Jordan Alexander and Whitney Peak spotted filming Gossip Girl in New York City

Costars Jordan Alexander and Whitney Peak were seen filming an episode of the Gossip Girl spinoff in New York City on Tuesday. 

The actresses appeared to be sharing an emotional moment as the two were positioned directly in front of each other for a scene.

The new season of Gossip Girl was first announced in June 2019, with many fans of the original version of the show anticipating a full reboot, which was denied by series developer Josh Schwartz. 

Alexander was seen wearing a reflective orange dress and high heels and accessorized with a small gold purse.

Peak opted for a long black overcoat over a red dress and a pair of high heels while also carrying a handbag.

According to Entertainment Tonight, executive producer Joshua Safran commented that the upcoming series would take place in the same timeline as the original show but with new characters and themes. 

He stated: ‘It’s not a continuation or a sequel. It truly just is looking at a different angle.’ 

The former showrunner noted that the intention for the new show was to emulate the Marvel universe in the sense that, although the new show’s events will happen after the events of the original’s, the events that occur will be widely different.

The show was originally based on the series of young adult novels of the same name that were written by Cecily von Ziegesar, who based them off of her experiences at an all-girls preparatory school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Gossip Girl follows the lives of a group of upper-class teenagers who are surrounded by rumors and hearsay from both their peers and an unseen blogger.

The series first premiered on The CW in 2007 and lasted for six seasons, running until 2012; the show starred Blake Lively, Penn Badgley, and Chace Crawford, among others.

Kristen Bell served as the narrator for all six seasons, and has been confirmed to return for the new series.

While the original six seasons were produced for network television, the new version of the show will be released on HBO Max, which the producers feel will give them more creative freedom.

In a separate interview with Entertainment Tonight, Josh Schwartz stated that, ‘With streaming, there are fewer episodes so how you unpack those stories or how you tell those stories can differ from the broadcast model.’ 

He added that the differences in subject matter would be visible in the updated version of the show, but would the writers will not go over-the-top in their handling of material. 

‘You don’t ever want it to feel gratuitous or something that you’re doing just because.’