As Safran previously teased, the series will feature a more inclusive cast than the original, including more nonwhite leads and LGBTQ+ characters. "Representation is everything," Whitney Peak further emphasized in Cosmo's cover story. "I want all the hers and the hes and the theys and the people of color from all over the world to be able to watch the show and think, That's a person who looks like me. I don't have to be the stereotypical idea of who I am."
Savannah Smith echoed that same sentiment, adding, "It's really important for a Black girl, with twists in her hair, to be able to see someone in a position of power who looks like her. And it's also important for kids in the suburbs or kids who don't have a lot of Black friends or friends of color just to generally see us depicted in different ways. I think this could really change things. Maybe they're not learning these things at home, but they're seeing them on Gossip Girl. How amazing is that?"
