The Honey POP here, your one and only source into the freshest new TV shows you need to add to your watch list! One of our fave shows of the past few years has been HBO Max’s reboot of Gossip Girl, which offers a unique take on the Upper East Side and the social pressures we saw on the original show.
This version follows Upper East Side influencer queen Julien Calloway and her long-lost sister Zoya Lott, who grew up in upstate New York and has to adjust to the classy Manhattan lifestyle she’s been thrown into. Meanwhile, they both fall for the same boy, Obie, who starts dating Zoya shortly after breaking up with Julien. And on top of all that, a group of teachers at their school have rebooted Gossip Girl as an Instagram account that documents their every move. They need to learn how to navigate their personal lives and newly-reconnected sisterhood while trying to maintain some semblance of privacy along the way.
Season two is coming on December 1st, and we’re absolutely buzzing! We were already obsessed with season one, but we just feel it in our bones that this new set of episodes will knock it out of the park. Let’s get excited about six things we want to see!
Spoilers ahead for season one!
Julien Having A Showdown With Gossip Girl
Does anyone else still have chills from the last moments of the season one finale? We’re still so confused, yet enthralled, by Julien’s ending monologue, which she sends as a DM to Gossip Girl to try to beat her at her own game… or sabotage her friends… or something. It’s not quite clear what her intention is yet, but we really wanna find out! Does she know what she’s doing? Is she trying to get power over Zoya again? Can she really defeat Gossip Girl by fanning the flame?
I’m gonna send you everything you never knew about everyone I know. But there’s a catch. Not all of it will be true, and you’re not gonna know the difference. No more kindness. It’s time for chaos… Mutually assured destruction, from one b*tch to another.
Julien Calloway
Zoya Finding Herself More
Zoya had quite a bit of trouble fitting in on the Upper East Side after moving to Manhattan, and towards the end of season one, she found a friend in the rebel Shan. In the season finale, Julien encourages her to spend New Year’s Eve with Shan instead of staying at Aki’s dad’s mansion with the rest of the gang, pretty much giving her a chance to see who she really is outside of the whole upper-class-popular-girl thing. Let’s hope her growth continues through season two!
More Iconic Fashion Moments
The Gossip Girl reboot plays into the preppy style of the original show while still incorporating everything from streetwear to punk… and we can’t get enough! Some standout looks we’re not over: Zoya’s neon orange dress from Julien’s fashion show, Monet’s tweed uniform jacket from the Met steps, and Max’s green jacket from when he’s visiting Audrey at the hospital.
Much like the original Gossip Girl, we’re sure the HBO Max reboot will get even more designer placements as time goes on! Even just based on the teasers we’ve seen so far, it looks like we’re gonna be treated to some amazing outfits.
Monet de Haan Becoming An It Girl (With Some Help From Luna)
A big part of Monet’s storyline in season one is being Julien’s “PR representative” and working with Julien’s stylist, Luna, to keep her image in check. But the last episode of season one hints at Monet wanting to step into her own spotlight, and we’re crossing our fingers, eyes, toes, and absolutely everything that she embarks on that endeavor with Luna by her side! We need more of our fave problematic duo ASAP, and they could definitely wind up on top thanks to their ambition and confidence.
Speaking of our fave duos, we get a little callback to Blair and Serena in the trailer for season two – in the OG series, Blair pushes Serena into a fountain in Paris, and the trailer shows Monet falling into a fountain with Julien just a few feet away. Blair pushed Serena in because she felt like Serena was getting more attention, so maybe Julien gets upset that Monet is becoming an It Girl in her own right?
Aki, Audrey, & Max Being Cute
We’re obsessed with how much queer rep is in the Gossip Girl reboot, particularly in the storylines for Aki, Audrey, and Max. Aki is coming to terms with his bisexuality when he finds himself cheating on Audrey with Max, only to find out that Audrey cheated on him with Max as well. Meanwhile, Max is openly pansexual and having fun with whoever he can. Eventually, though, Aki and Audrey realize that their chemistry is fading because they’re both falling for Max, and Max realizes he feels disconnected from his old vices because he’s falling for Aki and Audrey.
Aki and Audrey work out a plan to try a triad relationship, and after some convincing, Max excitedly gives in. The pining on all three sides chipped at our hearts piece by piece throughout season one, and their official “getting together” in the finale put those pieces right back together! We can’t wait to see how their relationship pans out and get some cute moments between them in season two.
Some Scheming With Georgina Sparks
One thing we love about HBO Max’s Gossip Girl is that it offers so many nods to the original show while still standing apart on its own! For example, it takes place at the same school, one of the teachers was a classmate of the OG Nonjudgemental Breakfast Club, and we even got to see Blair’s family and Dorota in one episode.
Another iconic cameo we got from season one was Milo Sparks, who you might remember as Georgina Sparks’ surprise baby that Dan Humphrey thought was his son. In one episode, Milo helps Zoya scheme against Julien – he must’ve gotten that from his conniving mama, because Georgina is the queen of scheming! We’ve gotten confirmation that Georgina will make an appearance in season two, and we can’t wait to see what chaos she gets involved in.
Where she’s introduced has a tie to the first show that I love, that is so funny, and it relates to characters from the original show, and she just has this little run of dialogue about how she’s been interacting with characters from the original show in the last 15 years. It’s one of my favorite parts of this whole season.
Showrunner Josh Safran to Teen Vogue
Season two of Gossip Girl is coming to HBO Max on December 1st, so make sure you check it out! Who are your favorite characters so far? What are you hoping to see in the new episodes? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
Want some other shows to watch while we wait? Right this way…
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