Michelle Trachtenberg's Georgina Sparks Makes Her Grand Return in "Gossip Girl"'s Season 2 Trailer
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Listen up, Upper East Siders: HBO Max's "Gossip Girl" is finally making its return for season two. The show's second season kicks off in December, and on Nov. 10, HBO Max finally released its trailer, promising "more schemes," "more secrets," and, of course, "more scandal." Unlike season one, which debuted in two parts, viewers are in for a long, nonstop-drama-filled season as the plot thickens for Gossip Girl's victims and the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite.
The original "Gossip Girl," best known for being one of the 2000s' edgiest teen dramas, made quite the impact in its day, but its modern-day reboot is upping the stakes in season two — with a little help from one of the original series's most infamous characters: the devious Georgina Sparks (played by Michelle Trachtenberg). A trailer for season two of the "Gossip Girl" reboot, released on June 24, teased a blurry clip of Sparks sitting in an empty theater and clapping for an unknown performer.
And I have a feeling that this city is about to burn. pic.twitter.com/NbGfPRN2Xh
— Gossip Girl (@gossipgirl) June 22, 2022
In the original series, Sparks was a manipulative old friend of Serena van der Woodsen who reemerged on the Upper East Side to wreak havoc. In the first season of the reboot, viewers were introduced to Milo, Georgina Sparks's son who has inherited his mother's wickedness and intelligence, and it seems like now the mother-son duo are set to cause even more trouble.
According to executive producer and showrunner Joshua Safran (who also wrote and produced the original "Gossip Girl"), Sparks is expected to lend her agent-of-chaos behavior to season two of the reboot. "What she brought to the original series was anarchy," he told Teen Vogue. "She's an anarchist. She'll just do anything and just for any reason she decides. So we brought that energy to the first show, and then we brought that energy back to this one. She's the same, and that's what I think is so fun, that Michelle is older, we're all older, Georgina is older yet has the exact same energy. She's out of time."
CW's "Gossip Girl," based on the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar, spanned six seasons and developed a fiercely passionate fan base over the years. The popularity of the show helped propel the production and release of the "Gossip Girl" reboot of the same name on HBO Max. The legacy and impact of the show speaks for itself and shows in the viewership numbers. The first season of the reboot shattered records on HBO Max, becoming the streamer's most-watched original series upon its release, per Deadline.
In September 2021, Variety announced that the series had been renewed for a second season, and now we're all eagerly anticipating its return.
Read ahead for everything we know about the upcoming season, including the release date, new and returning cast members, and the trailer.
HBO Max's "Gossip Girl" Season 2 Trailer
HBO Max's "Gossip Girl" Season 2 Plot
At the end of season one, "Gossip Girl" left audiences with a lot of burning questions about the future of the characters. Safran spoke with Newsweek in December 2021 about what viewers can expect of the characters in the upcoming season, saying, "We're going to go into more even deeper places than it has gone before."
Per Teen Vogue, season two picks up right where the show left off. Julien is still reeling from the sexual assault allegations against her father but will team up with Gossip Girl for a partnership that's surely doomed for disaster; Zoya is still an outsider trying to create a life outside of the Constance It girls; and Aki, Audrey, and Max, now officially a throuple, are dealing with the ups and downs of their polyamorous relationship. Meanwhile, Monet and Luna are planning a hostile takeover.
Here's season two's official logline: "It's the second semester of junior year, and Gossip Girl is leaving no stone unturned in her effort to control the scandalous lives/spin the scandalous lies of Manhattan's elite. She's learned a thing or two from her first go-round — namely what her audience wants, they shall get. It's time for her to turn the heat up on what's been simmering (Julien, have you met Monet?) as well as look at her own impact, and how she can make it more catastrophic than it was before. Even if that means lying to do it. Old enemies, new allies, constantly shifting sands — this semester, there can only be one queen, and by the end of the school year, everyone will know where the bodies are buried, and just who was holding the shovel."
HBO Max's "Gossip Girl" Season 2 Returning Cast
All the season one Upper East Siders we love to hate — Julien (Jordan Alexander), Zoya (Whitney Peak), Obie (Eli Brown), Max (Thomas Doherty), Audrey (Emily Alyn Lind), Aki (Evan Mock), Kate (Tavi Gevinson), Monet (Savannah Lee Smith), and Luna (Zión Moreno) — will return for season two. Grace Duah, who played Zoya's friend Shan in the show's first season, also returns in season two as a series regular.
HBO Max's "Gossip Girl" Season 2 New Cast
Details about new "Gossip Girl" characters are limited right now. However, Safran did allude to the possibility of some of the original CW "Gossip Girl" cast members making appearances in the upcoming season. In an interview with The Daily Beast, he said, "The decision was: Let's get Season 1 under our belt, and should we get Season 2, we'll have the chance to bring in cameos that are more than glorified cameos but actually give them storylines. Hopefully we'll get there and will reach out to the cast if that time comes and see if they'll want to come."
On June 24, a trailer for season two revealed that one of the original series's main antagonists, the devious Georgina Sparks — played by Michelle Trachtenberg — will guest star in the second season of the reboot.
HBO Max's "Gossip Girl" Season 2 Release Date
The second season of HBO Max's "Gossip Girl" will premiere on Dec. 1.