Hey, Upper East Siders, here’s a scoop even bigger than spotting Serena van der Woodsen at Grand Central: All six seasons of Gossip Girl are now streaming on Netflix in the US. 

Created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, the beloved series — and its ensemble cast — became a cultural phenomenon during its run from 2007 to 2012, with its rich drama, standout music, and distinctive fashion. So tell us, are you a Blair or a Serena? A Nate or a Dan? Or are you Chuck Bass? 

“I’m excited for fans to be able to hang out with their old friends and go on that epic coming-of-age journey once again,” Schwartz tells Tudum. “And for anyone who’s never seen the show — welcome to the Upper East Side!”

The enduring resonance of the show, now more than a decade since it ended, is a “real surprise and delight,” adds Savage. “I love coming across a new meme or an Instagram post that doesn’t even need to reference the names of the characters or the show — it’s just Blair Waldorf holding shopping bags in front of Pont Alexandre III. And the fan art is amazing — the family Thanksgiving videos to Jason Derulo’s ‘Whatcha Say’? Thanks, internet!”

Whether you’re a longtime fan or a first-time viewer, settle in on the steps of the Met and keep reading to catch up with the students of Constance Billard and St. Jude’s. 

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What happens in Gossip Girl? 

In the series, a blogger using the pseudonym “Gossip Girl” follows a group of wealthy high schoolers on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and exposes the secrets of their private and social lives for all to read. At the center of the teen drama is “It” girl Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) who returns to New York City from a year at boarding school to shake things up at the all-girls school Constance Billard and its all-boys counterpart, St. Jude’s. Her best frenemy, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), who’s become queen bee in Serena’s absence, is completely blindsided by her return. To Blair’s dismay, everyone seems to be taking an interest in Serena, including her boyfriend Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) who’s been acting weird since Serena got back to town. 

“My favorite episode will always be the pilot,” Savage tells Tudum. “Watching it brings back so many great memories of being with the cast during their first days in New York, building the looks for Blair and Serena with costume designer Eric Daman, scouting locations like the Palace Hotel, Bendel’s, and the steps of the Met.” (The Paris episodes are another highlight for Savage, who calls them “an immediate mood-lifter.”)

Gossip Girl primarily focuses on the complicated entanglements of the young and privileged as they betray one another to get ahead, and centers on the luxury lifestyles of the elite prep school students of Constance Billard and St. Jude’s. Throughout the series, Serena and Blair — also known as S and B — get into the messiest of fights, while navigating friendship, romance, and social status. Gossip Girl herself aptly compares their relationship to World War III in knee socks. As for the identity of Gossip Girl … well, that’s one of the show’s biggest secrets. 

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Who’s in the cast of Gossip Girl?

• Blake Lively (A Simple Favor, The Age of Adaline) as Serena van der Woodsen
• Leighton Meester (The Weekend Away) as Blair Waldorf
• Penn Badgley (You, Easy A) as Dan Humphrey
• Ed Westwick (White Gold) as Chuck Bass
• Chace Crawford (The Boys) as Nate Archibald 
• Matthew Settle (Band of Brothers) as Rufus Humphrey 
• Kelly Rutherford (Melrose Place) as Lily van der Woodsen 
• Taylor Momsen (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) as Jenny Humphrey 
• Connor Paolo (Fire Island) as Eric van der Woodsen 
• Jessica Szohr (Shameless) as Vanessa Abrams 
• Margaret Colin (Independence Day) as Eleanor Waldorf 
• Zuzanna Szadkowski (Modern Love) as Dorota Kishlovsky 
• Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as Georgina Sparks
• Robert John Burke (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) as Bart Bass

Who voices Gossip Girl? 

You may remember Gossip Girl’s iconic tagline, “And who am I? That’s one secret I’ll never tell.” But we’re here to reveal exactly who she is. Kristen Bell (Nobody Wants This, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window) provides the voice-over that steals the show by spilling all the scandalous secrets of Manhattan’s elite. Bell landed the role after her CW series Veronica Mars was canceled. The actor told Vanity Fair that she called up the network’s then-president Dawn Ostroff and asked if she could narrate Gossip Girl, and the rest is history. She also returned to voice the character again for the reboot that ran from 2021 to 2023.

Is Gossip Girl based on a book? 

Yes, the show is based on the young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The author has now produced 14 novels in the series, the first of which, Gossip Girl, was published in 2002. That novel was the inspiration for the show created by Schwartz and Savage.

Is Gossip Girl based on a true story?

Not really, but the books were loosely based on author von Ziegesar’s experiences attending the all-girls Nightingale-Bamford school on the Upper East Side. In a November 2020 interview with Vanity Fair, she said, “Gossip Girl was me.”  

When is Gossip Girl coming to Netflix? 

You can watch all six seasons in the US right now. See you there. XOXO, Gossip Girl.

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