But while buzz is key, it doesn't pay the bills. So, in an effort to boost ratings, The CW declared that it would not stream the show's final five episodes on its website in order to force Girl's young audience to watch it the old-fashioned way — on TV. The gambit has paid off. Kind of. The April 21 episode gave The CW its highest 18-34 numbers ever — but its total viewer count was only 2.5 million. While executive producer Josh Schwartz acknowledges the importance of eyeballs, he won't let that dictate his vision. ''We hope people are more excited and more people had time over the strike to watch the show,'' says Schwartz. ''But that being said, we're not looking to inject artificial levels of melodrama to boost ratings.''
Getting fans excited means keeping spoilers to a minimum — and to that end, the cast and crew have been on security lockdown while shooting the last few episodes. ''This was the first time for me, since I started the show, where there was a note at the beginning of the script saying 'Please Don't Talk About What's Going On in This Episode,''' says Szohr in between takes at Communitea. Adds Schwartz: ''[These episodes] are juicier and they're gonna tie in to the larger series mythology and reveal secrets about people's pasts and key up the show for the second season.'' Maintaining secrecy about all this Upper East Side mythology has been a struggle for the producers, though, thanks to the omnipresent gawkers and photographers who flood the series' NYC location shoots.
But, of course, one can't talk about Gossip Girl without dishing a little. After some cloak-and-dagger negotiations with Schwartz and his co-EP Stephanie Savage, here's what we can reveal: The duo won't confirm recent speculation that Serena's little bro, Eric (Connor Paolo), is the one who will come out of the closet in the May 5 episode, but the script is tellingly titled ''All About My Brother.'' Meanwhile, former Queen Bee Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) will continue her battle with wannabe Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) for the social throne of the Upper East Side. And things will only get nastier. ''It's all-out war,'' says Meester. ''She's doing everything necessary, so pretty much the worst things you can imagine.'' Jenny's relationship with rival-school stud Asher (newcomer Jesse Swenson) also will provide a bit of drama. ''There are some twists and complications with that relationship, to say the least,'' says Momsen. ''It gets ridiculous. They're both using each other.'' Jenny's dad, Rufus (Matthew Settle), will take the stage with his band, Lincoln Hawk, when the once-gloried group participates in a Forgotten Bands of the '90s concert (also featured: Lisa ''Stay'' Loeb). Nate (Chace Crawford) and Vanessa will attend the season finale's lavish wedding together (for which Jenny gives Vanessa a glam makeover as payback for her help with Jenny's masquerade-ball ensemble). The wedding may or may not result in Lily (Kelly Rutherford) and Bart Bass (Robert John Burke) tying the knot. One potential source for premarital tension? Real-life socialite and heiress Lydia Hearst appears in the finale as Bart's employee.
NEXT PAGE: Serena's scandalous secret, and what to expect in season 2
You Might Also Like
- Television News 'Gossip Girl' guesses | Tim Stack
- ENTERTAINERS OF THE YEAR The 'Gossip' Girls: Entertainers of the year | Tim Stack
- Television Commentary TV's latest catfights | Tim Stack
- Television News Plots for a recession-stricken TV lineup | Jesse North
- Television News Kristen Bell confirmed for 'Heroes' season 3
- The Q&A Kristen Bell: ''I love nerds'' | Vanessa Juarez
