In its list of the 50 most influential men under age 45, Details lists none other than Josh Schwartz - the creator of The OC, Chuck and Gossip Girl - at #30, along with Tony DiSanto, Executive Producer of The Hills. Here’s what Details has to say about these “Boys Behind Girly TV” …

To watch guilty-pleasure TV is to obsess over one-dimensional characters with the kind of intensity you’d never cop to in real life.

Josh Schwartz and Tony DiSanto are masters at creating those characters — the kind of high-maintenance shrews and priggish frat boys who, it turns out, appeal not only to female viewers but to men.

Even if they won’t say so out loud. Josh Schwartz transplanted The OC model to uptown Manhattan in his new CW hit, Gossip Girl.

Tony DiSanto, meanwhile, turned The Hills, at first a modest Laguna Beach spin-off, into MTV’s highest-rated show. Together, Schwartz and DiSanto have created pop culture catnip for a whole generation of guys who, in public, say they prefer Bill Maher — but who, in actuality, want to know what life is really like for an overprivileged teenage girl.

The popularity of Gossip Girl music has fans of the new hit show clamoring for a soundtrack. But are there plans to release one anytime soon?

Michael Ausiello of TV Guide says that while he can’t guarantee that there will be a Gossip Girl soundtrack, the thought has definitely crossed Josh Schwartz’s mind: “We’re figuring that out right now,” the series creator and executive producer. “I think we’re gonna come up with an aggressive sort of digital way to do it that really fits with our audience.”

The music of Gossip Girl could be released in soundtrack form soon.

Gossip Girl was one of the first new shows picked up for a full season of episodes this year. So, how did creator Josh Schwartz receive this exciting news?

“We got on the phone thinking we were in trouble or we were about to get some notes on the show,” he said of the phone call that greenlighted the series for more shooting.

Why the hesitation on Schwartz’s part? It’s certainly not because he doesn’t believe in Gossip Girl, but because the show’s ratings weren’t exactly stellar. But in this age of TiVo and DVR, those numbers are often skewed.

“There are new ways for measuring a show’s success,” Schwartz said, adding that the appearl of Gossip Girl lies in its weekly serving of youth scandal. “It’s a new era in television.”

Leighton Meester, though, has a different take on the source of the show’s success.

“We have a really great formula,” she said. “We have great music and cute boys. And people like to see people who are rich and who live in a seemingly perfect world but they still have downfalls and problems.”

As Gossip Girl picks up more and more mainstream attention, there are few better examples of its acceptance into pop culture than this:

The New York Times recently interview creator Josh Schwartz. Here are a few highlights from the conversation:

Was the goal to create a Manhattan version of your hit tribute to California hedonism, “The O.C.”?
I think it’s an entirely different thing. To me, one of the biggest difference between the two shows is that New York City is a character in “Gossip Girl.”

But not a very appealing character — an ally in decadence among kids who hang out at the bar of the Palace Hotel and practice underage drinking.
I think it’s actually a very romantic view of New York. I don’t like shows that feel like they’re judging their characters.

How is the show doing?
It’s the No. 1 new show among teens. In New York, the show is kind of a crazy-huge thing already.

Do you give money to any charitable organizations?
I do. I give a lot back to U.S.C. And to my high school, the Wheeler School, creating scholarships for kids.

What kind of kids? For needy kids, or for gossip girls?
Not for the gossip girls. For the kids who otherwise can’t afford it.

Are you a gossip?
Not really. I’m too afraid of getting caught.

Our friends at BuddyTV recently spoke with Gossip Girl (and Chuck) creator Josh Schwartz. Here are highlights of the interview:

Two shows this year. How do you even wrap your head around creating two new shows in one year?
It requires a lot of wrapping, head wrapping. But I’m really lucky, I’m working with a couple of really great writers. Stephanie Savage on Gossip Girl, who I worked with for a bunch of years on The O.C., and Chris Fedak who I created Chuck with. He’s a buddy of mine going back to our college days at USC.

And how involved are you in both shows? Is there one that you’re spending more time with?
I’m currently in the Caribbean on a hammock, drinking a cocktail with an umbrella in it.

So you’re just, you create the two shows, you go away and you’re reaping all the benefits.
If only. No, I’m heavily involved in both. Breaking stories, writing, rewriting. You know, in the editing room, all that kind of good stuff.

And is that difficult, to manage both shows? Do you feel ever that one show is getting less of your attention, and you feel like one’s neglected, while you’re focusing on the other one?
I sure hope not. I mean certainly, you can’t be everywhere all the time, and there’ll be times where I’ll be spending more time on one show than another. But you know I’m trying to do my best to be involved in both.

Click here to read the full interview.