"Gossip Girl" was the first show I really binge-watched on Netflix. About four years ago, I heard a lot of really good things on social media about it, so for the first time in my life I opened up my laptop, hit play, and an addiction began. My sister and I spent that entire summer staying up until four am, sitting in front of the TV for days on end to get through what is one of the most addicting soap-opera-like shows of our generation. A lot of my friends and other people I know through social media and just in general began their Netflix addiction with "Gossip Girl," too. And unfortunately, "Gossip Girl" is six long seasons, so it was a very difficult show to get over. Even after it ended I just wanted more. I struggled for a while to find shows that I thought were just as good, if not better than "Gossip Girl," but eventually found a whole lot. So I’ve decided to share my wealth of information in the hope that I can prevent or end your Upper East Side hangover.

1."The Carrie Diaries"

I know, this is not a show you hear about very often, and if you’ve already watched "Sex and the City" I probably wouldn’t recommend this one. But this is the show I watched right after "Gossip Girl" and I hadn’t seen "Sex and the City" at that point. "The Carrie Diaries" is about the young Carrie Bradshaw trying to navigate high school in Connecticut while simultaneously working at one of New York’s biggest fashion magazines. I really liked "The Carrie Diaries" post-"Gossip Girl" because of the similar characters and similar settings, despite it taking place in the 80s when the city was very different. It’s also only two seasons, so it’s a nice respite after the commitment you had to put into "Gossip Girl."

2. "Grey’s Anatomy"

I like to think of Grey’s as the adult medical version of "Gossip Girl." It takes place at Seattle Grace Hospital in Washington and follows the life of Meredith Grey and her fellow surgeons from when they’re interns through attending doctors. Grey’s was the first show I really got obsessed with after "Gossip Girl" and now I love so much more. It's all the same drama, but it's among adults, not teenagers, so it just seems a bit less trivial. It is, however, 13 seasons and counting so you do have to put some time into it, but I promise it is so worth it.

3. "Scandal"

Like "Grey’s Anatomy," I feel like "Scandal" is the political version of "Gossip Girl." It follows professional ‘fixer,’ Olivia Pope, as she and her team of ‘gladiators’ fix the problems of D.C.’s wealthiest and most powerful political leaders. There’s also a bit of…um…scandal between Olivia and the president. "Scandal" has all the drama and more that "Gossip Girl" has and it continues the trend of a strong female lead.

4. "Pretty Little Liars"

I know what you’re going to say. This recommendation is only for the very few who don’t know the PLL spoilers that most people have either heard of or saw from watching the show. "Pretty Little Liars" follows the lives of four teenage girls, Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily, as they try to uncover the truth of what happened to their friend Alison after she mysteriously disappeared. They’re also getting cyberbullied/blackmailed by A, who seems to know just about everything about them and is willing to use it against them, or even at some points to kill them and those they love. This show is not the best show on television by any means, but like "Gossip Girl," it’s extremely entertaining, very dramatic and full of gorgeous girls and even better guys. How could you go wrong with that?

5. "Friends"

Even though "Friends" is in a completely different genre from "Gossip Girl," I still think it’s worthy of being mentioned. It’s essentially about six friends living in New York through their 20s together. They go through relationships, marriages, pregnancies, and just about everything together over ten seasons. If you haven’t yet watched Friends all the way through, or at all, I’m asking you to go do that now. It’s the same setting as "Gossip Girl," except for the fact that it takes place in the 90s, and it’s a very similar group of characters. It doesn’t have quite as much drama, but it has a great storyline and will make you laugh which is much needed after a grueling six seasons of "Gossip Girl."

6. "How I Met Your Mother"

Like "Friends," "How I Met Your Mother" is another comedy about a group of friends living in New York. It follows Ted Mosby and his four best friends on his search for love and everything that comes along the way to that. Again, same setting, similar characters, just a different genre, but it’s definitely a must-watch after "Gossip Girl."

7. "Reign"

If you watch only one show on this list, please let it be "Reign." It is the absolute most underrated show, also by the CW, that is so similar to "Gossip Girl," yet nobody seems to know about it. It’s literally 1500s "Gossip Girl" and follows Mary Queen of Scots as she is betrothed to Francis II the Dauphin and future king of France. In four short seasons, you watch Mary grow as a woman, a wife, and most importantly a Queen, as she faces real struggles like war, disease, famine, death, and the resistance against a Catholic female monarch. Like "Gossip Girl," this show has just the right amount of drama, but it’s real drama that doesn’t feel trivial at all. Unlike the drama in "Gossip Girl" that can feel stupid and extremely silly at times, the drama in "Reign" is anything but that. It almost always puts people’s lives on the line, which is realistic, but unfortunate at times because you lose a lot of really great characters. The overall message though is that you need to watch "Reign" right now.

I hope that this list helped you in any way after watching "Gossip Girl" because I remember when I was in your very position. I searched the internet to try to find a show that would live up to the standards that I’d set, but nothing seemed to fill the void. Then after a long struggle, I found these shows that I thought were, honestly, even better.