The Low Down
‘Gossip Girl’ Producer Reveals Nate Was Supposed To Be Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl here, with some juicy news for you today. Recently, Gossip Girl writer and executive producer Joshua Safran revealed that initially, Dan Humphrey wasn’t supposed to be Gossip Girl. Instead, it was intended to be Nate Archibald, the person fans thought was Gossip Girl all along. So, what happened?
The Big Reveal
Gossip Girl kept fans guessing for six seasons on the identity behind the real Gossip Girl. They had their speculations, but the answer was finally revealed during the show’s series finale in 2012. Fans learned Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) was Gossip Girl the whole time, and fans didn’t know how to process the information.
They were simply confused. They felt the reveal was underwhelmed. Dan was the all-knowing blogger who tormented Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), and the rest of the Upper East Side elite for six years. Gossip Girl knew everything and exploited the juicy gossip.
How could that have been Dan Humphrey? He wouldn’t have tormented his “friends.” At the time of the reveal, it didn’t make sense, and now there’s a reason it was a confusing series finale. Gossip Girl was never supposed to be Dan. Instead, it was supposed to be Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford).
The Original Gossip Girl
At the 2019 Vulture Festival (November 9-10), Gossip Girl writer and executive producer Joshua Safran revealed that Dan was never his first choice to be Gossip Girl. However, when he left the show after its fifth season, writers and producers decided Dan would be Gossip Girl and Safran couldn’t offer his opinion.
“I like to joke that Dan was Gossip Girl because I had left the show by then,” Safran shared. “Dan was not my intended Gossip Girl.”
Originally, Safran had another idea for the gossiping blogger. When he started writing the show, he had his heart set on Eric van der Woodsen (Connor Paolo) as Gossip Girl. As Serena’s younger brother, Eric would have known secrets and opinions about the Upper East Siders.
“We worked hard to kind of lay in tiny seeds about it being Eric,” Safran explained. However, a New York Post article spoiled the beans that Gossip Girl was Eric, which ruined the writer’s plans for the big reveal.
Nate As Gossip Girl
After Eric was ditched as Gossip Girl, Safran realized the obvious choice was Nate. He had never sent in a tip (gossip) to Gossip Girl. Because he was never shown sending in a tip, he had to be Gossip Girl.
During the six seasons of Gossip Girl, Nate won viewers’ hearts. He was involved in a series of romantic relationships, but he was always trying to break away from his aristocratic family. His family had several expectations for him, but Nate desperately wanted to be his own person. It would have made perfect sense for Nate to be Gossip Girl. He could have had a secret identity, and he could have been himself.
But instead, writers ultimately decided Dan was going to be Gossip Girl. As Serena’s main love interest, he knew a lot of the gossip in their circle of friends. He was sensitive, and he managed to capture viewers’ hearts all over the world. Fans may have been disappointed that he was Gossip Girl, but there’s nothing they can change about it.
About The Reboot
At the Vulture Festival, Safran discussed the upcoming Gossip Girl reboot. The iconic teen drama will return in Spring 2020 with 10 hourlong episodes on WarnerMedia’s new streaming service, HBO Max. Safran has joined the reboot as the head writer and executive producer.
According to Safran, the reboot will feature a new generation of New York private school teenagers who are interested in Gossip Girl. Safran added, “I’m really interested in sort of, like, high school juniors (who) have a million Twitter and Instagram followers. What’s that like?”
That’s a good question. What will the reboot be like? Fans will just have to tune in to find out.
The Low Down
UFOs And The U.S. Presidents: Alien Cover-Ups That Have Been Swept Under The Rug Of The Oval Office
Shady things have taken place in the White House for centuries, but the biggest unsolved mystery by far is the possible cover-up of extra-terrestrial life. Thousands of UFO sightings have taken place over the years, before quickly getting swept under the rug by certain U.S. presidents. However, now it’s time to put all the pieces together – from alien abductions, to experimental testing, to some shocking information that only recently saw the light of day.
The Low Down
The Most Overrated Rock Bands Of All Time – Ranked By How Overrated They Are
These world-renowned classic rock bands have ridden the coattails of generic universal praise for far too long. With their passionate vocals and piercing guitars, they all found their unique voice in the music industry. But just because they found their voice doesn’t mean they’re actually as good as people say they are. We apologize in advance, because your favorite band might actually be overrated too.
The Low Down
The Incredible Transformations Of These My 600 Pound Life Participants Will Leave You In Awe
Shows like My 600-LB Life strive to give viewers a look at the triumphs, setbacks, and small victories of these participants. Under the watchful eye of Dr. Nowzaradan, these patients have put in the hard work to reach their health goals. Check out our list of the most incredible transformations of My 600-LB Life.
