We liked The OC at the start, but we’re not all that thrilled about recent rumors saying Mischa Barton is joining the Gossip Girl cast.

TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello reports that Mischa Barton being offered a role is now confirmed, but what isn’t certain is whether or not a deal will actually be struck for her to play the recurring role of Georgina Sparks.

Georgina is reportedly going to a “scheme queen” who brings the past of Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) into her present. She would be introduced to the show, presumably, when it returns April 21.

Will Mischa Barton and Blake Lively be co-stars on Gossip Girl?

Executive producer Josh Schwartz, of course, killed Mischa Barton off of The OC, and how runs Gossip Girl, the new CW hit series.

What do you think, Gossip Girl fans? Will Barton fit in with the Gossip Girl cast? Or is the show better off with lesser-known stars?

We believe the latter, as we’ve really enjoyed the work of relative unknowns Blake Lively and Leighton Meester, but want to hear your views.

UPDATE: Mischa’s rep has told Us Weekly that the deal is off: “She will not be on the show. She was approached, but passed.” Don’t get us wrong, we’re happy she bailed, but she could’ve let us talk about it a bit …

A trio of Gossip Girl co-stars - Blake Lively (Serena), Ed Westwick (Chuck) and Connor Paolo (Eric) have a little Gossip Girl reunion during a private screening of Elvis & Anabelle on Thursday in New York City.

Here’s a cute picture of the actors who play the evil young Bass and the two van der Woodsen siblings on our favorite series …

Gossip Girl’s Connor Paolo (left), Blake Lively and Ed Westwick.

No word on the rumor from a few weeks back that Connor Paolo (Eric) is the show’s currently anonymous title character, Gossip Girl.

The wait is finally over!

Well, not soon enough. But the end is in sight!

We’ve learned that Gossip Girl goes back into production starting mid-March, with all-new episodes starting Monday, April 21.

We can’t wait for the return of Blake Lively, Penn Badgley and the rest of our favorites from the Gossip Girl cast.

During a recent stop in Toronto, Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester told CTV that she spent a lot of her time off during the writers’ strike recording her debut album. She’s an aspiring singer!

“I’m figuring out everything, so I can’t tell you too much,” says Meester.
“I should be finishing it within the next couple months, hopefully.”

Meester, who plays the deliciously catty, yet still sweet Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl, is no stranger to the music scene.

“I’ve been working on it my whole life, obviously,” says Meester. “There’s a first time for everyone, and I really love it.”

Really? It’s obvious she’s been working on an album her whole life? And everyone has a first time recording an album?

We’re not sure what’s meant by that quote, but just the same, we love Leighton Meester and look forward to hearing her music.

Who influences Leighton musically?

She’s a fan of Chris Cornell and Incubus, she says, and has described her music as an electronic-rock hybrid that sounds like Gwen Stefani and MIA.

The pint-sized cutie previously sang and starred in a film called Drive-Thru, in which Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley also appeared.

A clip of Meester singing in the movie appears below.

There’s no word if Penn Badgley, who is also a musician, is also going to appear on Leighton’s album, but wouldn’t that be something?

This evening, as the CW continues its Monday encore showings of the first season of Gossip Girl, “Dare Devil” will be aired at 8 p.m.

Miss the episode or need to refresh your memory of it?

Here’s a recap! We also have pages of Gossip Girl quotes and pictures from “Dare Devil,” as well as a music guide, with lyrics when available.

There’s also our staff round table discussion of topics, and the opportunity to talk about the show with fellow fans in our Gossip Girl forum. Enjoy!

Dan helps Serena perfect her positioning and techniques.

Another cute Gossip Girl cast picture to share with you.

A trio of Gossip Girl girls - Leighton Meester (Blair), Blake Lively (Serena) and Jessica Szohr (Vanessa, booooo!) share a hug during Reebok’s Freestyle World Tour event this week. Follow this link for more Blake and Leighton …

Gossip Girl stars Blake Lively and Leighton Meester made their (beautiful, casual, sexy) presence felt at Reebok’s Freestyle World Tour Collection at New York City’s “632 on Hudson” on Thursday. See below…

Both Leighton Meester and Blake Lively are featured in a full-spread in the latest issue of Vogue. We’ll get those photos for you soon! The entire cast of Gossip Girl will resume filming new episodes mid-March. Nice!

Let the Leighton Meester content barrage continue! When she’s not monkeying around off the set, she’s giving actual interviews!

The 21-year-old Gossip Girl cutie was recently interviewed by a popular celebrity gossip site, Just Jared. Here are some highlights…

JJ: How did you spend your Valentine’s Day?
Leighton Meester: I was in Toronto and spent the day there. I got a couples massage with my castmate Nicole Fiscella. We went back to L.A., a friend of mine came over and we watched a movie together.

JJ: Since you’ve lived in NYC for 10 years already, where do you love to frequent for food and shopping?
Leighton Meester: I live in the West Village, so I love all of the local restaurants - The Spotted Pig, Sant Ambroeus. As for shopping, I love the boutiques on the Lower East Side but I still love to spend my money at Barneys and Macy’s.

JJ: Are your friends from New York? Hollywood? Elementary school?
Leighton Meester: I have one friend that I’ve had since I was 11. Other than that, my friends are from the past few years. I don’t really keep in touch with anybody from high school, oddly enough. But yeah, I keep in touch with just real people who are nice to me. (laughs)

Continue reading this article …

We’re all about Leighton Meester this week.

In this photo from yesterday, the Gossip Girl star shows off her highlighted auburn locks - and a furry friend - at a promotional event in Times Square.

The Gossip Girl beauty will be returning to the screen as Blair Waldorf in new episodes this spring, since the writers’ strike is officially over!

Until then, we will continue bringing you all the Leighton Meester photos - and pics of the rest of the hot cast - that we come across!

Gossip Girl starLeighton Meester, a.k.a. Blair Waldorf, has been spotted … at InStyle headquarters! Man, she’s cute. Don’t worry, though. She’s nothing like her bitchy teen queen character on the show.

In the brief interview below, Leighton dishes on her favorite designers, as well as her character Blair and her real-life romantic interests …

In real life, says Leighton Meester, she knows she should go for a guy who’s like Dan, but she would probably end up with a Nate in the end.