HBO Max cancels ‘Gossip Girl’ reboot after two seasons

It seems that after many iconic sign-offs, this upcoming season finale will be ‘Gossip Girl’s last… for now.

The reboot, which started in 2021, was inspired by the original ‘Gossip Girl’ series which first aired in 2007. It went on to have six seasons and followed former high school students at an exclusive prep school on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, as Gossip Girl shared text-messaged scoops on scandals and heartache all while keeping her identity a mystery.

The reboot took the same route as the original and followed a group of privileged students at Constance Billard-St. Judes, but with an updated and diverse cast that includes actors and actresses like Jordan Alexander, Whitney Peak, Tavi Gevinson, Eli Brown, Thomas Doherty, Emily Alyn Lind, Evan Mock, Adam Chanler-Berat, Zión Moreno and Savannah Lee Smith.

On Jan. 19 showrunner Joshua Safran took to social media to announce the news that the show would be coming to a close after only two seasons.

“So here’s the goss: it is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to announce GOSSIP GIRL will not be continuing on HBO Max,” the post read.

Safran continued: “We are currently looking for another home, but in this climate, that might prove an uphill [battle], and so if this is the end, at least we went out on the highest of highs. Thank you for watching, and I hope you’ll tune into the finale next Thursday to see how it all comes together.”

Why did HBO Max cancel ‘Gossip Girl’?

Although no specific reason has been given for the show’s cancellation, an HBO Max spokesperson released a statement to Entertainment Weekly that says, “We are very grateful to Josh Safran, Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz for bringing us back to the Upper East Side and all the scandals at Constance Billard. Although we are not moving forward with a third season of Gossip Girl, we thank them for the enticing love triangles, calculated backstabbing and impeccable fashion this series brought to a new audience.”

How did fans react to news of the cancellation?

After news of the show’s cancellation, fans quickly took to Twitter to voice their opinion with many of them voicing their displeasure with HBO Max.

One user wrote, “#GossipGirl canceled before a fake cousin showing up, a dead but not so dead parent, Julien killing a man, or getting drugged and comitted, a fashion line by a minor, a Paris episode, a flashback episode, Audrey marrying a prince or traded for a hotel…”

Another wrote, “Zoya saying “let’s kill gossip girl” only for the show to actually be killed ouu this hurts.”

While others didn’t mind that the show is now canceled with one user saying, “HBO Max not even waiting until the gossip girl finale airs to cut the lights is the best part.”

When will the last Gossip Girl episode air?

The final episode and what looks like the series finale of ‘Gossip Girl’ season two will air on Jan. 26 on HBO Max.