Gossip Girl CANCELED by HBO Max: Streamer leaves reboot and sinks into third season
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HBO Max has given Gossip Girl a revival after just two seasons on the streaming service.
The cancellation, ending hopes for a third season of the drama, was announced on Thursday.
Showrunner Josh Safran shared the news in a Thursday morning Instagram post, in which he said the series was looking for a new home.
The remake of Gossip Girl, which featured an all-new cast, mostly didn’t live up to the reputation of the original series starring Blake Lively and Leighton Meester and was panned by mainstream television critics.
No more gossip: HBO Max announced that it had canceled Gossip Girl after just two seasons on Thursday. The show did not live up to critics’ expectations; still from the series
Safran developed Gossip Girl based on the popular novels by Cecily von Ziegesar as well as the original series, which ran on the CW for six seasons from 2007 to 2012.
The original show was developed by Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, who served as executive producers on the remake.
The second season of Gossip Girl has yet to premiere on HBO Max, with the finale scheduled for January 26.
“We are so grateful to showrunner/executive producer Joshua Safran and executive producers Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz for bringing us back to the Upper East Side and all the scandals at Constance Billard,” read a statement posted by HBO Max.
It’s not over yet: Gossip Girl’s second season has yet to play on HBO Max, with the finale scheduled for January 26.
“Though we’re not moving forward with a third season of Gossip Girl, we thank you for the alluring love triangles, calculated backstabbing, and impeccable fashion this series brought to a new audience.”
Interest in the new Gossip Girl was initially high among fans, but it quickly petered out.
The show initially set a record for the most-watched opening weekend of a new HBO Max series when it premiered in July 2021, but viewer interest quickly petered out.
Gossip Girl was also judged by many critics as a pale imitation of the original.
The first season got just a 31 percent rotten rating on rotten tomatoes when polling the highest profile television critics, and while the second season received better reviews, far fewer critics bothered to cover it.
In a representative review of USA TodayKelly Lawler criticized the reboot as a “shocking flop”.
“It’s an embarrassing job, full of unappealing performances, appalling writing, and plot twists bordering on the sociopathic,” he wrote, after mentioning that none of the original on-screen talent returned, despite the fact that the name was mentioned in the new series. .
Criticized: The first season earned just a rotten 31 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes when surveying the highest-profile television critics.
Pale Imitation: In a representative review for USA Today, Kelly Lawler blasted the reboot as a “shocking flop” and criticized its “unsexy acting, appalling writing, and plot twists bordering on the sociopathic”; the cast seen in july 2021
However, the original narrator, Kristen Bell, returned for the last show.
On Instagram, Safran announced the cancellation of Gossip Girl with the “heaviest heart.”
‘The executive producers and I are forever grateful to the network and the studio for their faith and support; the writers for their devious brains and dexterous talent; the cast of superstars for being the greatest of collaborators and friends; and the team for their hard work, dedication and love for the project,’ she wrote. “Honestly, this was the best set I’ve ever worked on, from top to bottom.”
Although he said they were trying to buy Gossip Girl in the hope that another network would finance a third season, he admitted it was an “uphill battle.”
“So if this is the end, at least we come out on top,” he added.
Safran concluded with a postscript thanking Gossip Girl fans around the world.
You’re the reason we came back in the first place, and who knows, maybe the reason we’ll meet again. Much love,’ he added.
Trying to save it: On Instagram, showrunner Josh Safran shared the news of the cancellation, saying he was trying to buy the show, even though it was unlikely another network would pick it up.
Warner Bros. has recently been on a cutting spree, with its streamer HBO Max canceling several shows and even removing older properties from its streaming service.
However, Gossip Girl’s cancellation is believed to be due to lackluster response from viewers, rather than an attempt to cut costs, according to Deadline.
By contrast, another Pretty Little Liars revival apparently managed to warm up its original fanbase more than Gossip Girl.
The series followed a group of privileged high school students attending a prestigious private school nearly a decade after the original Gossip Girl blog went silent.
This time, a group of teachers revives the gossip site as an Instagram account as they try to wake up the gossipy students who make their lives difficult.
New Generation: The series followed a group of privileged high school students attending a prestigious private school nearly a decade after the original Gossip Girl blog went silent; Gossip Girl still