Giovanni Rufino/The CWThe juiciest story right now is what happened way back when.
Putting the not-happening rumors to rest, the CW has ordered up a pilot for a Los Angeles-set Gossip Girl spinoff, E! News confirmed Wednesday.
The new venture from GG creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage is not, however, going to be a by-the-book look at Taylor Momsen's character, Jenny Humphrey, but rather an original story about Lily van der Woodsen's surely scandalous teen years growing up in the 1980s.
And we thought the existing show's costumes were awesome...
Gossip Girl's May 11 episode will serve as what is referred to as a backdoor pilot.
A new hot-young-thang will play Lily (maiden name Rhodes), who moves in with her black-sheep sister after a falling-out with her folks, going from a ritzy Montecito, Calif., boarding school to a public school in the San Fernando Valley (the horror!) in the process.
Per the CW, "Caught between two worlds, Lily dives into the fast-paced Sunset Strip and the Hollywood lifestyle of the '80s, journeying over the hill to a world of wealth and excess that used to be her own."
And eventually she'll meet a young Rufus Humphrey, who will at some point impregnate her.
"We didn't want to upset the chemistry of our cast—all of whom are crucial to the show," Savage told the Hollywood Reporter when asked about their reasoning for creating a show that won't require the presence of Gossip Girl's main cast to make sense. "Nor did we want to dilute New York City as a character."
"We are inspired by the opportunity to tell overlapping stories and introduce characters that will appear in the past and the present—and hopefully enrich both shows," added Schwartz. "We love exploring fashion, pop culture, music and a heightened world that's just a little more fun than the one we actually live in. L.A. in the '80s totally fits the bill."
Zap2it.com was first to report the spinoff would be Lily-centric.
(Originally published Jan. 14, 2009 at 5:17 p.m. PT)