It isn’t an incredible signal when a reboot of a teen drama makes you yearn for the great previous days of the unique present.
After the best way Gossip Girl Season 6 ended, the weblog was useless and buried, and the characters had all reached pivotal milestones of their lives.
However that is 2021, and reboots are nonetheless a factor.
Gossip Woman (2021) has a stellar forged, however the brand new collection fails to seize the magic the unique did off the bat when it burst onto the scene in 2007.
With such a gifted forged, you’d suppose there can be sufficient storylines to go round, however the present turns into tedious rapidly as a result of lack of improvement for many of the characters.
The forged is just too huge to serve these low-key storylines, and the perpetrator seems to be poor plotting. There’s not a lot happening within the Higher East Facet in 2021, based on this reboot.
Whitney Peak is the clear frontrunner as Zoya Lott. Zoya is the best character to love initially as a result of we see her introduction into the Higher East Facet and, after all, the varsity these characters attend.
Zoya’s a fish out of water, and the present manages not solely to introduce her nicely but additionally develop her nicely in these preliminary 4 episodes.
With a forged as expansive as this, it is disconcerting that the remaining get such frivolous materials.
Jordan Alexander is first rate as Julien Calloway, however the present makes use of her a lot within the opening episodes that it appears she shall be given the identical stuff to work with each episode. Not a great signal.
Eli Brown’s Obie will get quite a lot of screentime within the first 4 episodes, however we do not know something extra about him than we realized within the collection premiere. The character does not develop; he merely stays the identical, and it says lots concerning the collection.
Thomas Doherty is one other strong choice as Max Wolf, a personality extremely paying homage to Chuck Bass, however there’s little depth right here, both.
It leaves me with a way of fear about how the present will final for seasons if it might’t discover a convincing option to inform tales in its early episodes.
Past the characters we do not even be taught that a lot about, there’s not a lot else happening within the present, leaving a way that there are few plots.
There are hookups, drug-taking, and every thing you’d count on from a teen drama, however with out scope about the place the present may find yourself in just a few episodes or just a few years, the characters really feel dispensable.
With the brand new collection coming from Joshua Safran, who was closely concerned with the unique, I anticipated higher. Safran was chargeable for writing a few of my favourite episodes, so he appeared like the perfect individual to shepherd this collection into a brand new technology.
For essentially the most half, reboots and revivals have sucked, and Gossip Woman is, fairly frankly, a pale imitation of the unique collection.
One other huge flaw is that the brand new collection is all about youngsters. The unique excelled as a result of the mother and father have been essential to the event of the plots, however right here, the mother and father do seem, however not in a manner that offers them meaty plots to sink their tooth into.
Laura Benanti is the strongest of the mother and father by a landslide, and there’s scope to broaden on her story, however after witnessing how the plots are dealt with, I will not be holding my breath.
The top result’s a present that may be a little too teeny for adults, but it surely may resonate with the youthful crowd.
In the previous couple of years, we have had new teen dramas corresponding to Euphoria and Elite which have managed to craft compelling storylines that might final seasons, however there aren’t sufficient attention-grabbing issues for me to advocate Gossip Woman.
The collection has lavish units, fashionable trend, and witty one-liners, however being fully devoid of compelling plots isn’t a great way to begin issues.
It is laborious to think about any of the unique followers having fun with the brand new take. Sure, there are some easter eggs, however the present will probably do nicely sufficient to proceed with a brand new crop of followers.
What about you, Gossip Woman fanatics?
Will you be trying out the brand new collection?
It premieres on HBO Max on July 8.
Take a look at the total trailer beneath and hit the feedback together with your ideas.
Paul Dailly is the Affiliate Editor for TV Fanatic. Observe him on Twitter.