I read this really interesting
article today from NY Mag about Gossip Girl. They happen to write my favorite blog recaps about the show, but this is a breakdown on why Gossip Girl is basically one of the most brilliant teen dramas of all time and how it's changing the way we all watch tv.
When it first aired, it got horrible ratings. By all means, it should've done great. With a following of all of us OC fans eager to see Josh Schwartz's next big project, to the millions of teeny boppers who've been reading the GG books (and all of its spin offs). But what happened was that Schwartz tapped into a new generation of TV watchers. Instead of watching the show in its 8 pm time slot, it was the #1 download on iTunes. Thousands viewed it for free on
cwtv.com. Serena was hand picked by fans on internet forums before the show had come into fruition. And after the writers strike - the network had parents and prudes with their panties in a wad over the
OMFG ads plastered all over cable and the internet. Countless blogs and websites popped up to follow the show, the actors, and everything Gossip related. GG proved that Gossip Girl viewers are too young - too hip - to be held back by traditional Nielsen standards.
Never mind that we aren't all young. I've got dozens of friends in their 20s that eagerly run to their DVRs for Gossip Girl. And what's even more interesting than that, as the article points out, we're all blogging about it, buzzing about the characters, emulating the fashion. We all check the blogs to see the latest leaked photos of the cast on set and can't wait for those webclips CW releases to preview next week's show. Dr Phil ran a special on "real life Gossip Girls" and websites like
gossipreport.com got instant traffic as we tried to recreate our own Gossip fantasies. The Gossip Girl fans are plugged in, fashionable, and tech savvy. We've all got our camera phones ready to capture the next bit of gossip.
So Gossip Girl has revolutionized the traditional TV formula. We're watching more online, we're following the actors on the blogs, we're recreating their outfits on a more "beer pockets budget" and we're blogging about it, discussing it in forums, even talking about it at work. Not only has it turned the technological world they all live in into a reality for the rest of us, they've got us all hooked - and it's a guilty pleasure that I can't wait to see return to tv.
Read the full article
here.
