Let it know that HBO Max’s Gossip Girl is a sequel, not a reboot!

As an actress Emily Alyn Lind said E! News at the New York premiere, the series takes just under 10 years after Dan Humphries (Penn Badgley) showed up as a Gossip Girl. “Nobody tries to recreate themselves [the OG characters]. We’re new characters, ”she explained. “Maybe they’re just spraying about the same school in all of us … but it’s different and I want everyone to know that. We’re not trying to make the original. “

And, as Emily admitted, there is a lot of pressure to live up to the standards set by the Upper East Siders before them.

Showrunner Joshua Saffron said that when the writers began designing the latest iteration of Gossip Girl, they were very much aware that it was time for the new cast to shine, and Leighton Meester and Blake Lively otherwise would have stolen the spotlight. Because of this, the first season will only refer to Serena, Blair, Chuck, Dan, Nate and the rest of the crew.

As he put it, these first few episodes are about “getting to know the characters” without any distraction.