On September 19, 2007 The CW released its teen drama, Gossip Girl. The show was based off a book with the same name written by Cecily Von Ziegesar. The plot of the show is set heavily in New York’s Upper East Side (UES) and Constance-St. Judes, a private school that is attended by privileged teenagers of the Upper East Side; one exception to this is Dan Humphrey, “the Lonely Boy,” from Brooklyn (Penn Badgley). The other main characters in the show reside on the UES.

The show begins with the return of New York’s favorite “It Girl,” Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), from a boarding school in Cornwall, Connecticut. As she returns from boarding school, she is spotted at the train station and a tip from @Melany91 is sent in to Gossip Girl, the site notorious for stirring up drama on the Upper East Side. The show follows the lives of many other prominent students who attend Constance-St. Judes, such as “the Pretty Boy,” Nate Archibald, “Queen Bee,” Blair Waldorf and “the Upper East Side’s Biggest Bad Boy,” Chuck Bass.

The plot of the show follows over-privileged New York teens dealing with drama, sex and drugs. The actors tasked with playing these characters’ roles didn’t do the characters themselves justice. Many of the actors relied on their looks and the script to get them through the six seasons.

One actress in particular caught my eye when watching this show; Leighton Meester, the actress who played Blair Waldorf. She was one of the only actors in the show that seemed to portray her character very well.

The show was successful primarily for the glamour it contained. Gossip Girl included many different fashion shows, scenery around the world and many fabulous dresses.

One of the main characters that can’t be forgotten is Gossip Girl itself. The show does a very good job of manipulating who Gossip Girl is throughout the series. At one point in time, the show reveals Georgina Sparks, one of the minor characters in the show, to be Gossip Girl, but then she gives Gossip Girl over to Serena van der Woodsen.

While Season Four was my favorite of the six seasons, I found that Season Three was lacking in character and plot development.

One thing that would really help the show is more diversity within the cast. The show could also become a more diverse and interesting watch if there was more representation of the LGBTQ community.

I recommend this show if you are looking for a way to kill time, but it is not particularly intellectually stimulating

But who really is Gossip Girl? That’s one secret I’ll never tell. You know you love me. XOXO. -Gossip Girl, Hassan Nureini