Season 1
Gossip Girl is an American television teen drama series based on the popular novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar, which revolves around the lives of socialite young adults growing up on New York's Upper East Side who attend elite academic institutions while dealing with sex, drugs, jealousy and other teenage issues.
The series aired in the USA on The CW from 19 September, 2007 to 10 December, 2012. There are 121 hour-long episodes in six seasons.
Gossip Girl premiered in South Africa on DStv's GO channel (which became Vuzu in July 2009) on Wednesday 3 September 2008, at 18h30. It later aired on SABC3 and was moved from Vuzu to M-Net Series for the final season. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Gossip Girl premiered on SABC3 on Monday 5 April 2010, at 21h00. New episodes aired from Mondays to Wednesdays at the same time. There are 18 episodes in the first season.
Episode Synopses
SABC3 Repeats
Sunday Omnibus: 00h00 - 02h30 (three episodes)
Synopsis
Welcome to Manhattan's Upper East Side, where gossip rules and affluent prep-school students find themselves with the money, access and appetite to explore all the temptations New York City has to offer.
The privileged prep school teens on the Upper East Side first learn that Serena van der Woodsen is back in town the way they learn all the important news in their lives: from the blog of the all-knowing albeit ultra-secretive Gossip Girl.
No one knows Gossip Girl's identity, but everyone in this exclusive and complicated vicious circle relies on her website and text messages for the latest scoop.
Even Serena's closest friend, Blair Waldorf, is surprised to find that Serena has suddenly ended her self-imposed exile to boarding school and returned to Manhattan.
Once the Upper East Side's most notorious party girl, Serena keeps her reasons for returning mysterious, although they may have something to do with her younger brother, Eric.
Whatever the rationale, the change in Serena is obvious, especially to Blair, whose friendship with Serena has always been competitive and difficult.
When Serena was out of the picture, Blair enjoyed her time in the spotlight and she has no intention of going back to living in Serena's shadow.
Their uneasy relationship is further complicated by Blair's boyfriend, Nate, a young man who is uneasy with all of the privileges that have been handed to him by his high-powered father, Howie The Captain Archibald.
Now that Serena is back, Blair will have to fight to hold Nate's attention. It also remains to be seen whether Blair's loyal lieutenants, Katy and Isabel, will remain by her side or break ranks to follow Serena.
The tension between Blair and Serena isn't lost on anyone in this crowd, since they all live for gossip and scandal - along with fashion, shopping and partying in Manhattan's trendiest hotspots.
This is a world you have to be born into, full of wealth, power and people like Chuck. A friend of Nate's since childhood, Chuck leads a reckless life and constantly pushes Nate to explore his dark side.
The proverbial fishes-out-of-water at the prep school are Dan and his sister Jenny, middle-class kids whose background keeps them on the fringes of this exclusive clique.
Dan and Jenny are attending the school at the insistence of their father, Rufus, a former rocker turned art gallery owner who is determined to give his kids a first-class education.
Rufus has a history with Serena's mother, Lily, a socialite who hides her past as a dancer and rock groupie.
When a chance encounter brings Dan to Serena's attention, he suddenly finds himself dating the girl of his dreams. The more Dan discovers about the real Serena, the more he's challenged to make sense of her world.
Jenny is the youngest of the group and wants desperately to be accepted. The price she'll have to pay for popularity will take a toll, but at the moment, Jenny is just thrilled to have entry into this glamorous world.
Dan and Serena's relationship is further complicated by the arrival of Dan's female friend, a Brooklyn rebel and loner who doesn't approve of Serena's world of money, fashion shows and more fundraisers. His friend's attempts to pull him back to his roots will cause friction between Dan and Serena.
Keeping track of the shifting friendships, jealousies and turmoil in this wealthy and complex world isn't easy, but it's what Gossip Girl does best.
Based upon the book by Cecily von Ziegesar, Gossip Girl was developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and is executive produced by Schwartz, Savage, Leslie Morgenstein and Bob Levy.
Episode Synopses
Seasons
Note: the show moved from Vuzu to M-Net Series for the final season
Season 1 (18 episodes)
Channel: GO | Premiere: 3 Sep 2008 | Finale: 31 Dec 2008 | Wednesdays, 18h30
Channel: SABC3 | Premiere: 5 Apr 2010 | Finale: 12 May 2010 | Mon-Wed, 21h00
Season 2 (25 episodes)
Channel: Vuzu | Premiere: 1 Jul 2009 | Finale: 16 Dec 2009 | Wednesdays, 20h30
Channel: SABC3 | Premiere: 7 Jul 2010 | Finale: 1 Sep 2010 | Mon-Wed, 21h00
Season 3 (22 episodes)
Channel: Vuzu | Premiere: 20 Jan 2010 | Finale: 16 Jun 2010 | Wednesdays, 20h30
Channel: SABC3 | Premiere: 27 Jan 2012 | Finale: 22 Jun 2012 | Fridays, 20h00
Season 4 (22 episodes)
Channel: Vuzu | Premiere: 26 Jan 2011 | Finale: 22 Jun 2011 | Wednesdays, 20h30
Season 5 (24 episodes)
Channel: Vuzu | Premiere: 31 Jan 2012 | Finale: 10 Jul 2012 | Tuesdays, 19h30
Season 6 (10 episodes)
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 20 Oct 2012 | Finale: 29 Dec 2012 | Saturdays, 20h30