Gossip Girl: Season 5 Premiere

Spotted: the Gossip Girl clan looking hotter than ever. What’s surprising is that after four seasons, these kids are still on fire. The casting directors’ golden touch discovered a gang that you never seem to get tired of looking at, being consistently captivated by their glamour, galls and continual mistakes and mishaps. Watching the rich never felt so good. As long as you accept the fact that you’re seeing unrealistic, spoiled characters and badly written dialogue, you’ll be able to find a guilty pleasure in this season (as in all the seasons before).

Bye, bye, New York; hello, LA. The infamous Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) figured she’d already chewed up and spit out most of the big apple, so decided to take on Hollywood. She’s working behind the scenes on an upcoming movie and having problems with her boss. Almost her same age, he sees her as threatening and will go to great lengths to keep her from succeeding, telling her that she gets everything too easy. Could this be a potential love interest? He’s hot, she’s hot… why not? It usually goes that way with Gossip Girl anyway.

Nate (Chase Crawford) and Chuck (Ed Westwick) have made their way to LA as well… on a yacht. There’s chicks and champagne, and Chuck has a new motto: Yes! When Serena comments that Chuck looks great, he tells her his secret is saying “Yes” to anything and everything. Oh no, this could be dangerous. Sounds like Chuck Bass at his best. Let’s hope they can keep it interesting. Nate accompanies Serena to one of her film’s parties and within seconds is pounced by a cougar, Diana Payne, Elizabeth Hurley that is. By the end of the party, she’s had her way with Nate, and we get the feeling she’s planned this all along. Hurley, a refreshing face for the season, should bring some juicy plot twists.

Blair (Leighton Meester) is struggling with Prince Louie’s (Hugo Becker) mother while planning the wedding and has lost on the "flowers, the food, the font and now the dress." Blair is set on her voice being heard and if Louie can't stand up to his mother, we may see the wedding without a bride. Could Blair bail and go back to Dan? Blair has always been a diva, but can she be royalty? Dan’s story line is slightly less interesting than the others (what’s new): he’s informed his fiction piece (written by “anonymous”) is to be published. It’s secretly about Blair, and if published, it could ruin her.   

Gossip Girl is like Sex and the City. Alright, now that you’ve gasped, and for those of you still reading, they’re alike in that their fashion, which keeps viewers coming. These kids look like they’re straight off the catwalk and just as twenty-somethings tuned in to watch Carrie Bradshaw’s latest trends, teenagers take their cue from Serena and Blair.

Let’s face it, all those boyfriends forced to watch the show by their ladies, probably don’t mind learning a little from Nate and Chuck. Unfortunately, learning the fashion might include picking up on some of the boys’ bad habits, like drinking and womanizing. Oops. The show undeniably sets fashion trends, and if you don’t feel like picking up a Vogue for your Friday evening wear inspiration, turn on the show.

For those of you looking for a series with substance, do not watch Gossip Girl. By now though, everyone should know this. The show’s been on since 2007, and if you haven’t tuned in yet, you might already have a reason why. It probably has to do with the fact that the glamorous life of New York’s young elite makes you want to gag or you’d rather spend your couch time watching a crime drama where people have real problems.

If not, and Gossip Girl just didn’t make your TVO cut for the past few years, try out the first episode. It’s definitely a show you can watch while completing another more meaningful task, like baking or folding laundry or carrying on a conversation with friends. It’s great! You can listen half the time and still understand exactly what’s going on! And, like every other show on the CW, everyone looks so damn good. It’s one of the only things out there where you can invest very little, and the investment pays dividends.