My Gossip Girl fandom extends not only to having watched the TV series five times (yes, it was five, you read that right), but also to the fact that I read the entire book series by Cecily von Ziegesar, and then reread it twice more. It's always been an obsession, and over the course of my many encounters with the diverse Gossip Girl outlets, I have recognized the many alterations the TV show made to the original storyline, which is certainly expected when translating a written work into a visual outlet. However, some of these changes are pretty unexpected, and it's hard to believe that the show stemmed from these beginnings. Here are 20 parts of the Gossip Girl book series that didn't make it to the TV show:
1. Chuck is a minor character with gay tendencies
It's true. Our favorite womanizer was barely present in the book series, was seemingly gay, and had a pet monkey that he brought everywhere. The relationship with Blair never happened, or any other relationship for that matter.
2. Dan has a gay storyline
You would have never imagined it from watching the show, but Dan in the book series experimented with a gay relationship. He dated a guy during a moment of confusion, but eventually realized that he was ultimately straight.
3. Blair and Serena have a fling
There was clearly a theme going since Blair and Serena also had their moment of experimentation--and who better to experiment with than each other?
4. Blair is bulimic
I was very surprised to see this one omitted from the show, since it was such an eminent aspect of the book series, although it did make a brief appearance in the first season Thanksgiving episode. In the books, Blair could hardly eat without throwing up afterward.
5. Blair has a brother
It's hard to consider Blair as not an only child (Blair sharing things?), but she did have an eleven-year-old DJ brother named Tyler who she often rolled her eyes at and referred to as a loser.
6. Serena and Dan's relationship barely made it to the third book
While this affair was prominently present in the TV show, their love affair was sadly short-lived in the books.
7. Jenny was notorious for her curly hair and big boobs
The book series emphasized Jenny Humphrey's curly brown hair and 34D breasts, the two features that she was known for, and without which she would hardly be noticed since she was so short.
8. Jenny went to boarding school
While Jenny did end up leaving the TV show, her departure in the books occurred at the end of the series when she went off to boarding school. This resulted in a spin-off series, The It Girl, which followed her boarding school adventures (don't you worry, I made sure to read this series not once, but twice).
9. Dan was a huge chain smoker
Not only was Dan a huge loner who was bitter about pretty much everything, but he also smoked like a chimney, and so did Rufus.
10. The Humphreys lived on the Upper West Side instead of Williamsburg
Weird, but the Humphreys were not always from Brooklyn! In the books, they lived on the Upper West Side.
11. Characters went to completely different schools
While the girls attended Constance Billard and the boys attended St. Jude's, the TV show depicted these academies as brother-sister schools that shared a building. In the book series, however, these two schools were entirely separate and there were no in-school interactions between the girls and the guys. Additionally, Chuck and Dan didn't go to St. Jude's but went to a different school together--Riverside Prep.
12. Serena's brother Erik was older than her
In the TV show, Serena is portrayed as the over-protective older sister, but in the TV show, she is dependent on her older brother Erik for advice.
13. Erik and Blair had a fling
Nope, Erik is not gay in the books! In fact, he and Blair become romantically involved for a bit.
14. Vanessa was bald
Keeping her head clean of hair was her main way of standing out and deviating from female stereotypes.
15. Kati and Isabel have bigger roles
They're practically shoved aside as insignificant bodies on the show who serve to elevate Blair Waldorf's power, but Kati and Isabel had much more of a presence in the books.
16. Lily and Rufus never have a relationship, or know each other exist
Lily's overall presence is very minimal, and there is no moment where even a possibility of them crossing paths exists.
17. Serena's father is present
The Van der Woodsens are portrayed as a beautiful family of four, and William never left. There is not much drama surrounding neither him nor Lily.
18. Nate and Serena hooked up at his Hamptons house
The TV series creates completely different circumstances surrounding the Nate/Serena affair that led to Serena taking off for boarding school. In the books, the two hooked up one day at his Hamptons house when they were alone. The book refers to this instance by saying that Nate “parted her Red Sea."
19. Serena went to boarding school because she hooked up with her best friend's boyfriend, not because she did cocaine with a boy right before he died
The entire storyline involving Peter's death in the TV show did not even remotely exist in the book series--Serena's hookup with Nate is the reason she decides to leave the city.
20. Jenny idolizes Serena, not Blair
Jenny starts off the TV show tending to Blair and trying to fit in with her clique, such as with her routine daily trips to the Met steps, but shows little interest for Serena. In the books, however, Serena is the one Jenny pines after, and she has much less regard for Blair's existence.
It's crazy to think how far some aspects of the TV show have deviated from the original ideas in the book series, but clearly, I don't discriminate when it comes to Gossip Girl--they are both excellent!
