'Gossip Girl" Spinning Off Into 1980s

Soapy NYC drama Gossip Girl is getting a spin-off. Creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage have confirmed longtime rumors that they're making it into a franchise. The new show will star younger versions of the old characters - Serena's mom Lily and Dan's dad Rufus.

Lily (currently played by divorce drama-ridden Kelly Rutherford) and Rufus (Matthew Settle) will have their younger selves played by two new actors, and the show will take place in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Lily goes to live with her sister in the San Fernando Valley and attend public school after her boarding school axes her. From there, she starts hanging out in LA and hooks up with the guy who eventually knocks her ass up.

"Caught between two worlds, Lily dives into the fast-paced Sunset Strip and the Hollywood lifestyle of the '80s, journeying over the hill to a world of wealth and excess that used to be her own," the CW press release breathlessly says. Is Barbara Cartland writing this shit?

"We are inspired by the opportunity to tell overlapping stories and introduce characters that will appear in the past and the present--and hopefully enrich both shows," says Schwartz. "We love exploring fashion, pop culture, music and a heightened world that's just a little more fun than the one we actually live in. L.A. in the '80s totally fits the bill."

If they can make it hot like Valley Girl, Dig-Dug, and the Go-Gos, I'm in.

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