The "Gossip Girl" Reboot Is Going To Show The Characters' Privilege In A Way "The Original Didn't," And Not Everyone Is On Board With This
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The Gossip Girl reboot is headed to HBO Max next month, and whether you're excited to reenter the lives of New York City's fictional prep school elite or skeptical about this fresh take on past drama for Generation Z, there's a lot of preemptive discussion circulating in anticipation of its debut.
While the 2021 revival is expected to draw heavily from the original series' framework — the official trailer is full of glamorous teens hanging out on the Met steps, Manhattan apartments large enough to fit a grand piano, and, of course, anonymous forces spreading rumors online — its showrunner, Josh Safran, said the new show will grapple with the main characters' wealth differently.
"I think the first [Gossip Girl] showed a little bit of wealth porn or privilege porn, like, 'Look at these cars, or here's a montage of the best plated food you've ever seen,'" he told Variety in a recent interview.
"These kids [in the reboot] wrestle with their privilege in a way that I think the original didn't," Josh explained. "In light of [Black Lives Matter], in light of a lot of things, even going back to Occupy Wall Street, things have shifted."
Some people weren't convinced that the showrunner's comments truly reflected the Gossip Girl reboot's attitude toward money and status.
@FilmUpdates Yeahhhhh I don’t see any Wealth in their new trailer preview.
Others were less than impressed by examples of the reboot's supposed push toward grounding its characters.
@FilmUpdates Don’t worry, y’all! This gossip girl reboot has single-handedly solved income inequality and classism because the new characters take Ubers and treat service workers like human beings! So woke!
And more noted that watching the former series' cast behave with reckless disregard for their entitlement was entertaining, and part of Gossip Girl's appeal.
@FilmUpdates What kind of noblesse oblige propaganda is this? No, we want to be entertained by the stories of vaunting out-of-touch neurotic rich people so that we can judge them and feel morally superior about our own proletariat lives. Why do you think Succession is so popular?!?
