The new Gossip Girl is officially underway.
On Nov. 10, the cast of HBO Max's revival of the hit CW show were spotted filming on the iconic steps of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Throughout the new batch of photos, the actors carry the same too-cool-for-school attitude that Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) and their minions and lovers shared in the early 2000s.
While details about the new show remain sparse, the new crop of images finds Whitney Peak as an outsider of sorts as she walks around the group of friends seated at the Met and eventually gets up close and personal with Jordan Alexander's character. Additionally, we also see a little bit of Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) in Eli Brown while blonde Emily Alyn Lind, who plays Audrey, certainly looks like she's up to no good. Also, there's Tavi Gevinson, who reminds us that the fashion here is going to be good.
Last week, the first batch of paparazzi photos of found Peak and Brown exiting a building were released. Peak was seen wearing a shiny long-sleeved dress that was apparently not quite warm enough for the chilly NYC air because Brown was seen offering her his coat. Another photo, presumably from when the cameras were not rolling, showed the two stars wearing face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. And in another series of shots, actors Jordan Alexander, Zión Moreno and Savannah Lee Smith were seen filming a nightlife scene.
Peak and Brown were announced as cast members alongside Lind, Johnathan Fernandez and Jason Gotay in March, but only Lind has a charaWhitney Peak and Jordan Alexander.cter name so far. That character? It's the aforementioned Audrey, a teen who has been in a long term relationship and is beginning to wonder what more could be out there. Deadline reported that Peak and Brown are both part of the "leading trio" with Lind.
The Gossip Girl revival (don't call it a reboot) was originally supposed to premiere in 2020 but faced delays when the coronavirus pandemic shut down nearly all productions.
Few specific details have been released so far, but we do know that the new show will take place eight years after the end of the original Gossip Girl, and will introduce a new generation of New York private school kids to a new version of the trouble-making spy. Kristen Bell will be back as the voice of Gossip Girl, and so far she's the only original cast member set to return.
One major difference with the new series is that there's no chance of being disappointed when the identity of Gossip Girl is revealed, since that's not a mystery to be solved this time around. Gossip Girl is now all of us, executive producer Josh Schwartz said during a TCA panel in 2019.
"It didn't really feel like a group of adults who were being controlled by Gossip Girl would make a lot of sense," he said. "So it felt like there was something really interesting about this idea that we are all Gossip Girl now, in our own way, that we are all purveyors of our own social media surveillance state, and how that's evolved, and how that has morphed and mutated and telling that story through a new generation of upper east side high school kids felt like the right time."
In November 2019, creator Josh Safran promised that the new show will feature "non-white leads," "queer content," a look at wealth and privilege in 2020 and a big twist. This show will also feature high school juniors with millions of social media followers, which just wasn't really a concept when Gossip Girl first premiered in 2007.
Scroll down to see all the first-look photos of the new Gossip Girl.
The revival series simply described this character, Zoya Lott, as "perspective."
The character Aki will embody "innocence" in the new Gossip Girl.
We can't tell if we're getting big Chuck Bass or Nate Archibald vibes from Otto "Obie" Bergmann IV, who will represent "privilege."
You better watch out for Tavi Gevinson's character. Why? Because Tavi's character's descriptor is "ambition."
Could there be more to Audrey Hope's story? She's been described as "grace."
Another striking co-star! Thomas' character has the label "freedom."
Your next style icon? Perhaps. The character Luna La has been described as "style."
We're already feeling inspired by this character. Monet de Haan's label is "power."
This character is ready to "influence" on Gossip Girl.
Here's the cast of the new Gossip Girl on the steps of the Met in New York City. The actors include (from left to right, top to bottom) Evan Mock, Eli Brown, Zión Moreno, Emily Alyn Lind, Thomas Doherty, Jordan Alexander and Savannah Lee Smith.
Emily Alyn Lind's portrayal of Audrey, a teen who has been in a long term relationship and is beginning to wonder what more could be out there, already seems like one of the series' most enticing.
Whitney Peak and Jordan Alexander get close.
Just like the original, Savannah Lee Smith and Zión Moreno look very ready to judge anyone that walks by.
Could Whitney Peak's character be far different than the kids on the steps of the Met? It appears that way. Throughout these images, she walks past that group as she carries a brown paper bag (lunch) and a red tote that says Revolution Books.
Tavi Gevinson, Emily Alyn Lind and Thomas Doherty.
Whitney Peak is honestly getting us excited to see the city as this series' background.
The cast already looks perfect.
We're guessing that Peak and Brown's characters got into a huge fight here.
Just like the original, the new Gossip Girl is already promising head-turning looks. Here we see Jordan Alexander, Zión Moreno and Savannah Lee Smith.
While the new series takes place eight years after the original, Tavi Gevinson and Adam Chanler-Berat's looks seem plucked from another decade.
Peak and Brown were photographed in between nighttime scenes in New York.
And, because we're in the middle of a pandemic, they slipped their masks on while shooting.
The new Gossip Girl will debut on HBO Max in 2021.
This article was originally published on Nov. 6, 2020 at 1:55 p.m. PT.