The long wait for the Gossip Girl reboot just got longer.
The HBO Max update of the 2007-12 CW drama has been pushed to 2021, according to Vulture.
The popular teen drama series – which originally starred Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick, Penn Badgley, Chase Crawford, and Taylor Momsen, among others – was set to get a modern-day reboot, complete with a whole new cast on the new WarnerMedia-owned streamer.
Unfortunately, the series was set to go into production around the time the filming shutdowns brought on by the spread of COVID-19, effectively meaning a 2020 premiere would be unrealistic.
“They hadn’t even started production yet; they were in pre-production and ready to roll,” HBO Max chief content officer Kevin Reilly recently told the outlet.
“Things that would have been really meaningful and high profile have gotten pushed back,” he added of the decision.
The news is unsurprising, and it’s better to take the time needed to ensure production can safely begin on the series.
The new series picks up eight years after the original website went dark, and focuses on a new generation of New York private school teens.
The prestige series will address just how much social media – and the landscape of New York itself – has changed in the intervening years.
Gossip Girl has a 10-episode order from the forthcoming streamer, with Joshua Safran, Josh Schwartz, and Stephanie Savage on board to shepherd the reimagining of the original series.
The reboot cast includes Thomas Doherty (Legacies), Tavi Gevinson (Scream Queens), Adam Chanler-Berat (It Could Be Worse), Zion Moreno (Claws), Emily Alyn Lind (Revenge), Whitney Peak (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Eli Brown (Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists), Johnathan Fernandez (Lethal Weapon), and Broadway star Jason Gotay.
The good thing about the new series is that it will not forget what came before it, meaning that there is a possibility that original stars could stop by.
As previously reported, Kristen Bell is returning to narrate the series.
HBO Max launches Wednesday, May 27. The service comes at the cost of $15 per month, right on par with the price of HBO Now.
Max will include all of HBO Now’s content, as well as thousands of hours of content, including Pretty Little Liars, The OC, and Max Originals, including Search Party and Love Life.
What are your thoughts on the reboot?
Are you happy it is not forgetting what came before?
Hit the comments below.
Remember you can watch Gossip Girl online right here via TV Fanatic.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.