Here’s your first look at the new cast of 'Gossip Girl'

Attention Upper East Siders and those who have been waiting anxiously for more information on the upcoming reboot of Gossip Girl. A sneak peek of what is sure to be a favorite guilty pleasure of 2021 has just arrived and we can already feel the fashionable, sexy, and somewhat age-inappropriate drama brewing. XOXO, (please give us new episodes of) Gossip Girl.

Over the weekend, the Gossip Girl Instagram account was updated with new cast photos of the core group. The character names for each actor were revealed along with a single word describing their personality. Though it's nice to know who of the group has "Power" and "Style," we were kind of hoping for information along the lines of "The New Blair" or "Makes Chuck Bass Look Innocent." But with no premiere date in sight, we will take whatever we can get.

First is Julien Calloway, who is described with the word "Influence." Julien will be played by Jordan Alexander, a musician and actor who starred opposite Juliette Lewis in the Facebook series Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones. 

Alexander will be joined by fellow newcomer Savannah Smith, who will play Monet de Haan, a character described with the word "Power."

Evan Mock will play Akeno “Aki” Menzies in his first TV role and take on a character described with the word "Innocence."

Audiences will also be introduced to Zion Moreno, who is best known for her work on the Spanish Netflix series Control Z. Moreno will play Luna La, a character who will personify "Style."

The upcoming reboot will also include some familiar faces. Thomas Doherty, who starred in The Lodge, Descendants 2 and High Fidelity, will play Max Wolfe, a character paired with the word "Freedom."

Emily Alyn Lind, who starred in Revenge, Code Black, and most recently appeared in the Netflix films The Babysitter and The Babysitter: Killer Queen, will play Audrey Hope, a character with "Grace."

Eli Brown, who played Dylan Walker on Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, has been cast as Otto ‘Obie’ Bergmann IV, a character described with the word "Privilege," which is saying a lot for Gossip Girl.

Uganda-born, Vancouver-raised actor Whitney Peak will play Zoya Lott in the reboot, a character known for "Perspective." Peak made her feature film debut in Aaron Sorkin’s Molly’s Game and recently starred in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Home Before Dark.

The most recognizable actor to join the young cast of the reboot is Tavi Gevinson. The writer and founder of Rookie Mag has been making a name for herself on the big and small screen, starring in the film Person to Person and appearing on Scream Queens and The Twilight Zone. Gevinson will play Kate Keller, a character described with the word "Ambition."

Kristen Bell is the only original member of the cast who will return for the reboot, which was given the greenlight back in July 2019. Bell will reprise her role as the voice of the mysterious gossip site, which in the original series was revealed to have been written by Penn Badgley’s Dan Humphries (we know, we know – whut?).

Gossip Girl creator Josh Safran, who has attempted to clarify that the new series isn’t a remake or reboot (until we have a better term, we’re calling it a reboot), said in December 2019 that the upcoming HBO Max series will take place in the same universe as the original.

“It truly is just years after the original. It’s hard to say how many years because the original ended in 2012. But it was 2017 for the characters, because we flash forward five years,” said Safran. “It really is the same world. It’s 2020. If these characters were to talk about Blair Waldorf, they’re going to talk about Blair Waldorf. I kind of look at it as sort of what Marvel does or the DC Universe. You’re just looking at a different angle inside the universe. I think, because of that, it allows us to not feel super tied. … It’s still in the same location, it is still [about] fashion, still about privilege, about the 1 percent.”

HBO Max has yet to specify a premiere date, but Safran confirmed the first season will be comprised of 10 episodes, which will feature an arc. When the show does premiere, Canadian viewers will be able to catch all the drama on Crave.

Pictures from filming were released earlier this year and showed the cast hanging out on the iconic Met steps, which fans of the original know as the unofficial hangout spot for the rich and young. “Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl,” reads HBO Max’s official description. “The prestige series will address just how much social media—and the landscape of New York itself—has changed in the intervening years.” 

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