Premieres: September 26
Airs: Mondays, 8pm ET/PT
Network: The CW
Who Is In It? Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick, Kelly Rutherford, Matthew Settle, Katie Cassidy, Kaylee DeFer
Where We Left Off: The gang scattered around the world for one sizzling summer.
What to Expect: Season 5 opens in Los Angeles. A suntanned Serena has found the perfect summer job when Chuck and Nate, who are still on their posh trip around the globe, decide to pay her a visit on their mega-yacht. Meanwhile, back on the Upper East Side, Blair is still dealing with the fallout from her impossible choice between Prince Louis and Chuck, and Dan’s world is suddenly shattered when he discovers that someone has gone behind his back and found an editor to anonymously publish one of his stories. Dan is terrified of all his friends and family reading his brilliant-but-honest critique of New York high society — but will he say no to the fame and fortune that comes with being a published author? Finally, the surprise return of Serena’s cousin Charlie will threaten to destroy the van der Woodsen family from within.
In the season premiere, “Yes, Then Zero,” Serena loves her new job in Hollywood, but makes a costly misstep when she tries to impress her boss (guest star Michael Michele). Chuck and Nate arrive in Los Angeles as the last stop of their Lost Summer trip, joining Serena at a glamorous Hollywood Hills party, where Nate meets a sexy older woman (guest star Elizabeth Hurley). Blair and Louis (guest star Hugo Becker) return from Monaco and begin planning their royal wedding, but when Louis refuses to stand up to his family and support Blair’s choices, his weakness threatens their relationship. A magazine is planning to run an excerpt of Dan’s book until an unlikely ally steps in to help him kill the story.
New Faces: Hilary Duff, JoAnna Garcia
Where We Left Off: The gang prepared to head off to college, some going to the same school -- such as Blair and Georgina (Leighton Meester, Michelle Trachtenberg), who appeared destined to become unlikely roommates.
What to Expect: The hiring of singer-actress Duff has to be considered one of the fall’s biggest “gets” in terms of new series regulars, with her casting as Vanessa’s (Jessica Szohr) college roommate. And Garcia stays with The CW -- after having her own series last season -- to play a new romantic interest for Nate (Chace Crawford) in multiple episodes at the start of this show’s third year.
Where We Left Off: Season 3 literally ended with a bang, leaving Chuck possibly dead, Dan possibly a father, and several characters with broken hearts.
What to Expect: The first two episodes are filmed in Paris, where Blair has been spending a fabulous summer without realizing her former love, Chuck, has been shot. As much as Blair tries to distract herself from the pain Chuck caused her when he slept with Jenny at the end of last season, his mysterious appearance in Paris with a beautiful new woman will force both of them to face what happened.
Meanwhile, newly single Serena has also been enjoying the Parisian summer as she tries to avoid the inevitable decision about which of her two long-time beaus, Dan or Nate, she should return to. Little does she know the choice will be made for her.
Dan, having discovered he was going to be a father to Georgina's baby, finds his life turned upside down, so he is relieved when his ex-girlfriend Vanessa comes to his aid. But is this enough to finally take his mind off Serena?
Nate, fresh off his painful breakup with Serena, spent the summer taking a page out of Chuck's playboy playbook. But when fiesty newcomer Juliet Sharp (Katie Cassidy) turns up, she helps Nate change his ways and refocus his Serena issues. But does she have an agenda of her own?
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