Serena van der Woodsen's (Blake Lively) mysterious return to Manhattan's Upper East Side after a year-long stint at a boarding school in Connecticut becomes the talk of the town when the news of her homecoming is announced on a popular blog run by an unseen character using the screen name "Gossip Girl" (voiced by Kristen Bell).

Dan takes Serena to his dad's band's concert, but they are forced to leave when his younger sister Jenny (Taylor Momsen) sends him a text message from Blair's party asking for help.

The apparent reason for Serena's abrupt return is revealed to be her younger brother Eric (Connor Paolo), who unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide but is now living in a psychiatric institution.

[2] Penn Badgley, Taylor Momsen, Chace Crawford, Kelly Rutherford, Connor Paolo and Florencia Lozano also auditioned successfully and landed roles in the series in March.

[6] As rumors swirled about the impending cancellation of Veronica Mars, it was revealed at The CW's 2007 Upfronts on May 17, 2007, that Kristen Bell had narrated the pilot, thus making her the title character of another show on the network.

[14] Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret Morning News noted that Gossip Girl is milder than a lot of what's shown on MTV, but still warned parents of several scenes in the pilot.