Fall TV Blog

Dan who? There’s a new guy in town and Serena kissing him! The latest development on Gossip Girl is sure to have the entire Upper East Side buzzing. After all, Serena’s liplock with the mystery man was caught on a JumboTron in Times Square.

Here’s the scoop: John Patrick Amedori is set to appear in several episodes of the scandalous CW show (the first airs Oct. 27) as Aaron Rose, a new beau for Blake Lively’s Serena van der Woodsen. The Maryland native, 21, talked to PEOPLE about his new role, kissing Blake (he’s friends with her real-life boyfriend Penn Badgley!) and being in the middle of the the paparazzi-fan swirl called Gossip Girl. – Jennifer Wren

Tell us about your character, Aaron Rose.
He’s definitely a part of that Upper East Side [world]. I think he’s got a lot of money. But he chooses not to be around that. He probably lives on the Lower East Side or in Greenwich Village.

How does he get involved with Serena?
He has an art show at Dan’s father’s gallery. Serena goes to see Dan. He takes notice of her and remembers her from camp. She doesn’t remember him at first. That’s pretty much how they start talking.

There are pictures of you kissing Blake Lively in Times Square with everyone watching. What was that like?
It was crazy. At first, I think Blake and me were nervous. When I walk in front of the camera, I kind of just block everything out and it’s just Blake and me doing the scene. [Then] you realize our faces are as large as possible on this JumboTron and then reality sets in. (more…)

A year ago, no one knew their names. Now, after getting chased around New York by schoolgirls and going to every posh party in the city, the three guys of Gossip Girl are realizing just how famous they’ve become.

In an interview with Details magazine, Chace Crawford, Penn Badgley and Ed Westwick shared their craziest experiences since starring on the CW show.

“We have a lot of older fans,” Badgley said. “I get a lot of guys coming up to me who are like, ‘Oh man, my wife loves the show.’ Couple of drinks later they come up and they’re like, ‘You know what, I love Dan.’ And they probably watch the show more than their wives.”

With the fans, of course, come the paparazzi and the rumors. Badgley has learned to tune out the comments on his relationship with costar and girlfriend Blake Lively. “One of the things that’s been my bread and butter with all these television shows I’ve done is that I don’t give a sh—,” he said.

Crawford, 23, may have the worst luck with Internet rumors. “Model turned actor, dime a dozen, eye candy, doesn’t know what he’s doing … and Perez Hilton says I have ‘gayface,’” he said. “So on top of everything else, I have to overcome gayface.” (more…)

It’s Fashion Week in New York City and the Upper East Side glitterati are plying for front row seats. Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) has tickets but Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) is working an opportunity to get her photo in WWD. When Serena agrees to sit front row at Eleanor Waldorf’s show instead of watching it from backstage with Blair — a time-honored tradition since the girls were 11 — the daggers come out. Blair wants to destroy Serena even if it comes at her mother’s expense. From moving her seating card to switching Serena’s dress, Blair pulls out all the moves. Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen), who has been toiling away for Eleanor finally exerts some power over Blair, but to little avail. In her effort at sabotage, Blair sends all the models home and even shoves Jenny’s dress into the runway lineup. After Jenny suggests having the socialites walk the runway and Serena closes the show in Jenny’s design, two stars are officially born.

While Blair was busy trying to bring down everyone else, she lost her best friend, her mother’s respect and any shot she had at the limelight. Watching Blair act like a spoiled brat got old fast. Can’t everyone just get along? And what’s with Blair sticking up for Jenny? Do we have an unlikely friendship brewing? (more…)

We knew it was only a matter of time before Serena van der Woodsen made her official comeback. After a whole season of Serena moping around in self-pity mode over sleeping with her best friend’s boyfriend, being in love with boring Dan Humphrey and then mourning their breakup, the wild child is finally being released– and just in time for the new school year!

Guess Dan ridiculing her social status and flaunting that new girl were enough to break the beast out of any nice girl’s shell. We think Dan had it coming though– bringing the Hannah Montana lookalike to Serena’s stomping ground wasn’t his smartest move.

Meanwhile, like everything on the Upper East side, little goes on without Chuck Bass having his hand in it. Seems like Amanda is the paid bait to get Blair Waldorf thrown off her throne. With Dan out of the way, Serena will take the spotlight leaving Blair with no one to turn to other than Chuck. We think Chuck might actually have a winning plan on his hands this time, and with Lord Marcus out of the way, success is almost certain.
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When the lights go out in a city that never sleeps, it doesn’t mean the party has to stop. In her effort to prove her royal status, Blair Waldorf throws another penthouse party–by candlelight–while the blackout snuffs out the rekindled romance between Dan and Serena.

It Was Good While It Lasted: Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) and Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) have been making out everywhere from the Jitney to the Upper East Side so it was only a matter of time before their lip-locking ended up on Gossip Girl. Between all their frenzied make-out sessions, Serena and Dan neglected to talk about what broke them up in the first place, until they’re forced to face their issues while stuck in an elevator. (Watch the clip.)

Though Serena forgave Dan, it seems Dan just can’t get over Serena’s Upper East Side roots. If Dan can’t get over his inferiority complex, perhaps Serena needs to move on. After all, what drew him to her in the first place was the fact that she’s, well, Serena van der Woodsen.
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Doth B protest too much? She’s publicly spurned lovesick Chuck’s advances, but it’s another story behind closed doors. On Monday’s episode of Gossip Girl, our fair lady Blair is caught in a very compromising position with her one-time fling. So how does the conniving Chuck lure his object of lust back into his arms? With a very authentic-sounding faux British accent (which, by the way, is British actor Ed Westwick’s real accent). Watch the clip.

Tell us: Has B compromised her relationship with Marcus?

The summer has finally come to an end for our favorite prep scholars, but before going back to school there are still a few discoveries to be made.

Oh, My Lord!
After learning James is actually British Lord Marcus Beaton (Patrick Heusinger), Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) is dedicated to making things work with him and getting rid of Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) for good. But it won’t be easy. Operation “Get Blair Back” is set in motion when Chuck invites Marcus to a game of squash. Chuck tricks Marcus into giving him his home number, calls and invites his hard-to-impress stepmother, Duchess Beaton (Madchen Amick), to Blair’s party.

Without realizing who she is, Blair’s rage takes hold when she spots Chuck crashing her party with an older woman. When Chuck wants to introduce her, Blair quips, “Why? So she could warn me of the effects of too much Botox?” Blair is mortified when she realizes that Chuck’s new friend is actually Duchess Beaton, whom she needs to impress for the sake of her relationship with Marcus. To start over, Blair quickly finds the Duchess to apologize and takes back her insult by turning it into a compliment, saying, “Your work is flawless.” (more…)

Forget the Hamptons. Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen, or at least their alter egos, are heading to Rockefeller Center this November.

Blake Lively and Leighton Meester will guest star in an episode of NBC’s 30 Rock during November sweeps, according to EW’s Michael Ausiello. The girls will play old classmates of Tina Fey’s character Liz Lemon during flashback sequences.

The episode will be Lemon’s 20-year high school reunion, and it reveals a teenage Lemon was something of a Gossip Girl herself. Meester’s and Lively’s grown-up versions haven’t been cast yet, but producers are looking at Lively’s older sister Robyn as a possibility.

30 Rock seems to be on a roll with their slate of high-profile guest appearances this season. Jennifer Aniston has been filming her guest spot this week on the NBC hit, her return to the network since Friends ended in 2004. –Emmet Sullivan

STEVE SANDS/NEW YORK NEWSWIRE; Michael Swarbrick/I

The setting might have changed, but the drama hasn’t stopped as Gossip Girl returned with a vengeance Monday.

After getting stood up at the heliport by Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) in the season 1 finale, Blair Waldrof (Leighton Meester) makes the trek out east to the posh Hamptons to catch up before senior year begins. Surprisingly, Chuck seemed to realize his mistake and comes to greet Blair with a bouquet of flowers. Always one step ahead, Blair descends from the Jitney bus with her summer fling James in tow. But the college boy she met in Europe turns out to be a British Lord named Marcus with several secrets of his own. Marcus might be a Lord but Chuck is determined to get Blair back. (more…)

What is the appeal of Gossip Girl? Is it the delicious scandal? The hot young cast? The fabulous fashion? Or all of the above? Well, if you thank the writers for the scandal and Chace Crawford for the hotness, you have costume designer Eric Daman to thank for the show’s chic style. Whether it’s a green tuxedo on Chuck (Ed Westwick), a sexy schoolgirl uniform on Serena (Blake Lively) or Blair’s (Leighton Meester) bold couture, Daman’s had his hands in it. The designer took time to answer questions about inspiration, his busy schedule and which fashion direction these characters are head in the show’s season 2 (premiering Monday 8 p.m. ET on the CW).

How did you get involved with Gossip Girl?
Producer Amy Kaufman, who I worked with on [the film] The Door in the Floor called me to interview. During my presentation, I showed tear sheets exemplifying the characters’ styles and they pretty much matched exactly the tear sheets that [executive producer] Stephanie Savage had put together. And that was that.

What’s your typical day like?
Shopping, fitting, on set establishing costumes, phone interviews, shopping, fitting, concept meeting, shopping, fitting, emailing, shopping, fitting.

How would you describe Blair’s style?
Old Hollywood glamour meets contemporary couture. Jackie O. meets Anna Wintour. (more…)