Each season of Gossip Girl is distinguished by a few factors. There are the high school seasons, the college years, and those last two years when everyone apparently dropped out of school. There's also the matter of Blair's love life, by which fans can tell what season it is; whether she's with Nate, refusing to tell Chuck she loves him (a plot that Season 2 milked for all it was worth), dating Chuck, dating a prince, Dan, or sort-of-not really Chuck.

Serena's love life provides a similar map, with so many destinations that it's much more difficult to read. The overarching plots that brought characters together were met with varying responses from audiences, with Charlie/Ivy drama on the lower end, and Chuck and Blair drama on the more well-received side.

Updated on December 6th, 2022 by Amanda Bruce: The love for Gossip Girl will never die. That’s evident in the interest in the revival series created for HBO Max. There’s a desire to see what the characters of the original series are up to as adults while the new generation deals with their version of Gossip Girl. Fans of the new series might spend a lot of time comparing the two, and the ability to stream both on HBO Max makes that easy to do. If fans want to rewatch the best seasons though, IMDb’s fluctuating ratings can tell them which one is the best.

Season 1 - 7.3

Serena, Chuck, and Jenny in a promotional image for Gossip Girl Season 1

Season 1 kicks off with the return of Serena van der Woodsen, which shakes things up for just about everyone. She first needs to patch things up with Blair, whose boyfriend she slept with before running off. She soon strikes up a romance with Dan Humphrey, and much of the season is spent developing their relationship. Blair ends up in a love triangle between Chuck and Nate, while simultaneously dealing with challenges from her new rival, Jenny.

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Season 1 is truly what lays the foundation for the series as Blair continues to be caught between Chuck and someone else for much of the rest of the show and Dan and Serena continually find themselves drawn to one another despite their different backgrounds for the next five seasons. It's all about building the relationships, and its low rating is really only a reflection of just how much set-up the first season provides for the rest of the show. By the next season, fans know and love the characters.

Season 2 - 7.5

Jenny glaring in Gossip Girl Season 2

At the start of Season 2, Nate is having an affair with a married woman, while pretending to couple-up with Serena. Jenny is exploring her passion for fashion design, which leads her away from finishing high school. About halfway through the season, Chuck's dad dies, leaving him without a father and Lily without a husband. The main gang becomes seniors this season, and they're all trying to figure out where they'll be next year. The season ends with their graduation, and a promise from Gossip Girl that she'll be following them to college.

It's actually very unusual for teen dramas to finish high school so early in a show's run, and that made Season 2 feel like it was running full speed ahead. One dramatic change after another found the characters, leaving the audience never quite sure where the storylines were going to land. It kept people interested, but in later rewatches of the show, seasoned fans might not love it as much as they did the first time around.

Season 5 - 7.5

Serena and Blair laughing in Gossip Girl Season 5

Dan finds some success as an author after publishing a book based on the lives of his friends, which causes mixed reactions among them. Blair goes ahead with her marriage to Louis, even though she's still in love with Chuck. She quickly regrets her marriage and looks for a way out, after which she has a brief relationship with Dan. Chuck finds a shocking revelation at the end of a mystery he unravels that has to do with his father; that he's faked his death and is still alive. The season ends with Serena burning all of her bridges and running away again, while Blair finally commits to Chuck.

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Season 5 made for a very divisive season for fans. Some loved the fresh angle of Blair and Dan having a relationship. Others just wanted Blair back with Chuck. That made for a lot of ups and downs for the audience as events played out - and Blair's love life the main draw of the season. Even for fans who didn't want to see Dan and Blair end up together, seeing them actually develop a meaningful friendship was a great journey for the characters.

Season 6 - 7.6

Chuck, Nate, Blair, and Georgina outside in Gossip Girl Season 6

Serena quickly returns after her dramatic exit at the end of Season 5, with a new boyfriend who has a teenage daughter. Chuck spends most of the final season in a ridiculous battle with his father, who turns out to not just be mean guy, but a psychopathic murderer. On the heels of disappointing breakups, Dan and Serena get back together, while Dan is busy publishing a series of scathing exposés on his friends and family. The season ends with the reveal everyone's been waiting for: that Dan was Gossip Girl all along (except for that one time it was Georgina). Chuck and Blair get married, and in a flash forward, Dan and Serena do the same.

Season 6 had a lot to accomplish in order to satisfy fans, and it mostly succeeded. Fans were incredibly invested in who ended up with whom - and the Gossip Girl reveal. While most fans were happy to see Chuck and Blair end up together, Dan and Serena didn't sit as well with others, and that probably accounts for the rating fluctuating on IMDb over the years. After all, how could Serena decide to spend the rest of her life with the same person who tortured her and her friends throughout their teen years?

Season 4 - 7.6

Dan, Blair, and Nate in Gossip Girl Season 4

Season 4 is the season where Blair dates Louis, the Prince of Monaco (and her future husband). Even after being banished by Blair, Jenny comes back, only to be kicked out again by her own father due to the part she played in Serena's overdose. Blair and Dan form an unlikely friendship, while Chuck deals with a business rival. Serena dates a guy her mother sent to prison, and becomes jealous of the closeness that's formed between Blair and Dan. This is also the season where viewers meet Serena's "cousin," Charlie/Ivy as well as Serena's enemy, Juliet Sharpe.

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It's surprising that this season continues to creep up in IMDb's ratings. It used to be one of the lowest ranked of Gossip Girl's seasons, but the episodes like "The Townie" that have significantly higher ratings than the rest of the season help to skew those votes. "The Townie" involves Blair and Dan teaming up successfully for one of the first times, and marked a turning point for the show, so it's not wonder it influenced how people saw the season.

Season 3 - 7.6

Blair and Chuck in Gossip Girl Season 3

Season 3 has Blair attending NYU, where she struggles to find her place among the hipsters and artists. Jenny takes over Constance as Queen Bee, and soon learns how hard it is to be true to herself once the power goes to her head. Chuck tries to make it on his own as a businessman (using the millions his father left him, of course). Dan and Vanessa give a romantic relationship a go, while Nate and Serena do the same. Chuck and Blair are a power couple, until Chuck's greed gets in the way. And after searching for him for months, Serena's elated when her dad returns, which puts a strain on Lily's marriage. The season ends with cliffhangers regarding Chuck's safety and the status of Dan and Serena's relationships.

The big draw of Season 3 is definitely seeing Chuck and Blair as a united front since it doesn't happen often. The drama between the two is what kept people turning in for much of the show. It didn't matter how toxic their relationship got because the audience couldn't get enough of their chemistry.

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