'Gossip Girl' EP says reboot 'will seem tame' compared to 'Euphoria'

Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Gossip Girl executive producer Josh Schwartz says the reboot will seem "tame" compared to the much-discussed teen drama Euphoria.

Schwartz, who served as showrunner on the original Gossip Girl and will return to executive produce the new series, shared details about the HBO Max reboot Sunday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.

"We're excited about being able to tell a different version of the story and there are different levels of restriction. With streaming there are fewer episodes so how you unpack those stories or how you tell those stories can differ from the broadcast model," Schwartz said, according to Entertainment Tonight. "Obviously we want it all to come out of character that feels organic to the show."

"It won't feel button-pushing just for the sake of being able to do it. Maybe a couple of [expletive] we'll throw in there just 'cause we can," he jokingly added. "You don't ever want it to feel gratuitous or something that you're doing just because. Luckily, we'll be airing post-Euphoria so anything we do will seem tame by comparison. I don't think we'll be that controversial."

Euphoria completed its first season Sunday after making headlines for its graphic depiction of drug and alcohol use, sex and violence among high school students. The original Gossip Girl addressed similar issues in a much less vivid way, although it did promote itself with the critic quote "Every parent's nightmare."

The original Gossip Girl starred Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford and Penn Badgley, and had a six-season run on The CW from 2007 to 2012. Schwartz said at the press tour that the original stars are welcome to appear in the reboot.

"I mean, the door is open. We reached out to everybody's reps and to let them know about the show. And obviously we love working with that cast," Schwartz said, according to E! News. "If they feel like after six seasons, they feel they played those parts, and they were happy to move on, we respect that. And if they want to come hang with us again, we'd love to have them."

Crawford, who played Nate Archibald on Gossip Girl, joked about the possibility on Watch What Happens Live last week.