He shared: "I said want to explore a triad relationship where three partners are equal. On the inclusion of a triad relationship, Safran revealed to Newsweek it was a storyline he pitched from day one to Warner Bros and HBO Max over two years ago. Scottish actor Thomas Doherty plays the role of pansexual Maximus Wolfe, who by the end of Season 1, begins a triad relationship with Audrey and her boyfriend Aki, who identifies as bisexual. Zión Moreno and Savannah Smith as Monet and Luna in Gossip Girl Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max
Safran also highlighted the "inclusive storytelling and the queer stories and the frankness of sexuality and the content" as strikingly different from the original show. Luna, JC's other minion is played by transwoman Zión Moreno.
In an interview with Wonderland, Smith shared: "It's already a dream to be able to be a part of this project, but on top of that I get to be a part of a greater responsibility that I feel as a Black, bisexual woman in the media."
JC's best friend Monet, played by Savannah Smith is African-American and Smith herself identifies as bisexual. JC's half-sister Zoya Lott (Whitney Peak) was born in Uganda and is of Ugandan and Canadian heritage and Zoya's father Nick (Johnathan Fernandez) is Afro–Latin American. According to Pop Sugar, she is of German-Irish descent and mixed African-American heritage. To begin with, the lead actress in the reboot, Jordan Alexander who plays JC, comes from a mixed background.
In hindsight, it is glaringly obvious how little LGBTQ+ representation there was in the original series of Gossip Girl, all of the six main characters were all white, cisgender and hetreosexual, the only main exceptions being Serena's younger brother Erik van der Woodsen (Connor Paolo) who had a gay storyline and Vanessa (Jessica Sohr), who was biracial.įrom the get-go, the Gossip Girl reboot was set to be different from the original, just by looking at the main cast alone. The LGBTQ+ Representation and Diverse Cast He continued: "The first time around, the show was about the kids and their parents and this time around the show is about the kids, their parents, and the teachers caught in the middle." 2. So I'd say the show is different and similar and I'd like to think that it's good that they stand apart." There is a presence called Gossip Girl that's wreaking havoc on teenagers lives who go to a private school in New York City, the same private school, but outside of that I sort of looked at the world today and 2021 is very different from 2007. So, I made the decision to sort of keep the DNA of the show. He explained: "Because it isn't the same cast, it just didn't feel right to try to recapture that lightning in a bottle. Gossip Girl Showrunner Joshua Safran told Newsweek: "I mean, the goal wasn't to try to do the first show over again, the first show exists, there are 120 episodes of it." This time around, it's not the students who run Gossip Girl, it's the teachers of Constance Billard, already setting a completely different tone from the original where the identity of Gossip Girl was unknown until 120 episodes had passed. The first season saw the re-birth of Gossip Girl, who fell silent after Dan Humphrey gave up her identity. Read more 'Gossip Girl' Showrunner Shares its 'Gorgeous' Filming Locations There's also Aki (Evan Mock), a bi-sexual skater who is dating Audrey, and Max (Thomas Doherty), who is effectively Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) re-incarnated. Audrey (Emily Alyn Lind), JC's best friend, Obie (Eli Brown), JC's on-off boyfriend, and Zoya (Whitney Peak), Julian's half-sister. There's Queen Bee JC (Jordan Alexander), her minions Monet (Savannah Smith), Luna (Zión Moreno). The social hierarchy does still exist at the NYC private school but that's hard to eliminate when it's embedded in the education system. Set in the present day, the reboot follows the lives of a new generation of students at Constance Billard. It's A Standalone Sequel, Not A Remakeįans of the original Gossip Girl series do not need to worry, the Gossip Girl Reboot is not trying to be something it's not, it is trying to be exceptionally different. Here's why we need to cut the Gossip Girl Reboot some slack ASAP. Yes, it has its flaws, it's a little far-fetched at times and the acting falls short at some points but didn't the original series have the exact same flaws, if not many more? We loved it all the same!
'The Facts of Life' Live on ABC Release Date, Cast, Plot.'Gossip Girl' Season 1 Ending Explained - Showrunner Breaks Down the Finale.