Miller Tobin
, Patrick Norris
, Norman Buckley
, Tony Wharmby
and Michael Fields
.
. Blake Lively
portrayed protagonist Serena van der Woodsen
, a former It girl
of the Upper East Side
, who returns from a mysterious stay at a boarding school in Connecticut, with Kelly Rutherford
playing her mother Lily, a multiple-divorced socialite. Leighton Meester
played Queen Bee
, Blair Waldorf
, who is less than happy to see her best friend return. Penn Badgley
acted as middle-class outsider Dan Humphrey
, with Matthew Settle
playing his father Rufus, former rock star turned art dealer, and Taylor Momsen
portraying his sister, Jenny
, a freshman looking to fit in with the elite
crowd at Constance Billiard. Chace Crawford
portrayed Blair's boyfriend Nate Archibald, who has a thing for Serena. Ed Westwick
played a womanizing player and 'bad boy' Chuck Bass
. Originally only a guest star, Jessica Szohr
starred as Dan's childhood best friend, Vanessa Abrams
. Szohr gained a contract to the main cast list in the fourteenth episode.
Kristen Bell
voiced "Gossip Girl", whose gossip commentary blog is widely visited by the youths of the Upper East Side social scene. Numerous supporting characters were given expansive and recurring appearances in the progressive storyline, including Connor Paolo
who portrayed Serena's brother, Eric van der Woodsen
, who had been placed into a rehab center following a suicide attempt. Margaret Colin
acted as Blair's mother, Eleanor Waldorf, a fashion designer. Colin took over from Florencia Lozano
who played the role in the pilot episode. Michelle Trachtenberg
acts as Georgina Sparks
, a girl from Serena's past who returns after escaping rehab in Utah. Sam Robards
and Francie Swift
portrayed Nate's parents Howard and Anne Archibald. Nicole Fiscella
and Nan Zhang
acted as Blair's loyal sidekicks Isabel Coates and Kati Farkas. Other members of Blair's clique include Amanda Setton
as Penelope Shafai, Dreama Walker
as Hazel Williams and Emma Demar as Elise Wells.
Other guest stars in recurring roles include Zuzanna Szadkowski as Blair's maid Dorota Kishlovsky, Robert John Burke as Chuck's father and billionaire Bart Bass, Susie Misner
as Rufus' estranged wife Alison Humphrey and John Shea
as Blair's father Harold Waldorf, with William Abadie as his partner Roman.
where the final five episodes of the season were aired. Ratings increased for the season finale, with 3.00 million viewers tuning into the episode. Gossip Girls digital video recorder
ratings were high, increasing the show's profitability and the show had also been in the top five of iTunes sales.
Author Cecily von Ziegesar
has expressed support for the show, noting that all of her major plot points were present in the pilot. The second episode
in which the characters are shown to be attending a Brunch gained some approval from New York
Magazine, stating that "there's no such thing as 'lunch' on the weekends", "that kids actually do venture outside of their neighborhoods" (since The New York Palace Hotel
is at Midtown Manhattan
), and "saying you live in Williamsburg
makes much more sense... for real-estate emotional conflict", plus the fact Rihanna
is played "in every situation." Gossip Girl was designated the "Best. Show. Ever." in April 2008, by NY Magazine. Other positive reviews came from publications Variety
and the Boston Globe. John Maynard of The Washington Post feel that creator Josh Schwartz "turns it up a notch" from his former series The O.C.
, and noted Dan (Penn Badgley) as a standout character. Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle
praised the show for its use of "Gossip Girl"'s blog as a new media element noting "there's a chance to tell a story where the Greek chorus essentially has a blog."
The show has come under criticism for containing scenes too risqué for its teen audience. The Parents Television Council
has shown particular criticism of the series, especially with its "OMFG" ad campaign used towards the end of the season in April 2008. It also named the episode "Victor, Victrola" the worst television program of the week in which the episode originally was broadcast. The Parents Council's negative comments include it being "the most-watched show among girls 12-17 and glamorizes casual sex and drug use among teens. [And that] storylines have featured a would-be teen rapist, threesome among teens, and teenage girls having sex with adults." Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret Morning News noted that the show is milder than a lot of what's shown on MTV
, but still warned parents of several scenes in the pilot. He said it includes "among other things, a teenage girl climbing on top of a boy and removing his clothes; drunken teens having sex; teens smoking pot; teens drinking in bars, in a limo and at a party; a teen boy getting amorous with a girl who fights him off; and that same teen boy essentially attempting to rape a freshman girl who is supposed to be, what, 14?".
The series has also been criticized for having less-than believable storylines and has been described as a guilty pleasure rather than an hour's worth of must-watch television.
in the US on August 19, 2008, after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including a downloadable audiobook, deleted scene
s and behind-the-scenes featurettes. In the region 1 release, the deleted scenes for the episodes "School Lies" and "The Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate" are mis-matched to their respective episodes.
Gossip Girl (TV series)
Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007...
, an American teen drama
Teen drama
A teen drama is a dramatic television series with a major focus on teenage characters. The genre was relatively non-existent for the first 45 years of television; it came into prominence in the early 1990s...
based upon the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar
Cecily von Ziegesar
Cecily von Ziegesar is an American author best known for the young adult Gossip Girl books.-Early life and education:...
. Developed for television by Josh Schwartz
Josh Schwartz
-Film school at USC:In 1995, Schwartz realized his boyhood dream of attending film school to study screen and television writing at the University of Southern California...
and Stephanie Savage
Stephanie Savage
Stephanie Savage is a Canadian screenwriter and television producer. Savage is best known for developing The CW's teen drama series, Gossip Girl from the novel series, and being an executive producer of the Fox series The O.C....
. Airing on The CW from September 19, 2007 till May 19, 2008 with 18 episodes. It tells the story of Serena van der Woodsen
Serena van der Woodsen
Serena Celia van der Woodsen is a fictional character in the young adult novel series Gossip Girl and its television adaptation. Serena is featured on the blog of the novel series' mysterious "Gossip Girl" narrator...
's return to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
following her mysterious disappearance to boarding school in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, while being watched by gossip website Gossip Girl.
The first thirteen episodes of Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl (TV series)
Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007...
aired in the US on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. on The CW, a terrestrial
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
. With the exception of the twelfth episode "School Lies", the first thirteen episodes aired on CTV Television Network
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
one day prior to their US airdate. Following the 100 day writers strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
, the remainder of the season aired on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. The season was released on DVD as a five disc boxed set under the title of Gossip Girl: The Complete First Season on August 19, 2008 by Warner Bros. Home Video. The pilot episode
Pilot (Gossip Girl)
"Pilot" is the first episode of the CW television series, Gossip Girl. The episode was written by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and directed by Mark Piznarski. The episode debuted as a free download available on ITunes on September 14, 2007, five days before the series' initial broadcast...
was made available as a free download registered users of the US iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
prior to its premiere on television. Following episodes became available to purchase following their original airing.
Starring
- Blake LivelyBlake LivelyBlake Christina Lively is an American actress and model who stars as Serena van der Woodsen in the television teen drama series Gossip Girl...
as Serena van der WoodsenSerena van der WoodsenSerena Celia van der Woodsen is a fictional character in the young adult novel series Gossip Girl and its television adaptation. Serena is featured on the blog of the novel series' mysterious "Gossip Girl" narrator... - Leighton MeesterLeighton MeesterLeighton Marissa Meester is an American actress and singer. Meester first garnered attention for playing Blair Waldorf in the CW television series Gossip Girl...
as Blair WaldorfBlair WaldorfBlair Cornelia Waldorf is the main character of Gossip Girl, introduced in the original series of novels and also appearing in their television and manga adaptations. Described as "a girl of extremes" by creator Cecily von Ziegesar, she is a comical overachiever who possesses both snobbish and... - Penn BadgleyPenn BadgleyPenn Dayton Badgley is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Humphrey on the CW television series Gossip Girl. He has also starred in the movies John Tucker Must Die, The Stepfather, and Easy A....
as Dan HumphreyDan HumphreyDaniel Randolph "Dan" Humphrey is a fictional character in the best selling Gossip Girl book series. He is the main male character in the television series of the same name and is portrayed by Penn Badgley. Daniel Humphrey is the son of Rufus Humphrey and has a younger sister, Jenny Humphrey. His... - Chace CrawfordChace CrawfordChristopher Chace Crawford , better known as Chace Crawford, is an American actor. He currently portrays Nate Archibald on the CW television drama Gossip Girl.-Early life:...
as Nate ArchibaldNate Archibald (Gossip Girl)Nathaniel Fitzwilliam "Nate" Archibald is a character in the best selling Gossip Girl book series. He is portrayed by Chace Crawford in the television series of the same name... - Taylor MomsenTaylor MomsenTaylor Michel Momsen is an American actress, musician and model who portrays the character of Jenny Humphrey on the CW television series Gossip Girl and portrayed the role of Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and fronts the rock band The Pretty Reckless.-Early life and career:Taylor...
as Jenny HumphreyJenny HumphreyJennifer Tallulah "Jenny" Humphrey is one of the characters in both the Gossip Girl and The It Girl series of novels by Cecily von Ziegesar... - Ed WestwickEd WestwickEdward Jack P. "Ed" Westwick is an English actor and musician, best known for his role as Chuck Bass in the main cast on the American television series Gossip Girl.-Early life and career:...
as Chuck BassChuck BassCharles Bartholomew "Chuck" Bass is a fictional character in the Gossip Girl series of teen novels and the television series of the same name. He is portrayed by English actor Ed Westwick. Although he is a secondary, antagonistic character in the original book series, in the television series Chuck... - Jessica SzohrJessica SzohrJessica Karen Szohr is an American actress. Szohr began her screen career starring on television shows such as CSI: Miami and What About Brian...
as Vanessa AbramsVanessa AbramsVanessa Abrams is a fictional character in the book series Gossip Girl. She is portrayed by Jessica Szohr in the television series of the same name.-Novel series:...
(Episode 14–; Recurring previously) - Kelly RutherfordKelly RutherfordKelly Danne Melissa Rutherford is an American actress known for her roles of Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore on Generations, Megan Lewis on Melrose Place from 1996 to 1999 and currently as Lily van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl...
as Lily van der Woodsen - Matthew SettleMatthew SettleJeffrey Matthew Settle is an American actor best known for playing Captain Ronald Speirs on the HBO show Band of Brothers and Rufus Humphrey on Gossip Girl.-Career:...
as Rufus Humphrey
Episodes
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crew
The season was produced by Warner Bros. TelevisionWarner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
, Alloy Entertainment
Alloy Entertainment
Alloy Entertainment is a book-packaging division of the Alloy Media + Marketing company—an American provider of media programs. Alloy is a leading producer of "chick lit"-style novels created for teenage and young adult audiences...
and College Hill Pictures. The executive producers were creators Josh Schwartz
Josh Schwartz
-Film school at USC:In 1995, Schwartz realized his boyhood dream of attending film school to study screen and television writing at the University of Southern California...
and Stephanie Savage
Stephanie Savage
Stephanie Savage is a Canadian screenwriter and television producer. Savage is best known for developing The CW's teen drama series, Gossip Girl from the novel series, and being an executive producer of the Fox series The O.C....
with Bob Levy
Bob Levy
Bob Levy may refer to:*Bob Levy , former mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey*Bob Levy , stand-up comedian and radio personality...
and Leslie Morgenstein
Leslie Morgenstein
Leslie Morgenstein is the president and chief executive of Alloy Entertainment. He has been credited with facilitating the adaptation of a number of book titles into television series. Examples include Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, The Secret Circle and The Nine Lives of...
. K.J. Steinberg and Felicia D. Henderson
Felicia D. Henderson
Felicia D. Henderson is an American television producer, screenwriter, comic books writer and a director of music videos and television episodes. She has worked on Moesha, Sister, Sister, Soul Food, and Fringe....
served as co-executive producers. Producers include Joe Lazarov
Joe Lazarov
Joe Lazarov is an American television director and producer.He began professional career working as production assistant on television commercials. In 1987, he worked as post-production supervisor on the series Northern Exposure, before being promoted as associate producer in 1992...
and Jessica Queller. The season was produced by Amy Kaufman. Jonathan C. Brody served as co-producer with Joshua Safran as consulting producer.
The staff writers were Schwartz, Savage, Henderson, Safran, Lenn K. Rosenfeld, Queller, Steinberg and Paul Sciarrotta. The regular directors throughout the season were Mark Piznarski
Mark Piznarski
Mark Piznarski is an American director and producer of film and television.He has directed episodes from a number of television series, including, amongst others, Veronica Mars, The Lying Game, Gossip Girl, 90210, NYPD Blue, Friday Night Lights, Everwood, My So-Called Life, Relativity and To Love...
, J. Miller Tobin
J. Miller Tobin
John Miller Tobin is an American television director and producer.As a director, Tobin has worked most notably on the television series Oz, The Agency, Numb3rs, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Supernatural, 90210, Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries in which he is also a producer.He also...
, Patrick Norris
Patrick Norris
Patrick R. Norris is an American television director.His directing credits include Chuck, Friday Night Lights, Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Hidden Palms, Related, Bones, North Shore, The Division, The O.C., Boston Public, Star Trek: Enterprise, The Twilight Zone, American Dreams, Roswell,...
, Norman Buckley
Norman Buckley
Norman L. Buckley is an American television director and editor best known for his work on The O.C., Chuck, Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars.-Early life:...
, Tony Wharmby
Tony Wharmby
Tony Wharmby is an English television director and producer.Wharmby is best known for his directorial work on television series such as JAG, NCIS, The O.C., Bones, Providence, Coronation Street, High Sierra Search and Rescue, The X-Files, Coins in the Fountain, New Scotland Yard, Gossip Girl,...
and Michael Fields
Michael Fields (director)
Michael David Fields is an American film and television director.He has directed episodes of Veronica Mars, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Third Watch, Gossip Girl, Homicide: Life on the Street, Sex and the City, Roswell, Melrose Place and among series.He also...
.
Cast
The initial season had nine major roles receive star billingBilling (film)
Billing is a performing arts term used in referring to the order and other aspects of how credits are presented for plays, films, television, or other creative works...
. Blake Lively
Blake Lively
Blake Christina Lively is an American actress and model who stars as Serena van der Woodsen in the television teen drama series Gossip Girl...
portrayed protagonist Serena van der Woodsen
Serena van der Woodsen
Serena Celia van der Woodsen is a fictional character in the young adult novel series Gossip Girl and its television adaptation. Serena is featured on the blog of the novel series' mysterious "Gossip Girl" narrator...
, a former It girl
It girl
"It girl" is a term for a young woman who possess the quality "It", absolute attraction.The early usage of the concept "it" in this meaning may be seen in a story by Rudyard Kipling: "It isn't beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It's just 'It'."...
of the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
, who returns from a mysterious stay at a boarding school in Connecticut, with Kelly Rutherford
Kelly Rutherford
Kelly Danne Melissa Rutherford is an American actress known for her roles of Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore on Generations, Megan Lewis on Melrose Place from 1996 to 1999 and currently as Lily van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl...
playing her mother Lily, a multiple-divorced socialite. Leighton Meester
Leighton Meester
Leighton Marissa Meester is an American actress and singer. Meester first garnered attention for playing Blair Waldorf in the CW television series Gossip Girl...
played Queen Bee
Queen bee (subculture)
A queen bee is the leader of a female group, a clique's leader, usually a popular young lady. Characteristics often associated to her are a pleasant appearance, charisma, skill in manipulation, and monetary power. She is sometimes portrayed as the Head Cheerleader, Prom Queen, Homecoming Queen,...
, Blair Waldorf
Blair Waldorf
Blair Cornelia Waldorf is the main character of Gossip Girl, introduced in the original series of novels and also appearing in their television and manga adaptations. Described as "a girl of extremes" by creator Cecily von Ziegesar, she is a comical overachiever who possesses both snobbish and...
, who is less than happy to see her best friend return. Penn Badgley
Penn Badgley
Penn Dayton Badgley is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Humphrey on the CW television series Gossip Girl. He has also starred in the movies John Tucker Must Die, The Stepfather, and Easy A....
acted as middle-class outsider Dan Humphrey
Dan Humphrey
Daniel Randolph "Dan" Humphrey is a fictional character in the best selling Gossip Girl book series. He is the main male character in the television series of the same name and is portrayed by Penn Badgley. Daniel Humphrey is the son of Rufus Humphrey and has a younger sister, Jenny Humphrey. His...
, with Matthew Settle
Matthew Settle
Jeffrey Matthew Settle is an American actor best known for playing Captain Ronald Speirs on the HBO show Band of Brothers and Rufus Humphrey on Gossip Girl.-Career:...
playing his father Rufus, former rock star turned art dealer, and Taylor Momsen
Taylor Momsen
Taylor Michel Momsen is an American actress, musician and model who portrays the character of Jenny Humphrey on the CW television series Gossip Girl and portrayed the role of Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and fronts the rock band The Pretty Reckless.-Early life and career:Taylor...
portraying his sister, Jenny
Jenny Humphrey
Jennifer Tallulah "Jenny" Humphrey is one of the characters in both the Gossip Girl and The It Girl series of novels by Cecily von Ziegesar...
, a freshman looking to fit in with the elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
crowd at Constance Billiard. Chace Crawford
Chace Crawford
Christopher Chace Crawford , better known as Chace Crawford, is an American actor. He currently portrays Nate Archibald on the CW television drama Gossip Girl.-Early life:...
portrayed Blair's boyfriend Nate Archibald, who has a thing for Serena. Ed Westwick
Ed Westwick
Edward Jack P. "Ed" Westwick is an English actor and musician, best known for his role as Chuck Bass in the main cast on the American television series Gossip Girl.-Early life and career:...
played a womanizing player and 'bad boy' Chuck Bass
Chuck Bass
Charles Bartholomew "Chuck" Bass is a fictional character in the Gossip Girl series of teen novels and the television series of the same name. He is portrayed by English actor Ed Westwick. Although he is a secondary, antagonistic character in the original book series, in the television series Chuck...
. Originally only a guest star, Jessica Szohr
Jessica Szohr
Jessica Karen Szohr is an American actress. Szohr began her screen career starring on television shows such as CSI: Miami and What About Brian...
starred as Dan's childhood best friend, Vanessa Abrams
Vanessa Abrams
Vanessa Abrams is a fictional character in the book series Gossip Girl. She is portrayed by Jessica Szohr in the television series of the same name.-Novel series:...
. Szohr gained a contract to the main cast list in the fourteenth episode.
Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell
Kristen Anne Bell is an American actress. Although her first film role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding, Bell previously acted in stage and musical productions. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer...
voiced "Gossip Girl", whose gossip commentary blog is widely visited by the youths of the Upper East Side social scene. Numerous supporting characters were given expansive and recurring appearances in the progressive storyline, including Connor Paolo
Connor Paolo
Connor Paolo is an American actor best known of his role as Eric van der Woodsen in The CW young-adult series Gossip Girl since 2007-2011.He became part of the two Oliver Stone films, World Trade Center and Alexander where he bagged his biggest break in Hollywood.He is currently playing Declan...
who portrayed Serena's brother, Eric van der Woodsen
Eric van der Woodsen
Eric van der Woodsen is a fictional character from the book series Gossip Girl and the television series of the same name. The television character is portrayed by Connor Paolo.-Novel series:...
, who had been placed into a rehab center following a suicide attempt. Margaret Colin
Margaret Colin
Margaret Colin is an American actress. She is known for her role as Margo Montgomery Hughes # 1 on As the World Turns and for her role as Eleanor Waldorf-Rose on Gossip Girl.-Early life:...
acted as Blair's mother, Eleanor Waldorf, a fashion designer. Colin took over from Florencia Lozano
Florencia Lozano
Florencia Lozano is an American actress. She has starred as character Téa Delgado on the daytime series One Life to Live, often receiving praise for the portrayal, as the character emerged as one of the genre's most prominent....
who played the role in the pilot episode. Michelle Trachtenberg
Michelle Trachtenberg
Michelle Christine Trachtenberg is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Dawn Summers in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl...
acts as Georgina Sparks
Georgina Sparks
Georgina Sparks is a fictional character in the Gossip Girl novel series and a recurring character on the television series Gossip Girl. She is portrayed by actress Michelle Trachtenberg on the show...
, a girl from Serena's past who returns after escaping rehab in Utah. Sam Robards
Sam Robards
Sam Prideaux Robards is an American actor.-Life and career:Robards was born in New York City, the son of actors Jason Robards and Lauren Bacall. He began his acting career in 1980 in an off-Broadway production of Album, and made his feature film debut in director Paul Mazursky's 1982 film Tempest....
and Francie Swift
Francie Swift
Francie Swift is an American actress best known for her versality and the wide variety of roles she has played.Swift was born in Amarillo, Texas and attended Tascosa High School...
portrayed Nate's parents Howard and Anne Archibald. Nicole Fiscella
Nicole Fiscella
Nicole Fiscella is an American actress and model, of Indian and St Lucian ancestry, who rose to fame through the book-based TV series Gossip Girl as Isabel Coates.-Early life:...
and Nan Zhang
Nan Zhang
Nan Zhang is an American actress and model. She co-starred as Kati Farkas in The CW teen drama, Gossip Girl, until April 2008.-Early life and education:...
acted as Blair's loyal sidekicks Isabel Coates and Kati Farkas. Other members of Blair's clique include Amanda Setton
Amanda Setton
Amanda Setton is an American television and film actress. She is best known for her role as Penelope Shafai in the teen Gossip Girl and for her role as Kimberly Andrews on One Life to Live...
as Penelope Shafai, Dreama Walker
Dreama Walker
Dreama Walker is an American actress. She is known for her role as Hazel Williams on Gossip Girl, based on the book series .-Personal life:...
as Hazel Williams and Emma Demar as Elise Wells.
Other guest stars in recurring roles include Zuzanna Szadkowski as Blair's maid Dorota Kishlovsky, Robert John Burke as Chuck's father and billionaire Bart Bass, Susie Misner
Susan Misner
Susan Misner is an American dancer, television and film actress.-Career:Misner portrayed the doomed Grace Davidson on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live from 12 March 1999 to 17 November 1999...
as Rufus' estranged wife Alison Humphrey and John Shea
John Shea
John Victor Shea III is an American actor and director who has starred on stage, television and in film. He is best known for his role as Lex Luthor in the 1990s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and also starred in the short lived 1990s TV series WIOU as Hank Zaret...
as Blair's father Harold Waldorf, with William Abadie as his partner Roman.
Reception
Due to the show's pedigree as an adaptation of the New York Times bestselling novel series, the show was considered to be one of the more anticipated new shows of the 2007-2008 television season. An August 2007 survey by OTX, a global media research and consulting firm, placed the show on the list of top ten new shows that viewers were aware of. The pilot episode of the season gained 3.50 million viewers on its original airing, having previously been available as a free download on the American iTunes store. As the season progressed, ratings dropped with 2.48 million viewers tuning into the second episode. The eleventh episode marked a season low with only 1.81 million viewers tuning into watch the episode. The show was moved from Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. to its new timeslot Mondays at 8:00 p.m following the end on the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
where the final five episodes of the season were aired. Ratings increased for the season finale, with 3.00 million viewers tuning into the episode. Gossip Girls digital video recorder
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
ratings were high, increasing the show's profitability and the show had also been in the top five of iTunes sales.
Author Cecily von Ziegesar
Cecily von Ziegesar
Cecily von Ziegesar is an American author best known for the young adult Gossip Girl books.-Early life and education:...
has expressed support for the show, noting that all of her major plot points were present in the pilot. The second episode
The Wild Brunch
"The Wild Brunch" is the second episode of the CW television series Gossip Girl. Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage wrote the episode; it was directed by Mark Piznarski...
in which the characters are shown to be attending a Brunch gained some approval from New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
Magazine, stating that "there's no such thing as 'lunch' on the weekends", "that kids actually do venture outside of their neighborhoods" (since The New York Palace Hotel
The New York Palace Hotel
The New York Palace blends the historic landmark Villard Mansion with a modern 55-story tower. Located at the center of Manhattan in Midtown at the corner of 50th Street and Madison Avenue, it is directly across the street from St Patrick's Cathedral, and a short walk from Rockefeller Center and...
is at Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
), and "saying you live in Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
makes much more sense... for real-estate emotional conflict", plus the fact Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
is played "in every situation." Gossip Girl was designated the "Best. Show. Ever." in April 2008, by NY Magazine. Other positive reviews came from publications Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
and the Boston Globe. John Maynard of The Washington Post feel that creator Josh Schwartz "turns it up a notch" from his former series The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
, and noted Dan (Penn Badgley) as a standout character. Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
praised the show for its use of "Gossip Girl"'s blog as a new media element noting "there's a chance to tell a story where the Greek chorus essentially has a blog."
The show has come under criticism for containing scenes too risqué for its teen audience. The Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
has shown particular criticism of the series, especially with its "OMFG" ad campaign used towards the end of the season in April 2008. It also named the episode "Victor, Victrola" the worst television program of the week in which the episode originally was broadcast. The Parents Council's negative comments include it being "the most-watched show among girls 12-17 and glamorizes casual sex and drug use among teens. [And that] storylines have featured a would-be teen rapist, threesome among teens, and teenage girls having sex with adults." Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret Morning News noted that the show is milder than a lot of what's shown on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, but still warned parents of several scenes in the pilot. He said it includes "among other things, a teenage girl climbing on top of a boy and removing his clothes; drunken teens having sex; teens smoking pot; teens drinking in bars, in a limo and at a party; a teen boy getting amorous with a girl who fights him off; and that same teen boy essentially attempting to rape a freshman girl who is supposed to be, what, 14?".
The series has also been criticized for having less-than believable storylines and has been described as a guilty pleasure rather than an hour's worth of must-watch television.
DVD release
The DVD release of season one was released by Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
in the US on August 19, 2008, after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including a downloadable audiobook, deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s and behind-the-scenes featurettes. In the region 1 release, the deleted scenes for the episodes "School Lies" and "The Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate" are mis-matched to their respective episodes.
| color:white;">Gossip Girl - The Complete First Season | ||||
| Set details | Special features | |||
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| Release dates | ||||
| August 19, 2008 | August 18, 2008 | October 21,2008 | April 15, 2009 | |
External links
- Episode Guide at The CW's official site.
- Gossip Girl Episode List at IMDb.com
- Gossip Girl season 1 episode guide at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...