Gossip Girl Season 2 - What We Know So Far
The new "Gossip Girl" — a standalone sequel to the popular 2007 CW series of the same name — premiered on HBO Max on July 8. Created by Joshua Safran (a writer from the original series), "Gossip Girl" follows a new set of privileged students at the wealthy Manhattan private school, Constance Billard.
At the center, there's Zoya Lott (Whitney Peak), the sole middle-class student on a scholarship, and Julien Calloway (Jordan Alexander), a famous influencer, both of whom are romantically interested in Obie Bergmann (Eli Brown). Then, there's long-term couple Audrey Hope (Emily Alyn Lind) and Aki Menzies (Evan Mock), who are grappling with their shared interest in pansexual flirt Max Wolfe (Thomas Doherty). Finally, there's Luna La (Zión Moreno) and Monet De Haan (Savannah Lee Smith), who act as assistants to Julien with her influencer business. What sets the reboot apart from its predecessor is the knowledge of who exactly Gossip Girl is from the beginning — the teachers of Constance, led by Kate Keller (Tavi Gevinson), in an attempt to teach the spoiled kids a lesson in owning up to their actions.
After a short break mid-season, "Gossip Girl" returned on Thanksgiving to finish out the season with its last six episodes. The final three episodes were released to HBO Max on December 2, leaving fans with a lot to unpack and think about until Season 2 debuts. The series was renewed for its second season back in September, so fans can rest easy knowing that the drama will be picked back up (via Variety). Here's everything we know so far about Season 2 of "Gossip Girl."
Does Gossip Girl Season 2 have a release date?
As of now, there has been no news about when Season 2 of "Gossip Girl" will air on HBO Max. As stated above, Variety reported back in September that the series had been picked up for a second go, with HBO Max reporting Season 1 had "record viewership over its first weekend on the platform." At the time of the news, a representative from HBO Max said that they would wait to announce the number of episodes of Season 2 and when production would begin.
To speculate for ourselves, however, we can look at the first season as an example. Production for Season 1 began in November of 2020, as reported by Deadline, with the series premiering the following July, meaning that there were about eight months in between the start of production and the release date. Since the second season was renewed back in September, we can assume that production could be starting anytime.
However, with any luck, the process will be slightly faster this time around — seeing as the series has already found its footing and knows it has an audience waiting. Maybe the series will aim for a summer 2022 release date, just about one year after its Season 1 premiere, but with no news about production beginning yet, a fall release seems more likely. Hopefully, we will get some more detailed news on the release date front soon.
Who is in the cast of Gossip Girl Season 2?
It's safe to assume that all of the lead teen characters, played by Jordan Alexander, Whitney Peak, Eli Brown, Emily Alyn Lind, Evan Mock, Thomas Doherty, Savannah Lee Smith, and Zión Moreno — will all be returning for the second season. In fact, just about every one of those characters was involved in a storyline that will most certainly be flowing over into Season 2.
Additionally, the three main Constance Billard staff members behind Gossip Girl — Tavi Gevinson's Kate Keller, Adam Chanler-Berat's Jordan Glassberg, and Megan Ferguson's Wendy Fineman-Walsh — are pretty much guaranteed to show up again for Season 2. We're confident in Gevinson's return, especially since Kate is the leading voice behind Gossip Girl. We can also expect the teens' parents to return next year, such as Johnathan Fernandez as Nick Lott (Johnathan Fernandez), Kiki Hope (Laura Benanti), and Gideon Hope (Todd Almond). Plus, with Davis Calloway (Luke Kirby) having such a major arc in the second half of Season 1, we definitely expect him to appear again.
Additionally, a few newer characters are introduced in the back half of Season 1, who we also suspect will appear in Season 2. Creator and showrunner Joshua Safran confirmed to Digital Spy that Obie's new love interest, Grace (Anna van Patten), and Zoya's new friend Shan (Grace Duah) would play more prominent roles in Season 2.
What is the plot of Gossip Girl Season 2?
The end of Season 1 left us with a ton of unresolved storylines that we can expect to pick up in Season 2. Audrey, Aki, and Max decided to officially become a "triad" couple, in which they'll date each other equally. Next, Zoya began making her own circle of friends outside of Julien, while the latter moved in with her and Nick following the sexual assault allegations against her dad, Davis. And Monet, fed up with Julien not listening to her advice, decided to go up against her as the school's "it" girl.
Finally, Julien reached out to Gossip Girl to suggest a collaboration of sorts, promising to share everything — truth and rumor — with them. Kate, as Gossip Girl, accepted right away — but declared she had a condition first. The episode ended before we found out about Kate's condition, but we expect it to play a massive role in Season 2's plot. Showrunner Joshua Safran told Digital Spy, "The condition is hard to be met. That's the best way I can put it. Kate believes that condition is going [to] be easier than it is, and Julien thinks it's easier than it is. You really do immediately see how that deal they've made is easier said than done."
Safran also teased what to expect with Season 2 to Newsweek, discussing the Audrey-Aki-Max relationship, promising the show will "look at all of the dynamics" of their triad. Safran concluded, "We're going to go into more even deeper places than it has gone before."