The upcoming reboot of the classic Upper East Side drama Gossip Girl is coming back less white and less straight, with more “queer content,” according to Vulture.
Seven years after the series ended, a reboot is being introduced to streaming service HBO Max, and this time around the cast will be much more diverse, says Joshua Safran, a writer and executive producer of the original series.
“There was not a lot of representation the first time around on the show. I was the only gay writer I think the entire time I was there,” Safran said. “Even when I went to private school in New York in the ‘90s, the school didn’t necessarily reflect what was on Gossip Girl.”
Safran said that the reboot cast will more accurately represent the demographics of New York teens seen today–much less white people, much more queer people.
“[T]his time around the leads are nonwhite,” he said. “There’s a lot of queer content on this show. It is very much dealing with the way the world looks now, where wealth and privilege comes from, and how you handle that. The thing I can’t say is there is a twist, and that all relates to the twist.”
Safran also confirmed that the reboot will take place in the same universe the original cast lived in—about 12-13 years after the original. The students will attend Constance Billiard School for Girls and Kristen Bell will also return as the narrative voice of Gossip Girl herself; no other original cast members have been confirmed to return to the series.
The reboot, which is being described as a sequel, is set to release in 2020.