Gossip Girl is a television teen-drama based on the novel series of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. The show, which airs on the The CW, focuses on the lives of young New York socialites who deal with drugs, interpersonal relationships and other teenage issues.

When the WGA strike forced the show off the air in January 2008, its fans almost instantly turned from gossip about the show to gossip about the show's actors. Remarkably the show's stars lead lives that are similar, if not identical to their onscreen counterparts. The many real-life-imitating-art instances include: Penn Badgley and Blake Lively are rumored to be dating in real life, Onscreen frenemies Blake Lively and Leighton Meester reportedly hate each other, Ed Westwick stays in character through his hard-partying lifestyle, Chace Crawford was supposedly dating Carrie Underwood and possibly former boy-band member JC Chasez finally, Lively might have secretly undergone rhinoplasty!

"At times, it's overboard and maybe a bit giggle-inducing, like watching little kids play dress-up. But overboard is exactly where "Gossip Girl" wants to be -- and what viewers must embrace when taking the guilty plunge."—Washington PostWashington Post: Gossip Girl Reviews

"Shows like "Gossip Girl" get labeled guilty pleasures, but I can't quite see why guilt should figure into it." —SlateSlate: Gossip Girl Reviews

• NYDailynews.com: Gossip Girl Review (3.5/4)
  • "Gossip Girl" explores contemporary moneyed culture and kids today in a way that's accessible and totally addictive."
• The Miami Herald: Gossip Girl Review
  • "Clichés, certainly, but Schwartz spins them so creatively, with characters so engaging (or mustache-twirlingly villainous), that the show is irresistible."
• The Washington Post: Gossip Girl Review
  • "At times, it's overboard and maybe a bit giggle-inducing, like watching little kids play dress-up. But overboard is exactly where "Gossip Girl" wants to be -- and what viewers must embrace when taking the guilty plunge."

• Slate: Gossip Girl Review
  • "Shows like "Gossip Girl" get labeled guilty pleasures, but I can't quite see why guilt should figure into it. Most of the grown-ups on prime-time dramas behave like children anyway, so where's the shame in escaping into a teenie confection like this?"

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Gossip Girl Review
  • "Quality is often in the eye of the beholder, especially if the beholder is a parent watching a TV show intended for his or her teenage children. Parents who behold The CW's "Gossip Girl" might object to its depiction of wealthy Manhattan kids who smoke pot and sleep together. Their teenagers, on the other hand, are more likely to appreciate its heightened reality that depicts the less wealthy kids with better morals..."

• New York Post: Gossip Girl Review
  • "When I heard that Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, the brains behind "The O.C.," had a new show called "Gossip Girl" about New York City teens , I got so xcted that I IMed all my BFFs and said, "OMG!" Instead, it's a nasty piece of work filled with underage sex, vulgar, hateful kids and references to young girls that are flat-out ugly and disrespectful. "
• Philly.com: Gossip Girl Review
  • "I can't imagine too many intelligent 17-year-old girls watching this dopey series that is supposedly aimed at them. Twelve-year-olds, maybe, but, Mom and Dad, if you let your 12-year-olds watch this boozy sex-o-ganza, then shame on you."
• The Hollywood Reporter: Gossip Girl Review
  • "The show exits the starting gate feeling very much like "Dynasty" for young posers, wafer thin and shallow enough to be mistaken for a toddler wading pool. It's so consumed with its of-the-moment zeitgeist embodiment that it forgets to give its characters any depth beyond their reshaped noses."

• PopMatters: Gossip Girl Review
  • "No matter their ages, the parents and children in Gossip Girl are all too familiar. If you strip away the designer shoes and drinks, the show is left with all the hallmarks of a typical teen melodrama: back-stabbing, boyfriend-stealing, rumor-spreading, pot-smoking, social-climbing, and suicide-attempting, even date-raping—and that’s all in the first episode."