Gossip Girl Sequel Book About Blair Waldorf in the Works: Details

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Queen B is getting her own Gossip Girl book.

Cecily von Ziegesar, the author of the popular young adult series that became two TV shows, is writing a new book focusing on Blair Waldorf, a character fans especially love, as reported by Deadline.

The book, called Blair, will continue the story of a Constance Billard School for Girls graduate as she adjusts to life two decades after her time in private school.

The novel is tentatively set to be published in Summer 2027.

The Blair depicted in the books isn’t quite the same as the New York socialite played by Leighton Meester in the original Gossip Girl series, which aired from 2007 to 2012. In the show, Leighton Meester’s Blair ends up with Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), but in the books, Blair’s main love interest is Nate Archibald, who was played by Chace Crawford.

So, will Leighton ever reprise her TV role?

Oh my gosh, when I heard about the reboot, the original Blair Waldorf actually said she was happy to just sit back and let the new generation have their turn! Can you believe it? It’s like she’s giving them her blessing, letting the new kids run with it. It’s just
 perfect. She totally gets that it’s their moment now, and I’m living for it!

Still, the 39-year-old noted, “Never say never.”

Honestly, it just warms my heart to see a whole new group of people falling in love with the show like I did! Leighton said it best last year – she called it ‘vintage,’ and that’s exactly what it is! It’s not just a show, it’s a classic, and I’m so thrilled others are finally getting to experience it.

She found it amazing how it all happened, given the time period. As she explained to Access Hollywood, there was no social media back then – it barely existed when they first began.

 

She added, “People are very nostalgic for that kind of thing.”

I was so thrilled to see Leighton and Kristen Bell working together again! It’s been amazing to watch their friendship continue after Gossip Girl, and Kristen even narrated the newer version too. They recently presented at the 2025 SAG Awards, which was a real treat for fans like me. Plus, they were both on season two of Nobody Wants This – and how cute is it that Leighton’s husband, Adam Brody, is also in the show? It’s just wonderful to see them all supporting each other!

For more behind-the-scenes secrets about Gossip Girl, read on.

She added, “People are very nostalgic for that kind of thing.”

Leighton Meester and Kristen Bell, who both worked on the Gossip Girl series—with Bell as the narrator—have recently teamed up again. They presented together at the 2025 SAG Awards and also appeared on season two of the show Nobody Wants This, which also features Leighton’s husband, Adam Brody.

For more behind-the-scenes secrets about Gossip Girl, read on.

Spotted: Leighton Meester and Ed Westwick delivering major chemistry. 

Seeing the last scene of the first episode—where Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) and Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) watched Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) leave a party with Dan (Penn Badgley) and Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen)—inspired the show’s creators, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, to develop the famous relationship between Chuck and Blair.

Josh described an instant connection between them, saying it was immediately obvious and enjoyable. He felt that was when their relationship really began to take shape.

Watching it was a real eye-opener,” Stephanie said. “It reminded me of Dangerous Liaisons – the dynamic between Valmont and Merteuil. They have this intense connection, loving and hating each other at the same time, and they’re always plotting things together. It’s a really compelling story to explore.

Yes, Ed was well aware that there was something there with Chair. 

He told Jessica Szohr on her Gossip Girl rewatch podcast, XOXO with Jessica Szohr, that he really enjoyed working with Leighton Meester. He also noted that viewers seemed to love their characters’ relationship, which he found both “cute and funny” and very meaningful to fans.

He shared with Jessica, who played Vanessa Abrams, that he and Leighton had a wonderful connection. He described her as a very talented actress and said he genuinely missed working with her. They had great chemistry, always made each other laugh, and he often felt protective of her. He believes she helped him improve as an actor.

Ed and his co-star, Chace Crawford—who played his best friend Nate Archibald on screen—became very close because they lived together for the first two years of filming.

Ed shared on XOXO that he and Chace decided to be roommates when they started working on the pilot. According to Ed, Chace simply asked if he wanted to live together, and Ed, who hadn’t lived on his own before, readily agreed.

The actor described how a friend sent him bizarre photos of potential places to live – things like just a corner of a ceiling and a small patch of floor. He jokingly recalled responding with something like, ‘Okay, sure, whatever,’ and they ended up living together for two years.

Surprisingly, Jennifer Lawrence tried out for the role of Serena, but Blake Lively eventually landed the part.

In a 2017 interview with Vulture, co-creator Josh revealed that Jennifer Lawrence actually auditioned for the role of Serena, something they didn’t know at the time. He said they heard through the grapevine that she was disappointed when she didn’t get the part.

When Penn auditioned for the role of Dan, a character from Brooklyn nicknamed “Lonely Boy,” he had long hair, which Josh and Stephanie described as resembling a snowboarder’s. He surprised everyone on set – including the network executives – by cutting off most of it on the very first day of filming.

Josh remembered everyone being shocked when he shaved his head, exclaiming, “What’s going on?!” But once they saw his new haircut, they all admitted he looked great.

It’s hard to imagine Gossip Girl without Taylor Momsen, which makes it surprising to learn that Lily Collins originally auditioned for the role of Dan Humphrey’s younger sister. The Emily in Paris star recently told Glamour she really wanted the part and went through the full audition process.

David Rapaport, who cast actors for Gossip Girl, told Jessica about a planned Gossip Girl spin-off focusing on Serena van der Woodsen’s mother, Lily (played by Kelly Rutherford). The pilot episode featured Brittany Snow and Krysten Ritter.

I recall when Dakota Johnson and Rooney Mara auditioned, along with many other actresses who have since become well-known but weren’t famous at the time. Interestingly, Nina Dobrev—I believe you know her—gave one of the best readings I’ve ever witnessed, and she was perfectly suited for that particular role.

David said he called the network and told them, “She is a super star.”

He remembered explaining on the podcast that the problem was the actress didn’t resemble a young Kelly Rutherford, which was what the role called for.

She repeatedly told the network they needed to keep an eye on the Degrassi: The Next Generation actress, urging them to find a role for her, he remembered. He said he knew he’d regret missing the chance to work with her, thinking she was exceptionally talented.

In a 2022 interview on the XOXO podcast, Ed revealed that Chuck Bass wasn’t originally intended to be a main character. He was only meant to appear in a few episodes.

The actor expressed his gratitude that the producer became more involved with the show. He also shared that he had a slightly easier audition process than other main cast members, only needing to do two auditions and a screen test – he didn’t have to audition for the network executives themselves.

Was this how a classic romantic comedy pairing came to be? The creators of Gossip Girl, Josh and Stephanie, knew they’d found the perfect Vanessa when Adam Brody – whom they’d previously worked with on The O.C. – brought the actress to a Fourth of July pool party as his guest.

On the show XOXO, Stephanie explained that she and Josh rushed to a computer—since this was before iPhones existed—to search for Jessica online and see if she was an actress.

Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE the story behind getting Ed cast! Apparently, it was a total drama. First, he originally auditioned to play Nate – Nate! Can you imagine? And then, even after they decided he was perfect for Chuck, they almost went with another actor for the role! It was a whole ordeal, honestly, but thank goodness they ended up with Ed, because he IS Chuck!

Josh shared on the XOXO with Jessica Szohr podcast that an actor was originally cast as Chuck, but couldn’t travel to the U.S. to film because of visa issues – he was from the U.K. The network was urging Josh to find someone else for the role.

Josh recalled people telling them as the pilot neared launch, ‘You need to identify a second option for Chuck, because we don’t believe the current plan will succeed.’ But they responded, ‘There is no other Chuck – it’s Ed, and that’s it.’

Josh and Stephanie were determined to have Ed play the role of Chuck, so the network held off on filming until his visa was approved.

Stephanie, who was also an executive producer, revealed that while Kristen Bell ultimately voiced Gossip Girl, Christina Ricci and Selma Blair were both considered for the role as well.

Kristen landed the role after her show, Veronica Mars – where she also did the voiceover work for the main character – ended after three seasons.

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2026-02-05 06:50