‘Gossip Girl’ Reboot to Premiere on HBO Max in July: Meet the Characters

Credit: Kristin Callahan/Shutterstock

'Gossip Girl' Reboot to Premiere on HBO Max in July: Meet the Characters

You know you’re going to love them. In true Gossip Girl fashion, the details of the upcoming HBO Max reboot have been under wraps for nearly two years — until now. The cast of the new series posed together for the May issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, detailing their characters for the first time since the streaming service ordered 10 episodes of the new show in 2019. “The dynamic with the cast, from the second we all met, has always been like, 'Oh, we’ve known each other in different lives,’” Emily Alyn Lind, who plays Audrey, told the magazine. Gossip Girl originally aired for six seasons from 2007 to 2012 on The CW and starred Blake Lively (Serena van der Woodsen), Leighton Meester (Blair Waldorf), Penn Badgley (Dan Humphrey), Chace Crawford (Nate Archibald), Ed Westwick (Chuck Bass), Taylor Momsen (Jenny Humphrey), Jessica Szohr (Vanessa Abrams), Kelly Rutherford (Lily van der Woodsen) and Matthew Settle(Rufus Humphrey). Plans for a “continuation” of the popular show were announced in 2019. “There aren’t, like, new actors playing Serena and Blair,” executive producer (of both shows) Josh Schwartz said at the Television Critics Association summer press tour at the time. “They played those characters for six years, and if they felt like they were good with that, we wanted to respect that. But obviously, it would be great to see them again.” [jwplayer WAj1aCSp-l3ahXupL] The official description for the drama reads: "Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl. The prestige series will address just how much social media—and the landscape of New York itself—has changed in the intervening years." While fans are finally getting answers about the new Upper East Side crew (keep scrolling for the character breakdown), showrunner Joshua Safran wants the details of Gossip Girl herself (voiced by Kristen Bell, who narrated the original series) to remain tightlipped until the summer premiere. “My hope is that we make it to airing and people don’t know,” Safran told Cosmo of the new twist. “I would love to see that conversation happen in the context of people having seen it as opposed to talking about something they haven’t seen.” Gossip Girl will start streaming on HBO Max in July. Keep scrolling to meet the cast and characters:

Credit: Kristin Callahan/Shutterstock

Zoya (Whitney Peak)

The new lonely boy? Zoya’s character is described as Dan Humphrey-esque, who lives outside of the glamorous world of rich Manhattan teens.

Credit: Kristin Callahan/Shutterstock

Audrey (Emily Alyn Lind)

While she’s blonde like Serena, Audrey seemingly has Blair vibes — at least season 1 B. Audrey’s mother is an athleisure designer and the teen has been in a long-term relationship with Aki (Evan Mock), but per Deadline, is “beginning to wonder what more could be out there."

“She loves old movies, she loves Betty Davis, she loves Lauren Bacall, she loves Audrey Hepburn, she's very into the finer things in life, I guess you would say,” the actress told Harper’s Bazaar. “She just loves classics. She's not meant to be in this generation, as someone might say. I think that she doesn't use social media as much, she likes reading books. So I think that she has a very classic look."

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Aki (Evan Mock)

Safran approached Mock, a model, about taking the role after using his photograph as an inspiration for the character of Aki.

“I was very hesitant because I was like, ‘Damn, I don’t know what to do,’” the new actor told Cosmo. “But when we were filming for the first day all together on the Met steps, everyone made me feel so comfortable.”

Lind praised her onscreen love interest, telling the magazine, “He doesn’t try to be an actor. He’s not been trained, but he has this natural ability as an artist.”

Credit: Kristin Callahan/Shutterstock

Julien (Jordan Alexander)

Described as a “teen influencer,” Julien is Audrey’s best friend.

Credit: Jose Perez/Bauergriffin.com / MEGA

Max (Thomas Doherty)

Chuck Bass vibes! Doherty’s character is described as a “libertine” who likes to party. “Does Max make out with boys? Yes, I do get naked, and yes, I do indulge,” the actor told the magazine about his character.

Credit: Jose Perez/Bauergriffin.com / MEGA

Obie (Eli Brown)

A “rich do-gooder,” per the magazine, Obie is tight with Max.

Credit: Jose Perez/Bauergriffin.com / MEGA

Luna (Zión Moreno)

Moreno, a transgender woman, wouldn’t divulge whether the character of Luna is trans too.

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Monet (Savannah Smith)

Both Luna and Monet were listed as “Greek-chorus-type roles,” who also have their own story lines too.

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Kate Keller (Tavi Gevinson)

Details of Kate are still completely under wraps, seemingly related to the aforementioned “twist.”