Gossip Girl’s reboot (right) was questioned by those who watched the original (left)

HT Brunch Sunday Debate: Gossip Girl vs Gossip Guy

A Gen Z boy loved The Gossip Girl reboot. His early millennial sister, who grew up with the original show, wonders why

By Moksha Hegde, Mishaal Shetty

PUBLISHED ON AUG 08, 2021 09:02 AM IST

“Reboots are unnecessary when there’s nothing to add.”

By Moksha Hegde

Acoording to Moksha, Gossip Girl’s initial storyline was interesting, with gossip and mystery, But it ended with validation of toxic relationships

I don’t think Gossip Girl (2007 to 2012) needed a reboot. Primarily because the initial storyline was interesting, what with all the gossiping and the mystery with who was running the website. But it ended with everyone validating toxic relationships!

The reboot was totally unnecessary as there was nothing to add. It was great that they had people of different origins, though.

I loved Don with Shah Rukh Khan because they added their own twist in the last 10 minutes! But Love Aaj Kal 2 was disastrous as it ruined the original movie.

I watched the Gilmore Girls revival, which was a continuation, but everyone was too old by then and it made me feel I had aged. With Sex and the City, they continued the story in the movies, which I loved and I’m looking forward to the upcoming series.

In The Lion King and The Jungle Book reboots, the 3D didn’t make sense. They didn’t make any changes to the storyline, so it didn’t change my experience except make me miss the animation.

In books, I wish JK Rowling had not written The Cursed Child. She cursed the Harry Potter series by writing it!

Moksha Hegde, 30, is the founder-owner of sustainable brand The Moksha Life.

“Reboots that continue the original story work best”

By Mishaal Shetty

Mishaal says that Gen Z and millennials can connect with the Gossip Girl reboot as it addresses gender identity issues, abuse and drama

The relevance of a show like Gossip Girl is more today than when the original series released. Gen Z and millennials can connect with the show as they address gender identity issues, abuse and just the daily drama in life.

They have characters like Aki, whose hesitancy in life seems real — just like how our generation is. Maybe, we in India, are so far behind about being open about things that there’s a certain guilty pleasure of watching it and associating with it? They may have cameos by original characters, which works plot-wise.

There’s Don, which was rebooted with Shah Rukh Khan. Amitabh Bachchan did a much better job but my sister is a big SRK fan so she liked the reboot! The novelty of the movie wears off, like the Fast and Furious series, whose first few films were cool, but the new movies are just fodder for memes.

The Sex and The City reboot tried too hard to replicate the same success, while the Charmed reboot was directed only towards those who had watched the original. Cobra Kai’s reboot worked as it continued the original story with the same cast, incorporating the character development that’s happened over the years.

Even musically, shows like Gossip Girl were known for featuring hits, but today’s generation won’t use song recognising apps during a show to get their music.

Mishaal Shetty, 26, is a Delhi-based freelance graphic artist.

From HT Brunch, August 8, 2021

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