Things are not looking good on the Upper East Side dear readers, because after two seasons on HBO Max, and in the middle of a slew of cancellations and changes at the streamer, the Gossip Girl reboot has been canceled.
Joshua Safran, the showrunner, announced on his Instagram that the series was canceled by the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamer one week before the show’s second season finale is set to air. Now that finale will also serve as the series finale. He wrote:
So here's the goss: it is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to announce GOSSIP GIRL will not be continuing on HBO Max. The EPs and I will forever be grateful to the network and studio for their faith and support; the writers for their devious brains and dexterous talent; the superstar cast for being the greatest of collaborators and friends; and the crew for their hard work, dedication and love for the project. This was honestly the greatest set I ever worked on, top to bottom.
This cancellation of the Gossip Girl reboot comes in the midst of HBO Max going through some serious cost-cutting following its merger with Discovery. Some of the shows that were caught in the cost-cutting included Westworld, which is being pulled from the streamer altogether, The Nevers which was also canceled and taken off HBO Max as well as Minx, which was in production on Season 2 when it got the news.
In Safran’s statement, he mentioned that the show is looking for a new home at a different streaming platform, similar to the situation Minx was in. Safran wrote:
We are currently looking for another home, but in this climate, that might prove an uphill battle, and so if this is the end, at least we went out on the highest of highs. Thank you for watching, and I hope you'll tune into the finale next Thursday to see how it all comes together. Xoxo
You can see Safran's full post here:
With HBO surprise canceling so many shows and moving various original series to third-party free, ad-supported streaming platforms it appears Safran is hoping Gossip Girl might be able to continue in a new home. And it’s not impossible, while Minx was canceled it continued to move forward, and was soon picked up by Starz, which is where its second season will air, per THR.
According to THR, HBO Max released a statement regarding the decision to cancel Gossip Girl, that said:
We are very grateful to Josh Safran, Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz for bringing us back to the Upper East Side and all the scandals at Constance Billard. Although we are not moving forward with a third season of Gossip Girl, we thank them for the enticing love triangles, calculated backstabbing and impeccable fashion this series brought to a new audience.
While Gossip Girl was the predecessor to the legendary teen drama, it did receive brutal reviews for its first season. However, it was watched by many, prompting HBO Max to renew it for a second installment halfway through its freshman season.
While Gossip Girl will no longer air new episodes on HBO Max, and while we wait to see if it finds a new home, you can watch the final episode on the 2023 TV schedule Thursday, January 26 as well as the OG Gossip Girl with an HBO Max subscription.
