THR.com is reporting that the CW has ordered a pilot for a “Gossip Girl” prequel. That’s right, a prequel…
After months of, well, gossip, the show’s creators/exec producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are proceeding with a spinoff that will serve as a prequel to the sophomore drama and chronicle the wild teen years of Lily van der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford) in Los Angeles in the 1980s.
The network has ordered a backdoor pilot for the project, which will air as a “Gossip” episode May 11. The 1980s world will be introduced in flashbacks tied to the episode’s story line of Lily and her daughter Serena (Blake Lively) wrestling with a problem, Schwartz said. He would not add further details.
Written by Schwartz and Savage, the spinoff will center on young Lily Rhodes (her maiden name) who, after a falling out with her parents, is forced to move in with her sister, the black sheep of the Rhodes family. Overnight, Lily has to transition from a life of luxury and education at a wealthy Montecito boarding school to living deep in the San Fernando Valley she once made fun of and going to public school. Caught between two worlds, Lily dives into the fast-paced Sunset Strip and the Hollywood lifestyle of the ’80s, journeying over the hill to a world of wealth and excess that used to be her own.
Eventually, she meets rocker Rufus Humphrey (played on “Gossip” by Matthew Settle) for a fling that will result in Lily’s secret pregnancy, but “that wouldn’t be for quite a while in the run of the show,” Schwartz said.
Hmm…
Personally, “Gossip Girl” is a guilty pleasure. Yes, it’s superficial, catty and downright evil at times. But it’s also smart, witty and unpredictable. The creators have done a terrific job of creating a host of interesting characters that are both young and old(er), and thus far the storylines haven’t become stale. If I want to turn my brain off, “Gossip Girl” is my go-to show.
The idea of a young Lily — who is one of the most interesting characters on “GG” — navigating Los Angeles in the ’80s sounds appealing. All the live music on the Sunset Strip alone would provide plenty of fodder for storylines. Plus, we’d get to experience all this Lily/Rufus backstory firsthand.
Count me in.
