HBO
Nearly nine years after it went off the air, “Gossip Girl” makes its anticipated return on Wednesday, July 7. The first episode of the new season will be available exclusively on HBO Max at about 3 a.m. ET/midnight PT.
If you sign up for HBO Max directly through their website, there is no longer a free trial. It’s $14.99 per month right away. However, you can get HBO Max included with a free trial of some other streaming services, which we detail below.
Here’s how to sign up and watch “Gossip Girl” for free:
Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
AT&T TV
AT&T TV has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” One year of HBO Max (or however long you keep AT&T TV) is included for free in the “Choice” and above bundles, and you can select any package and any add-on you want with your free 14-day trial of AT&T TV.
Note that the free trial isn’t advertised as such, but when you go to checkout your “due today” amount will be $0 when signing up. If you watch AT&T TV on your computer, phone or tablet, you won’t be charged for 14 days. If you watch on a streaming device on your TV (Roku, Firestick, Apple TV, etc.), you will be charged for the first month, but you can get still get a full refund if you cancel before 14 days:
Once signed up for AT&T TV’s “Choice” or above bundle, you can watch “Gossip Girl” on the HBO Max app (not the AT&T TV app), which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet.
When signing in to HBO Max, you’ll need to use your AT&T TV credentials.
Hulu
HBO Max is available as an add-on to either Hulu or Hulu with Live TV. Whether you’re a new or existing Hulu subscriber, the HBO Max add-on comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for the HBO Max add-on to Hulu, you can watch “Gossip Girl” on the HBO Max app (not the Hulu app), which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet.
When signing in to HBO Max, you’ll need to use your Hulu credentials.
‘Gossip Girl’ 2021 Preview
The 2021 “Gossip Girl” is not a reboot of the original, it’s a continuation. Showrunner Joshua Safran has confirmed that this “Gossip Girl” is in the same universe as the original CW series — previous characters and storylines all exist in this world, even if they aren’t included in the new series — though some of them will pop up.
But the sequel shows just how much social media has changed in the 14 years since the original debuted back in 2007. When the sequel premieres, “this extension of the pop culture classic takes us back to the Upper East Side finding a new generation of New York private school teens being introduced to social surveillance nine years after the original blogger’s website went dark,” according to the HBO press release.
In an interview with Looper, Safran said that “if you liked the first one, you’re going to like the second one.”
“I mean, the DNA is still the same. It still is everybody goes to glamorous events and dresses impeccably and cheats on each other,” teased Safran, adding, “It has to be its own thing and just shares this DNA. So, I still think that it’s [a] success. I mean, I think it works. It feels like the show. It still does.”
The premiere episode is titled “Just Another Girl on the MTA,” and its description reads, “The start of a new school year at the Upper East Side’s elite Constance St. Jude’s ushers in the arrival of a newcomer, who soon finds herself thrust into a blinding spotlight. While other students cling to their comfortable, glamorous lives, a mysterious presence threatens to upend the status quo.”
Safran also teased the appearance of some familiar faces, saying, “I didn’t want to immediately bring in series regulars from the original series, because, as you saw, the cast is so much bigger now that there wouldn’t be time to give them. Meaning if you want to see Blair [Waldorf], you want to see Blair have a whole story. You don’t want to see her have two scenes. So, there are supporting characters from the original cast that come back that maybe are happy to check in with, but you don’t need to spend the entire episode with. So, you’ll start to see the first one is in episode five.”
The series stars Jordan Alexander, Eli Brown, Thomas Doherty, Tavi Gevinson, Emily Alyn Lind, Evan Mock, Zion Moreno, Whitney Peak, and Savannah Lee Smith.