Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Kristen Bell closed a deal to join HBO Max’s update on ‘Gossip Girl,’ reprising her role as the narrator.
By Lesley Goldberg
editor
Kristen Bell is returning to a familiar role.
The Good Place and Frozen favorite, following a months-long dealmaking process, has officially closed a deal to return for HBO Max’s update on Gossip Girl. Bell will reprise her role as the narrator for the new take on the former CW drama from creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.
“Kristen Bell has always been and will always be the voice of Gossip Girl,” the producers said in a statement Thursday.
The HBO Max take, written by former showrunner Josh Safran, was picked up straight to series with a 10-episode order. The update of the former Blake Lively vehicle is described as an extension of the original series that takes place eight years after the original “website” went dark. It follows a new generation of New York private school teens who are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl. The series will address how much social media — and the landscape of New York — has changed in the intervening years. Safran will pen the script and exec produce alongside Schwartz and Savage.
blogherads
.defineSlot( ‘medrec’, ‘gpt-article-mid-article-uid0’ )
.setTargeting( ‘pos’, [“mid-article1″,”mid-articleX”,”mid”,”mid-article”] )
.setSubAdUnitPath(“ros/mid-article”)
.addSize([[300,250],[2,2],[300,251],[620,350],[2,4],[4,2]])
;
});
Bell served as the narrator — the omniscient blogger Gossip Girl — for all six seasons comprising 121 episodes. She appeared onscreen briefly for a surprise cameo (playing herself) in the series finale.
Watch the clip, below.
The Gossip Girl deal comes as Bell has wrapped production on the final season of The Good Place and as the sequel to Frozen prepares to light up the holiday box office. She also has a voice role in Apple’s animated comedy Central Park and exec produces and hosts unscripted series Encore for Disney+. She recently returned to reprise her role in Hulu’s Veronica Mars update. She’s repped by CAA and Schreck Rose.
blogherads
.defineSlot( ‘medrec’, ‘gpt-dsk-tab-mid-article2-uid1’ )
.setTargeting( ‘pos’, [“mid”,”mid-article2″,”mid-articleX”] )
.setSubAdUnitPath(“ros/mid-article2”)
.addSize([[300,250],[300,251],[620,350],[2,4],[4,2]])
;
});
A premiere date for Gossip Girl has yet to be determined. HBO Max will launch in May 2020 at a rate of $15 a month. The WarnerMedia-backed streaming platform will feature an extensive library of favorites (Friends, Big Bang Theory, Game of Thrones) as well as original scripted and unscripted series.
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Inside the business of TV with breaking news, expert analysis and showrunner interviews
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Send us a tip using our anonymous form.
source