'Gossip Girl' star Chace Crawford says he forgot "how kind of campy" the teen drama was

By Sophia Soto | Last updated Jun 19, 2025 7:37 PM ET

Chace Crawford is reflecting on the "cultural relevance" of Gossip Girl, which premiered back in 2007, and how it has "kind of become almost classic."

He told PEOPLE, "It really was of its time, though. It was just before social media, a little bit ahead of its time in that regard. But in watching, it's very campy. I forget how kind of campy it was. It's kind of fun in that way."

The YA series served as his TV debut, and he starred in all six seasons as Nate Archibald. Gossip Girl came to an end in 2012 after 121 episodes. "I haven't really rewatched any of it," he confessed. "I'd be terrified. It's a bit embarrassing."

"As a young man, you take yourself too seriously," the actor continued to share. "I think everything's so precious, and you want to be this Marlon Brando. And I think there gets a point too in a show that's popular where you get your sense of identity and who you are kind of becomes wrapped up in not just that character or the character's popularity, but the show."

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The cast also included Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick, Penn Badgley, Kelly Rutherford, and Matthew Settle. As for who actually voiced Gossip Girl, that honor belongs to Kristen Bell.

"I'm assuming for people my age and even younger who discovered it, it might have the same effect, which is an amazing mark to have," he expressed, comparing it to how he grew up with The O.C. "I don't know if the word 'iconic' is correct, but it's like this cultural phenomenon that was so of its time and kind of hard to recreate."

Teen dramas today are very different, and Crawford acknowledged that, too: "The bar is in a different place. It's Euphoria, which is very dark. I watched every episode of Euphoria. I loved it. But that's such a different show than Gossip Girl. It's definitely a lot of fun. It's campy, and it's just a blast that people still connect with it and still see us out in the world and come up and say hi."

Gossip Girl is streaming on HBO Max.

Sophia Soto

Sophia Soto is a writer and interviewer with a passion for all things entertainment. She is a Senior Reporter at The Nerds of Color and contributes to Yardbarker, Screensphere, Den of Geek, What to Watch, Nerdtropolis, and Temple of Geek. You can see her past work on Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, Paste Magazine, Primetimer, Soundsphere, and Starry Constellation Magazine

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