Gossip Girl's new leads reveal how their relationship differs from Blair and Serena's
There's a different dynamic at the heart of HBO Max's reboot. **WARNING: SPOILERS**
Gossip Girl returns this week with an all-new cast of secretive characters but its two lead stars have explained what sets the show apart from its predecessor.
The original Gossip Girl ran for six seasons and became a mammoth international hit, with Blake Lively's Serena and Leighton Meester's Blair leading a cast of scandalous privileged teens.
The reboot hitting HBO Max this week introduces two new female leads, influencer Julien Calloway (played by Jordan Alexander) and mysterious new kid Zoya Lott (Whitney Peak) but they aren't attempting to imitate the original characters. (Warning: episode one spoilers ahead.)
Instead, the writers have chosen to establish a completely different dynamic from the very first episode, revealing the duo are actually half-sisters in a twist that Alexander and Peak unpacked with Harper's Bazaar.
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"Even though there are undertones of [Blair and Serena] in each of the characters, being siblings with somebody as opposed to being best friends with somebody is a little bit different," says Peak.
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"And no matter how much you like each other, or how long you haven't known each other, the second you get together, there's this air of 'you're my person, I'm yours, and we're going to do this no matter what'."
Alexander added that while Blair and Serena's relationship was initially characterised by a certain amount of disdain, there is far more respect between Julien and Zoya from the beginning.
"I feel like their dynamic is just hopeful," added Alexander. "They've both been searching for something like Whitney said, that 'you're my person' moment. And I feel like they've both been having this missing piece.
"So when they do come together, there's a lot of hope and optimism, perhaps naïveté, about what this relationship could be."
The Gossip Girl reboot recently secured a UK broadcaster, with episodes to be available on BBC iPlayer later this year, but the first Gossip Girl reviews are offering a decidedly mixed verdict on the reimagined series.
Gossip Girl will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year. While you're waiting, check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
