Now streaming on Max. About: The original series revolves around the lives of privileged upper-class adolescents living in Manhattan's Upper East Side. The series begins with the return of Upper East Side teenage "it girl" Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) from a mysterious absence. She is reunited with her frenemy Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) and her mother Lily (Kelly Rutherford), and she also meets Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley)—an aspiring writer from Brooklyn who is one of Serena's main love interests throughout the show. Other main characters include Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford), Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen), Vanessa Abrams (Jessica Szohr), Rufus Humphrey (Matthew Settle) and Ivy Dickens (Kaylee DeFer).