| Blake Lively | ... | Serena van der Woodsen | |
| Leighton Meester | ... | Blair Waldorf | |
| Penn Badgley | ... | Dan Humphrey | |
| Chace Crawford | ... | Nate Archibald | |
| Taylor Momsen | ... | Jenny Humphrey | |
| Ed Westwick | ... | Chuck Bass | |
| Kelly Rutherford | ... | Lily van der Woodsen | |
| Matthew Settle | ... | Rufus Humphrey | |
| Sam Robards | ... | Howie 'The Captain' Archibald | |
| Florencia Lozano | ... | Eleanor Waldorf | |
| Connor Paolo | ... | Eric van der Woodsen | |
| Nicole Fiscella | ... | Isabel Coates | |
| Nan Zhang | ... | Kati Farkas | |
| Kimberly Hebert Gregory | ... | Nurse (as Kimberly Herbert Gregory) | |
| Andrew Stewart-Jones | ... | Concierge | |
| Lindsey Broad | ... | Girl Who Takes Photo of Serena | |
| Robert Stoeckle | ... | High Society Man | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Jessica Andres | ... | Girl #1 (uncredited) | |
| Kristen Bell | ... | Gossip Girl (voice) (uncredited) | |
| Zuzanna Szadkowski | ... | Dorota Kishlovsky (uncredited) | |
| Brian Vowell | ... | Hotel Guest (uncredited) | |
| Episode Crew |
Directed by | |||
| Mark Piznarski | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Josh Schwartz | (teleplay) & | |
| Stephanie Savage | (teleplay) | |
| Cecily von Ziegesar | (novel) | |
Produced by | |||
| Jonathan C. Brody | .... | co-producer | |
| Trey Coscia | .... | associate producer | |
| Amy J. Kaufman | .... | producer (as Amy Kaufman) | |
| Bob Levy | .... | executive producer | |
| Leslie Morgenstein | .... | executive producer | |
| Joshua Safran | .... | consulting producer | |
| Stephanie Savage | .... | executive producer | |
| Josh Schwartz | .... | executive producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Transcenders | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Timothy A. Good | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Christina K. Tonkin | |||
Production Management | |||
| Bart Wenrich | .... | unit production manager | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Brian Kenyon | .... | second second assistant director | |
Art Department | |||
| Jill Alexander | .... | property master | |
| Charles E. McCarry | .... | assistant art director | |
| Kevin L. Raper | .... | additional graphic artist | |
| Ari David Schwartz | .... | on-set dresser | |
Sound Department | |||
| Vince Balunas | .... | adr & dialogue editor | |
| Vince Balunas | .... | adr recordist | |
| Ed Carr | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Daniel Colman | .... | sound effects editor | |
| Nick Foley | .... | adr mixer | |
| Todd Grace | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Sean Keegan | .... | foley mixer | |
| Jack Levy | .... | supervising sound editor | |
| Doug Madick | .... | supervising foley artist | |
| Douglas Murray | .... | adr mixer | |
| Beauxregard Neylon | .... | adr mixer | |
| Richard Partlow | .... | foley artist (as Rick Partlow) | |
| Richard Partlow | .... | foley artist | |
| James J. Sabat Jr. | .... | sound recordist | |
| Kevin Valentine | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Elizabeth Alvarez | .... | visual effects coordinator | |
| Michael D. Leone | .... | visual effects supervisor | |
| Trista K. Wahl | .... | visual effects producer | |
Stunts | |||
| Peter Bucossi | .... | stunt coordinator | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| René Crout | .... | first assistant camera: second unit | |
| Steve Drellich | .... | camera operator: "b" camera | |
| Christopher B. Green | .... | first assistant camera: "b" camera | |
| Eric Liebowitz | .... | still photographer | |
| Patrick Lowry | .... | dolly grip | |
| Sal Martorano | .... | rigging gaffer | |
| Guillaume Renberg | .... | remote camera operator | |
| Guillaume Renberg | .... | remote head technician | |
| Tim Ross | .... | second assistant camera | |
| Adrian Washington | .... | grip | |
| Jamie A. Marlowe | .... | first assistant camera: second unit (uncredited) | |
Casting Department | |||
| Daryl Eisenberg | .... | casting associate | |
| Anthony J. Kraus | .... | casting associate | |
| Brady Smith | .... | casting associate | |
| Lindsay Swartz | .... | extras casting assistant | |
| David M. Waldron | .... | background casting associate | |
| Arthur Dutkanicz | .... | extras casting assistant (uncredited) | |
| Grant Wilfley | .... | extras casting (uncredited) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Jessica Chaney | .... | key on-set costumer | |
| Tonya Huskey | .... | costume supervisor | |
| Lauren Miller | .... | costume coordinator | |
| Angela Mirabella | .... | set costumer | |
| Vanessa Lee Rodd | .... | costume coordinator | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Brandon Lott | .... | assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| Steve Durkee | .... | music editor | |
| Alexandra Patsavas | .... | music supervisor | |
| Transcenders | .... | composer: theme music | |
| Series Crew These people are regular crew members. Were they in this episode? |
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Stephanie Savage | creator | |
| Josh Schwartz | creator | |
Casting by | |||
| Lindsey Hayes Kroeger | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Doug Huszti | |||
Art Department | |||
| Pete Dancy | .... | assistant props (pilot) | |
| Lee Malecki | .... | assistant set decorator: SDSA | |
| Philip Saccio | .... | property master | |
Sound Department | |||
| Jorge Montijo | .... | sound editor | |
| James Sabat | .... | sound mixer | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Kristen Branan | .... | head of production: Zoic Studios | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| John W. DeBlau | .... | lighting consultant | |
| Jason Lanci | .... | electrician | |
| Barry Minnerly | .... | digital imaging technician | |
| Ronald Paul | .... | electrician | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Meredith Markworth Pollack | .... | assistant costume designer | |
Other crew | |||
| Alitzah | .... | adr loop group | |
| Heather Gauntt | .... | location scout | |
| Sarah E. Leonard | .... | production secretary | |
| Christopher M. Lewis | .... | office production assistant | |
| Mike O'Neill | .... | location scout | |
| Anthony Palmini | .... | office production assistant | |
| Main series | Episode guide | Full cast and crew |
| Company credits | External reviews | IMDb TV section |
| IMDb Comedy section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |
"I don't read Gossip Girl. It's for chicks" says one of the show's leading characters (a boy, obviously) at one point in the first episode. It might be an ironic reference to the program's source material, a successful series of books that qualify as "chick lit", hence making the small-screen transition (originally pitched as a movie starring Lindsay Lohan; wonder why...) a potential marketing problem. Then again, having a male writer, not to mention the man who created The O.C., aka Josh Schwartz, as one of the two show-runners (the other one is Stephanie Savage, who also worked on Schwartz's most famous creation) solved that problem elegantly. Whether the series can live long enough remains to be seen (The O.C. started losing steam after just one season), but the first 18 episodes suggest it has a lot to be recommended for.
The series takes its name from the eponymous, mysterious woman who runs a highly popular blog on the Internet, which allows the rich, spoiled teenagers of New York's Upper East Side to know everything about everyone. This all-knowing person remains unseen - all we hear is a voice-over (done by an uncredited Kristen Bell, aka Veronica Mars) that acts as our guide in this world of greed and deception. Her news of the day? Former party queen Serena Van Der Woodsen (Blake Lively) is back from a self-imposed exile at a boarding school in New England. Her alleged best friend, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), greets her return with unexpected coldness, something that the scheming, horny Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) is happy about since he's aware of a dirty little secret involving Serena and Blair's boyfriend Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford). In a less glamorous part of town, Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) and his sister Jenny (Taylor Momsen) strive for better friends, which works out pretty well for Dan once he meets Serena (Jenny is stuck with Blair, unfortunately). And why shouldn't he be that lucky? After all, his dad Rufus (Matthew Settle) appears to have a past with Serena's mother Lily (Kelly Rutherford).
Following the example set by The O.C. and taking things up several notches, Gossip Girl is an opulent slide-show of teen drama clichés, all depicted with a gleeful self-awareness that gives the show its true narrative meat: the plotting is basic at best (we've seen this stuff a million times before) but like the equally smart (and a tad superior) Desperate Housewives, the soap opera aspects are handled with a postmodern mixture of seriousness and irony. And let's face it, it's just too damn much fun watching those obscenely wealthy youngsters hatching conspiracies against each other.
The other key ingredient (aside from a killer soundtrack, that is) is casting: none of the main young actors were well known prior to appearing on the show (something that applies to most teen dramas), a fact which helps when it comes to seeing them as those people and not, say, some former child star doing a self-parody (perhaps the Lindsay Lohan idea was best left in a corner, then). Also, just like in The O.C. and pretty much any good teen-centric series of the last decade, the adult thespians (mainly two: Settle and Rutherford) do more than just sit in the background. Besides, Rutherford's casting isn't merely a good choice, it's also a cunning nod to her most famous TV role, that as Megan Lewis in Melrose Place. And of course, Bell's uncredited voice is perfect.
What may have looked like just another teen show at first is actually a pretty smart achievement, and for a good reason: it knows about its conceptual weaknesses and makes fun of them in a loving way. The American television way.