The first season of the American teen drama television series Gossip Girl premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007, and concluded on May 19, 2008, consisting of 18 episodes.

It tells the story of Serena van der Woodsen's return to Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York City following her mysterious disappearance to boarding school in Connecticut, while being watched by the anonymous and omniscient blogger Gossip Girl.

The return of "it girl" Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) to the Upper East Side serves as the first season's focal point.

Meanwhile, siblings Dan (Penn Badgley) and Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen), Brooklyn residents, are attracted by the opulent wealth of their classmates.

It is revealed that their relationship resembles the one between Dan's father Rufus (Matthew Settle) and Serena's mother Lily (Kelly Rutherford) in their youth.

When Georgina arrives on the Upper East Side she poses as a naive girl named Sarah in order to destroy Serena's newfound happiness.

Dan has his heart and future set on the coveted usher position for the Dartmouth rep, only to be beaten out by Nate, who has no interest in the school despite pressure from his controlling father, The Captain.

Meanwhile, Jenny bonds with Serena's younger brother, Eric, and Rufus must swallow his pride and ask Lily for a favor to help his son, Dan, despite their complicated history.

Despite being devastated by the current state of her relationship with Nate and still dealing with the guilt from her recent indiscretion, Blair attempts to put on a happy face for her 17th birthday party and hide the truth from her friends.

Nate's parents (Sam Robards and Francie Swift) ask him to make a huge sacrifice in an effort to salvage his father's business as he faces charges of embezzlement and fraud.

After getting kicked out of the annual Waldorf Thanksgiving, Serena and her family decide to head over to Brooklyn to spend it with the Humphreys, unaware of the torrid history between Rufus, Alison, and Lily.

Gossip Girl takes pleasure in reporting that Serena was spotted buying pregnancy tests—but of course, the teens of the Upper East Side prove yet again there is always more to the story than meets the eye.

Jenny needs something to wear to her birthday party and her drive to be popular hits a new all-time high when she does something illegal to fit in with her new Upper East Side friends.

With Serena's newfound clean slate on the line, Blair decides to take matters into her own hands in dealing with the manipulative and evil Georgina Sparks.

Blake Lively portrayed initial protagonist Serena van der Woodsen, a former it girl of the Upper East Side, who returns from a mysterious stay at a boarding school in Connecticut,[19] with Kelly Rutherford playing her mother Lily, a multiple-divorced socialite.

[19] Penn Badgley acted as middle-class outsider Dan Humphrey,[19] with Matthew Settle playing his father Rufus, former rock star turned art dealer, and Taylor Momsen portraying his sister, Jenny, a freshman looking to fit in with the elite crowd at Constance Billiard.

[19] Numerous supporting characters were given expansive and recurring appearances in the progressive storyline, including Connor Paolo who portrayed Serena's brother, Eric van der Woodsen, who had been placed into a rehab center following a suicide attempt.

Zhang left the series to study neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University with Serena explaining that Kati and her family had moved to Israel.

Other members of Blair's clique include Amanda Setton as Penelope Shafai, Dreama Walker as Hazel Williams and Emma Demar as Elise Wells.

Other guest stars in recurring roles include Zuzanna Szadkowski as Blair's maid Dorota Kishlovsky, Robert John Burke as Chuck's father and billionaire Bart Bass, Susie Misner as Rufus' estranged wife Alison Humphrey and John Shea as Blair's father Harold Waldorf, with William Abadie as his partner Roman.

The regular directors throughout the season were Mark Piznarski, J. Miller Tobin, Patrick Norris, Norman Buckley, Tony Wharmby and Michael Fields.

[21] The pilot episode gained 3.50 million viewers on its original airing,[22] having previously been available as a free download on the American iTunes store.

[11] The show was moved from Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. to Mondays at 8:00 p.m following the end on the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike where the final five episodes of the season were aired.

[24] The second episode in which the characters are shown to be attending a brunch gained some approval from New York magazine, stating that "there's no such thing as 'lunch' on the weekends", "that kids actually do venture outside of their neighborhoods" (since The New York Palace Hotel is in Midtown Manhattan), and "saying you live in Williamsburg makes much more sense... for real-estate emotional conflict", as well as the fact Rihanna is played "in every situation.

[27][28] John Maynard of The Washington Post felt that creator Josh Schwartz "turns it up a notch" from his former series The O.C., and cited Dan (Penn Badgley) as a standout character.

The Parents Television Council (PTC) has shown particular criticism of the series, especially with its "OMFG" ad campaign used towards the end of the season in April 2008.

[31] The Parents Council's negative comments include it being "the most-watched show among girls 12-17 and glamorizes casual sex and drug use among teens.

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

As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including a downloadable audiobook, deleted scenes, and behind-the-scenes featurettes.