Top 10 Differences Between the Gossip Girl Books & TV Show

Top 10 Differences Between the Gossip Girl Books & TV Show

While some of the major plot points remain intact, the creators of this show took some serious liberties with the source material. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Differences Between the Gossip Girl Books & TV Show.



For this list, we’re looking at the biggest changes that were made when adapting this story for our viewing pleasure.

#10: Dan Has a Gay Storyline

On TV, “Gossip Girl” was known for pushing boundaries, but the books are actually much racier. While Dan begins his story arc in the same way in both the book and the show, by having a massive crush on Serena, in the books this fizzles out pretty quickly and he goes on to have a variety of romantic entanglements throughout the series. In the book “Would I Lie to You?”, which is the tenth in the series, Dan starts a literary salon and goes through a period of thinking he might be gay after he has an encounter with a coworker.

#9: Chuck's Family

While many of the characters undergo major personality changes between the books and the show, perhaps none is more obvious than Chuck’s. In the book series, Chuck has very few redeeming qualities and plays a much more minor character than on the show. In general, the “Gossip Girl’ books feature far fewer storylines involving the teens’ parents, and Chuck’s family situation is almost never mentioned. He lives with both his parents whereas in the show, there is a plot point about how his mother supposedly died in childbirth. To be honest... we probably could have done without so much Bart Bass on the show.

#8: Vanessa Is Bald

On the show, Vanessa’s “alternative” style extends about as far as some brightly printed clothes, but in the books her physical appearance is totally different. Book Vanessa shaves her head bald and wears all black, and it’s often implied that she struggles with her weight. She also attends Constance Billard with the rest of the girls on a scholarship, so she has much more of a front row seat to the action. She still has a complicated “will they, won’t they” relationship with Dan, but she also has a lot more going on in her life. Also, at one point in the books Blair actually moves into Vanessa’s apartment. Definitely can’t see that happening!

#7: Bass Industries

On the show, Chuck’s family’s business, Bass Industries, is involved in many plotlines, especially after his father dies and control of the company is up for grabs. In the books though, Bass Industries literally doesn’t exist. In fact Chuck’s future prospects in the novel series don’t look so bright. He doesn’t do well in school and ultimately doesn’t get into any of the colleges he applied to. Because of his behavior, there’s actually a risk of him getting sent to military school by his dear old mom and dad. Basically… Chuck Bass from the novels wishes there was a Bass Industries.

#6: Lily & Rufus

Like we said earlier, the gang’s parents don’t get a lot of attention in the books, and typically act as stereotypical foils for whatever antics their kids are getting up to. That means that one of viewers’ favorite onscreen relationships doesn’t actually exist in the source material. In the books, Lily Van Der Woodsen is still married to Serena’s father, and is not a major character. Rufus is similarly insignificant in the books, making appearances solely to embarass his kids and hang out in their apartment looking disheveled. We’ve gotta say, this change was definitely a welcome one.

#5: The Humphreys Lived on the Upper West Side

We all know that “Gossip Girl” primarily takes place on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but in the books the Humphrey family didn’t live all that far outside of the upper class bubble. In fact, their apartment was just across Central Park on the Upper West Side. This makes a lot more sense in terms of how easily everyone seems to get around, because Brooklyn, where they live in the show, is far. Perhaps housing costs had increased so much in the years between the publication of the books and the release of the show that their original neighborhood was no longer in their price range.

#4: Eric Is Totally Different

The character of Serena’s brother, Eric, is one of the instances where the show creators decided to take a basic concept (that Serena has a brother named Erik) and run with it in their own way. In the books, Erik (with a “k”) is older than Serena and is a student at Brown University. He’s a much more minor character, only appearing every now and then, except at one point, when he becomes a love interest for Blair. While Erik in the novels felt like little more than an archetype, the showrunners really did something special with Eric onscreen, crafting a character whose storyline and personality undeniably added to the series’ appeal.

#3: Blair's Bulimia

Blair from the books and tv Blair are actually quite similar, with the exception of one big difference. In the earlier novels, she suffers from an eating disorder that is a big part of character’s identity. She purges after nearly every meal, and has what could be described as textbook bulimia. On the show however, her condition is largely absent, though her dangerous relationship with food is referenced in season one’s Thanksgiving episode, where she’s seen binge eating a pie when she’s upset, along with flashbacks of past binging and purging. Honestly, the omission of this storyline throughout the show seems like a missed opportunity, given that it’s a serious issue amongst young people.

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#2: Jenny’s Appearance

On the show, Little J’s appearance becomes important on several occasions because of her resemblance to Serena. They are both tall and waiflike with long blonde hair - which means that in a mask, they can be tough to tell apart. In the books though, Jenny’s appearance is described as being totally different. She is rather short, and has very large breasts, allegedly because she took supplements when she was younger to make them grow. She also has curly brown hair. In the show, Jenny idolizes Serena rather than Blair and doesn’t have quite the same social ladder climbing tendencies.





Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.



Blair Goes to Yale







Chuck Has a Pet Monkey







Blair Has a Brother

#1: The Web of Relationships

In both the book and the show, romantic relationships abound, with many of the characters ending up tangled up in fleeting romances at one point or another. In the books though, the group was a little more willing to broaden their horizons and more frequently dated outside of their inner circle. Serena and Dan have a very brief fling rather than a series long infatuation and Chuck and Blair have a mostly off screen relationship that definitely isn’t one of the major ones of the series. In fact, in the books Blair loses her virginity to Nate as she had always planned.