Hilary Explains It All: Why ‘Gossip Girl’ Is the Pinnacle of TV Book Adaptations

Yesterday, Chris, one of my editors, was surprised to find out that Gossip Girl, the iconic television show, is actually based on a book series written by Cecily von Ziegesar. Subsequently, Laura-Blaise and myself wouldn’t shut up about the CW darling.

 

Oh yeah, Chris, the Gossip Girl obsession runs real deep. 

 

So because we’re on the topic, Laura-Blaise and I decided that why Gossip Girl is definitively the pinnacle of books adapted for television is the perfect subject for this week’s edition of Hilary Explains It All.

 

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The Premise

 

According to Wikipedia:

 

Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite private school in New York City’s Upper East Side. The books primarily focus on best friends Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen, whose experiences are among those chronicled by the eponymous gossip blogger. The novel series is based on von Ziegesar’s experience at Nightingale-Bamford School and on what she heard from friends.

 

That’s strong. That’s interesting. That translates well to television. So if the books are so amazing (they are, it’s a New York Times bestselling novel series. Go read them.), it’s going to be amazing on the silver screen. And it was, oh it was.

 

Universally Loved, Award-Winning Television

 

With six seasons spanning 121 episodes, the show basically received universal praise and a variety of award nominations, including eighteen Teen Choice Award wins (lol). According to the NPD’s consumer tracking data, Gossip Girl was the fifth most binge-watched TV series on Subscription Video-on-Demand Services.

 

Chuck Bass

 

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I Asked My 337 (lol) Twitter Followers And

 

 

 

What’s High School Without Some Good Old-Fashioned Cyberbullying?

 

Hearsay Heresy, Thruda Greypvine, and at least one more gossip Facebook account that I can’t remember the pun name of, plagued my sweet little grad class of 136 for at least sophomore and junior year before things got out of hand. My name only appeared on Hearsay Heresy once, and it was fantastic because, let me tell you, tea was spilled. I wish I had a screenshot. Here’s my crappy attempt at recreating the moment. 

 

 

The Fashion

 

^{All Images Via Harpers Bazaar}

 

The Soundtrack

 

 

Everyone in the Show Is, in Fact, the Hottest Person You’ve Ever Seen

 

^{Image Via Spoon University}

 

The Drama

 

This was literally the most dramatic show. Seriously literally. Chuck Bass almost rapes Jenny in the first episode, and we’re still drooling over the creep throughout the show. It didn’t help that Ed Westwick was beautiful and perfect until he wasn’t. Oops, yikes, I’m not going to even get into that. 

 

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The Love Triangles…or Whatever Confusing Shape This Might Be

 

^{Image Via The Odyssey Online}

 

In Conclusion

 

There you have it. Ten excellent reasons why Gossip Girl is definitively the best television adaptation of a book series ever. Don’t believe me? Go reread the books, then go rewatch the series. You can thank me later.

 

Featured Image Via The LaLa.