An Exclusive Sneak Peek at CW's New Gossip Girl Series

A new season of television is upon us, bringing many new shows (and many new seasons of old ones). A particularly hyped program is the new Gossip Girl show, which is modeled after the book series. The series is based upon-what else?-gossip. But it goes beyond that. It is about a group of young socialites (think pre-tabloids Paris Hilton), who spend their time partying, shopping, and basically just living the high life that many young teens wish that they could break into. On the other hand, there is the teenage drama element that factors in; the girls deal with relationship problems, broken friendships, betrayals, and unsupportive families. The series itself is named after the narrator-the writer of a gossip blog which focuses on the celebutantes of the story.

If you are planning on watching the show and do not want any spoilers, do not read any further than this paragraph. I will sum up my rating here: acting gets a 9/10, storyline gets a 10/10, and faithfulness to the books gets a 7/10. If you are an extreme fan of the books, you will probably not be disappointed. If you did not read the books but you enjoy this type of show, then you will definitely not be disappointed. If you would like an exclusive review of the first episode itself, continue reading. I do not give every single detail, but I do go over the general storyline and plot points.

The show opens with the arrival of Serena, who has just returned to New York from boarding school. We are not sure why exactly she left or why she has returned, but we do know that everybody is excited. Her best friend, Blair, is slightly pleased when she finds out. More than anything, though, she is nervous; rumor has it that her boyfriend, Nate, has a thing for Serena, and Blair naturally does not want to lose Nate. Following me so far?

Five minutes in and we are at a society party. Everybody is dressed to the nines and the mothers of the show are being distant to their daughters. (Paraphrasing Blair's mother, "If you are going to wear one of my fashions, you must tell me so that I can fit it properly!") Serena arrives and leaves in under a minute, and everybody is shocked that she did not get drunk.