“Reboots that continue the original story work best”

The relevance of a show like Gossip Girl is more today than when the original series released. Gen Z and millennials can connect with the show as they address gender identity issues, abuse and just the daily drama in life.

They have characters like Aki, whose hesitancy in life seems real — just like how our generation is. Maybe, we in India, are so far behind about being open about things that there’s a certain guilty pleasure of watching it and associating with it? They may have cameos by original characters, which works plot-wise. There’s Don, which was rebooted with Shah Rukh Khan. Amitabh Bachchan did a much better job but my sister is a big SRK fan so she liked the reboot! The novelty of the movie wears off, like the Fast and Furious series, whose first few films were cool, but the new movies are just fodder for memes.

The Sex and The City reboot tried too hard to replicate the same success, while the Charmed reboot was directed only towards those who had watched the original. Cobra Kai’s reboot worked as it continued the original story with the same cast, incorporating the character development that’s happened over the years. Even musically, shows like Gossip Girl were known for featuring hits, but today’s generation won’t use song recognising apps during a show to get their music.

“GEN Z AND MILLENNIALS CAN CONNECT WITH THE GOSSIP GIRL REBOOT AS IT ADDRESSES GENDER IDENTITY ISSUES, ABUSE AND DRAMA.” —MISHAAL SHETTY