Gossip Girl Leighton Meester (Blair Waldorf) walks her dog while walking with a makeup crew and bodyguard to her trailer on the Gossip Girl set in downtown Manhattan.

She’s not really making a fashion statement with her clothing, but I have to say I like her purse!

Hmm… Looking for more details about last week’s episode? Wondering what’s happening next week?

Check out the Gossip Girl blog on CW for all of the drama!

Egads - they put the premiere on Labor Day? I know, I know. The CW is just full of these kind of blunders these days.

The Gossip Girl Season Two premiere did not make the kind of waves that the CW hoped for. After a remarkable publicity campaign, Season Two did not reach the ratings from Season One. The show attracted 3.37 million viewers last night; in 2007, the premiere was viewed by 3.5 million people. All is not lost, however: Gossip Girl won its target audience: women 18-34 and teens.

My theory is that the show would have done much better had it premiered next week.

And, um, CW, if you’re reading, please move the show back to Wednesdays. Thanks.

Remember when the folks at CW thought that the best way to increase ratings was to stop Gossip Girl from streaming on the internet?

It turns out that they were wrong.

But at least they’re able to admit it… Rumor has it that when Gossip Girl returns to the air on September 1 (40 days and counting), new episodes will be available on the CW web site.

After a year that found the CW grasping for new ways to increase ratings, the network is hopeful that its fall line-up will turn things around. The line-up is scheduled to premiere earlier than other networks with Gossip Girl kicking things off on September 1. The network will follow up with the beginning of sixth season of One Tree Hill on the same night.

The CW has also announced that one of the most anticipated shows of the season will premiere the following evening. 90210, an updated take on the wildly popular show from the 1980s and 90s, Beverly Hills 90210 will premiere on September 2. You know that the marketers are twitching - twitching! - that the show didn’t make its debut in two years… If so, the launch date would have been 9/02/10. Instead, they have to live with 9/02/08. Look for alums Shannon Doherty, Jennie Garth and Joe E. Tata to make an appearance (Tori Spelling has expressed interest but was having a baby during filming). A Gossip Girl-like drama set in Florida, Privileged, will air after 90210, but will not debut until the following week.

On Wednesday, September 3, America’s Next Top Model is back. The CW plans to air repeat episodes of 90210 after ANTM (one of the network’s top performing shows) until October when their new reality show, Stylista debuts. Stylista is a “Devil Meets Prada” look at the world of fashion journalism.

On Thursday, the network is keeping its “super” lineup composed of Smallville and Supernatural.

The network will air a mix of comedies and ANTM repeats on Fridays - but then who watches TV on Fridays anymore?

What do you think? Is this a good line up? Will it save the network? What are you looking forward to seeing?

The CW is counting down to the premiere of Gossip Girl… They’ve introduced a number of fun features on the web site including Gossip Girl match. Check it out!

They say imitation that is the sincerest form of flattery.

If so, Gossip Girl is about to be flattered all over the place.

According to the New York Times, retailers are reporting that Gossip Girl is making a huge impact in back to school fashion this season. It is, as some retailers are discovering, the kid sister to Sex and the City. This comes as no surprise to fans, who have monitored the show’s fashion moments since the beginning.

What’s particularly hot? The punk school girl fashions sported by Serena van der Woodsen and the dashing rogue look of Chuck Bass. It’s all about crested blazers, layered polo shirts, argyle sweaters, knee socks and high boots.

The look has made it onto the runway with designers Marc Jacobs and Henry Holland translating the school girl look into adult oriented fashion. But it’s not all about drawing inspiration from the show: mainstream retailers like Coach also benefit from having existing products featured.

Whose looks make it onto the show? The CW isn’t saying. They will agree that some designers do pay to have their brand mentioned or included on the show. Product placement in the Upper East Side? How very gauche. I really don’t think that Blair would approve, do you?

Technorati Tags:
CW, fashion, Gossip Girl

Lydia Hearst spoke to E! awhile back about her debut on Gossip Girl as Amelia, the interior decorator that hooks up with Chuck. Will she be back next season? See what she says:

We’ve all heard that some changes were in the cards at Gossip Girl since ratings for Season One did not live up to expectations… It has officially been confirmed that John Stephens has been hired as an executive producer on Gossip Girl.

So, who the heck is John Stephens? You may not know his name but you definitely know his work.

Stephens has writing, directing or producing credits on 37 episodes of The OC. A prolific writer, he also wrote 8 episodes of Gilmore Girls and co-produced or edited 13 other Gilmore Girls episodes.

The 8 episodes, including Sookie’s wedding day, are:

Forgiveness and Stuff (21 December 2000)
Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers (8 March 2001)
Emily in Wonderland (26 April 2001)
Run Away, Little Boy (27 November 2001)
I Can’t Get Started (21 May 2002)
I Solemnly Swear (21 January 2003)
Face-Off (18 February 2003)
The Fundamental Things Apply (21 October 2003)

Reportedly, Stephens was approached by Gossip Girl producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage to spice up the show a bit.

Stephens will also develop new shows for Warner Brothers Television as part of his deal - hmm, Gossip Girl spin off anyone?

CW puts the kibosh on internet streaming of Gossip Girl episodes.

In an effort to manipulate TV ratings - which showed that Gossip Girl TV ratings lagged while internet ratings were up - the CW pulled access to internet streaming of Gossip Girl.

Fans were livid. And the ratings? Only up 1% - hardly worth the fuss.

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