Be it VIP tickets to polo matches in the Hamptons, the ability to make a five-way phone call on a flip phone while sitting in a limousine, or swiping the family credit card in shops down Fifth Avenue, there was pretty much nothing we didn't want from the fictional lifestyles of Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl.
However, when the hit show and its lesser cool, distant television cousin, 90210, both ended in 2013, we had the choice of wearing black to mourn the high-school dramas' deaths or rewatching both series from the beginning, again and again until we knew the scripts off by-heart.
You can guess which option we chose. (The phrase, 'XOXO Gossip Girl' echoes through my mind mid-sleep as a result).
However, it sounds like our days of crying over long-lost loves between Blair and Chuck and the power of a headband in a school clique might soon be over, as HBO has reportedly just acquired the rights to another teenage, school-based drama and, by the sounds of it, it might actually be better than our beloved Gossip Girl.
According to Deadline, the network now has the rights to Prep, the 2005 Random House-published novel by Curtis Sittenfield about a Midwestern girl coming of age and navigating life in a New England boarding school.
Boarding school. Check.
Rich parents. Check.
Er, hello Gossip Girl 2.0.
Named on of the top five works of fiction for 2005 by The New York Times, the adapted television drama will be written and produced by Colleen McGuinness, a former writer and producer on 30 Rock and Games of Thrones' executive producer, Carolyn Strauss.
So, basically, it's going to be as hilarious and quick-witted as 30 Rock with the added bonus of unpredictable storylines and perhaps the odd war, albeit with less blood and more plaid.
Grab your flip phones, pop open the Dom Perignon because you are going to want to be prepped for Prep.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
