HBO Max), is set in the same world as the original series but follows a new cast of characters. Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) and Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) might have moved on from their prep-school days, but nine years after the original “Gossip Girl” blog went dark, a new generation of New York teens must deal with the ramifications of social surveillance that spills their secrets and follows their wild antics.