From the second the HBO Max reboot of Gossip Girl was announced, we knew there would be no escaping comparisons between it and the original series.
All it took was for the new cast of Upper East Siders to be announced and fan theories immediately started springing up.
WATCH: HBO Max’s Gossip Girl reboot trailer
In the very first episode we’re introduced to all our new Constance Billard and St Jude’s alumni with a peppy montage that gives the perfect first insight into who they are.
For Aki and Audrey, it’s a clip of them, ahem, getting steamy before school. They immediately remind us of original power pairing, Nate and Blair, perhaps, a little less… active.
While we can draw comparisons and theorise all day long – if you ask us, Max Wolfe has major Chuck Bass energy – it quickly becomes clear the 2021 cohort are very much their own individuals.
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Speaking with Who, Evan Mock, who plays Aki, and Thomas Doherty, who plays Max, spoke to the comparisons and the need to bring their own energy to the show.
“[We] definitely wanted to come out with our own character and not want it compared to anyone from the original but also not mad if it did,” Evan, told Who.
“People are going to choose what they want and they’re always going to compare but ultimately for myself I wanted to have a fresh mind and make this character the best it could be.”
The HBO Max reincarnation, which is currently streaming on Binge, did shock viewers in its pilot episode by flipping one of the most pivotal elements of the show on its head: The question of who is Gossip Girl.
We quickly learn the teachers of the elite school are behind the elusive and all-seeing narrator’s return, and we can certainly say, we didn’t see that coming.
“What I initially thought when reading [the reveal] was ‘We’re just giving it away from the get go!’ But I think it’s actually a really good choice,” Thomas told Who.
“It welcomes the audience and is a lot more engaging, almost like the audience is in on the secret, which I love.”
After all, the actual mystery around GG’s identity really only accounts for a tiny percentage of the reason we all furiously devoured the series the first time, a sentiment the 26-year-old echoes.
“I don’t really think people watch Gossip Girl to find out who Gossip Girl was, you watch it for the clothes and the ridiculous, fabulous lives these rich kids live. The whole thing isn’t solely just ‘who is Gossip Girl?’”
This article originally appeared on our sister site, Who.
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