Pilot

Pilot is the first episode of the Gossip Girl: The Next Generation series.

Summary
The year is 2030 and Gossip Girl is back after 18 years. Their first story? Former it-girl Margot Carlisle is back after a nearly nine month long absence. Margot's best friend, Victoria, has since taken not only her title as queen bee but also her ex-boyfriend, Henry Bass. Margot’s twin brother Julian has become one of the most popular boys at St. Jude’s, the best friend of Henry and Duncan Kingston, and former loser Quinn Prescott is Victoria’s new BFF. Meanwhile Henry’s little sister Addie Bass is vying to be the latest member of Victoria’s clique, but when her best friends Emma Humphrey and Tyler Archibald find out she’d be ditching them to join they’re less than pleased.

Recap
The Gossip Girl website is relaunched with a story about the return of Margot Carlisle. Margot was once the most popular girl in Manhattan, until she suddenly left almost nine months ago. Margot is greeted at Grand Central Station by her twin brother, Julian, and her parents, Hudson and Lesley. Julian greets Margot warmly while her parents seem distant. Lesley tells Margot that it would be best if they put the past nine months behind them.

When Margot's former best friend Victoria reads about Margot's return on Gossip Girl, she decides to try and keep Margot's return from Henry, Margot's ex-boyfriend and Victoria's current boyfriend. Victoria is worried that Margot's return will dethrone her as queen bee and she asks her new best friend, former loser Quinn, to help her keep Henry away from Margot.

On the first day of school, Henry's little sister Addie and her best friends Emma and Tyler are all incoming freshmen at Constance and St. Jude's. Addie wants to join Victoria's clique but Emma is hesitant. Addie goes to talk to Henry and Emma and Tyler are introduced to Henry's best friend Duncan and Julian. Emma is immediately smitten with Julian and, after discovering Julian and Victoria are friends, Emma decides to try and join Victoria's clique too. Meanwhile Henry offers to let Tyler hang out with them and Duncan in particular takes Tyler under his wing.

When Margot arrives at school, she is surprised to see that the very people who used to adore her now ignore her. She tries to make up with Victoria, who acts coldly towards her. Victoria tells Margot that she is now dating Henry and when Margot says that she needs to talk to him, Victoria lies and says that Henry wants nothing to do with Margot.

Later, Victoria is putting all of the girls who want to become her minions through an initiation, though Julian tries to convince her to go easy on them. Addie and Emma learn that Victoria will only accept one girl, which means that they will be competing against each other. Emma thinks they should both just drop out of the race but Addie refuses, saying that as the future queen of Constance she needs to get in with Victoria.

Margot finds herself totally alone except for her brother. Quinn keeps her at an icy distance as advised by Victoria. Margot reminds Quinn that it was Victoria, not Margot, who had previously made Quinn an outcast. Quinn retorts that Victoria made her popular, while Margot never helped her.

After school, Henry almost sees Margot, until Victoria swoops in and distracts him with a kiss. Victoria then takes the girls who have made the final five in her competition - including Addie and Emma - out to a restaurant so she can discuss the final round of competition. Tyler tries to talk Addie out of going but she won't listen to him. Henry and Duncan head to Central Park with Tyler in tow and Duncan pulls out a joint. Duncan pressures Tyler to take a hit, despite Henry telling him he should stop. Tyler agrees to try some. After Duncan leaves, Henry tells Tyler that just because popularity is so important to Addie doesn't mean it has to be to Tyler too. Henry informs Tyler that being at the top isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Victoria informs the girls that whoever can embarrass Margot the most will be her new minion. Emma again tells Addie that she thinks this is too much and at first Addie agrees, until she sees that hanging out with Victoria has landed her on Gossip Girl. Excited by her rising popularity, Addie decides to continue with the competition.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Starring

 * Jessica Lowndes as Margot Carlisle
 * Candice Accola as Victoria Harris
 * Tyler Blackburn as Henry Bass
 * Zoey Deutch as Addie Bass
 * Sasha Pieterse as Emma Humphrey
 * Josh Hutcherson as Tyler Archibald
 * Darren Criss as Julian Carlisle
 * Holland Roden as Quinn Prescott
 * Zac Efron as Duncan Kingston

Title

 * The term 'Pilot' is traditionally used in the entertainment industry to identify the first episode of a television series.