The original Gossip Girl ran from 2007 to 2012 and starred the likes of Penn Badgley, Leighton Meester, Blake Lively, and Chace Crawford. Running for six seasons, the show rooted itself firmly into the pop culture of the late-2000s and early-2010s. Not only was it talked about by the masses, but it also incorporated detailed references to other media within its writing. It was even named by Rolling Stone as "the most movie savvy show ever." The show’s fashion, music, and art were designed to be in conversation with current trends and culture — like a magazine might be. Writing for Vanity Fair, Josh Duboff says, “viewers wanted to dress like the characters; they wanted their haircuts and jewelry and ringtones; they wanted to talk like them and listen to the music they listened to.”
Some iconic references include Blair’s Audrey Hepburn dream sequences, the school production of The Age of Innocence, and all of the show’s musical guests, including Lady Gaga, Florence + The Machine, and St. Vincent. Something you may not have noticed, however, is that every episode title — besides the pilot — is either a movie title or a pun based on a movie title. Here are 22 episode titles that are puns based on movies that you may not have noticed, decoded.
1 Victor, Victrola
Season1, episode 7 is titled "Victor, Victrola," which is a reference to the 1982 movie Victor/Victoria starring Julie Andrews. The movie being referenced is largely set in various nightclubs and bars, making it a fitting reference for this episode in which Chuck purchases the burlesque club Victrola.
2 Blair Waldorf Must Pie!
Fans of Gossip Girl know the Thanksgiving episodes are iconic. In this first Thanksgiving in season 1, episode 9, we have a reference to John Tucker Must Die! With John Tucker being a movie about three girls getting revenge on a cheating boyfriend, and this episode's title referring to Blair's bulimia, there is not a strong thematic connection beyond the die/pie pun. However, there is an extra layer as Penn Badgley stars in both the show and this movie.
3 The Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate
A few episodes later, in season1, episode 12, the title references A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. This comic thriller depicts a beautiful but unstable woman getting revenge on a womanizer who wronged her. The eponymous Gossip Girl episode ties in with this because Nate discovers his ex-girlfriend Blair slept with his so-called best friend Chuck immediately after they broke up. The confrontation between Nate and Chuck is not as volatile as that in A Thin Line, but it does almost come to blows.
4 The Serena Also Rises
Moving into season 2, its fifth episode references The Sun Also Rises, an adaptation of the novel by Ernest Hemmingway. There is an obvious reason for using this title, as Serena is reclaiming her social throne in this episode, rising in the ranks, but the Gossip Girl writers never make a reference for no reason. The film it references features a group of hedonistic friends having affairs, drinking too much, and many other activities that the group of friends here also partakes in.
5 New Haven Can Wait
The next episode of the season references Heaven Can Wait, a movie about a man who dies and reviews his life with Satan, convinced he wasn't good enough for heaven. In contrast, this episode of Gossip Girl is about the characters trying to get into Yale. Several of them have some kind of reckoning of their behavior, mimicking the evaluation of your life at the gates of hell. The episode acts as a kind of inversion of Heaven Can Wait, where the characters believe they're good enough to get into Yale while actually being terribly behaved, whereas in the movie the main character doesn't think himself worthy of heaven.
6 Chuck in Real Life
Another character-based pun, the movie being referenced here is Dan in Real Life, so the title is switched from Dan, one character, to Chuck, another. In this episode, Chuck is persuaded by Blair to seduce Vanessa. The movie is about a widower of many years who falls for his brother's girlfriend on a family vacation. The connection here is somewhat loose, but both narratives have missed connections and deception, with Chuck seemingly falling for Vanessa in sincerity, and her being bamboozled when it was all part of a bet. The swapping of the characters' names with Dan vs Chuck suggests that in real life, Chuck might be more similar to Dan than he realized previously.
7 Pret-a-Poor-J
Following the previous episode, here we have a sneaky reference to Ready to Wear, or more accurately, its original title Prêt-à-Porter. In this film, we see several interconnected plot lines centered around a fashion show in Paris. The reason this episode references Ready to Wear is that Jenny — or J — makes a new friend in the fashion industry. There is a second layer to the reference with the word "poor:" it could refer to Jenny's lack of money, or her unfortunate circumstances when the events of the episode don't go exactly according to plan.
8 Seder Anything
Later in the season, we have a reference to Say Anything, famous for its boom box scene. This episode features a Passover seder at the Waldorf's, where Dan, unknowingly, must work as a cater-waiter. In Say Anything, the romance focuses on a doted-on overachiever and a less well-off army brat. The connection drawn between this episode and this movie is likely to once again highlight the Humphrey family's lack of wealth but Dan's potential as a romantic partner for Serena.
9 Enough About Eve
Moving into season 3, this episode is a play on All About Eve, which tells the story of a secretly cunning young woman who plots to establish herself in a group of Broadway stars. In contrast, this episode features Dan introducing his new girlfriend — famous actress Olivia, played by Hillary Duff — to his family. The Gossip Girl plot is essentially a reversal of All About Eve's narrative, where an already-famous woman is attempting to blend in rather than someone trying to climb the social ranks.
10 They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They?
A grim reference here to They Shoot Horses, Don't They? A movie about a woman who enters a grueling dance competition after attempting to take her own life, the competition worsens her spirits, and she begs her dance partner to take her out of her misery. This forces a comparison to be drawn between this nightmarish competition and the coming out party, or cotillion, being discussed in this episode of Gossip Girl. Jenny, the Humphrey in question, is trying to find the perfect date for the dance and is sabotaged along the way. Her cold, methodical approach to finding a partner could also be connected to the competition featured in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
11 The Treasure of Serena Madre
Perhaps the most iconic of all the Gossip Girl Thanksgiving episodes — think "Watcha Say" by Jason Derulo — "The Treasure of Serena Madre" refers to the movie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. This follows two men in search of a fortune, which they find in Mexico, but then discover that their treasure brings more problems than it's worth. The episode is similarly full of hard-earned truths being revealed that end up causing more problems out in the open than they did in secret.
12 The Unblairable Lightness of Being
This episode of Gossip Girl is alluding to The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which depicts the relationship between a man who is used to sleeping around and a woman who wants monogamy. Here, we find Chuck and Blair both miserable because of their relationship. When her housekeeper gets married to a kind, loving man, Blair decides she wants a simple relationship rather than the drama that she is experiencing with Chuck. This mirrors the central conflict of the movie being referenced.
13 It's a Dad, Dad, Dad World
In "It's a Dad, Dad, Dad World," Serena brings home her estranged father, causing complications in her mother and stepfather's relationship. Serena's stepfather goes to distasteful lengths to try and keep a distance between her real father and the rest of his family in order to maintain his position in their lives. The episode title is in reference to It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World, which is about a group of people who discover the whereabouts of buried treasure after a plane crash and set out to find it. The connection between these two isn't the strongest, but the scrambling for a prize — being Serena's father — is reminiscent of the rush to find the treasure.
14 The Undergraduates
In season 4, the third episode references Steven Soderbergh's The Underneath. The plot of this movie depicts a prodigal son returning to celebrate his mother's marriage, he had previously been ousted due to gambling issues, leaving a mess behind. Chuck, in this episode, follows a very similar path. He'd left New York in disgrace, only returning now that he'd found a woman to keep him honest.
15 Touch of Eva
The next episode's title alludes to Touch of Evil, a movie about various crimes and corruption. This reference simply serves the purpose of reflecting Blair's feelings towards Chuck's new girlfriend, Eva. She is seemingly perfect and Blair spends the episode scheming to uncover any kind of dark side within her. Her actions reflect poorly on her and the evil being referenced may be more to do with her than Eva.
16 Easy J
In a much more contemporary reference than many of these episode titles, this is referring to Easy A, which came out in 2010, the same year as this season of the show. In Easy A, Emma Stone's character is ostracized on account of being labeled a slut. Jenny returns to Manhattan in this episode despite orders from Blair to stay away after sleeping with Chuck. Similarly to John Tucker Must Die, Easy A is another movie reference with bonus trivia, as Badgely also stars in it.
17 It-Girl Happened One Night
The title of this episode is taken from It Happened One Night. This romantic comedy follows a young runaway heiress and an up-and-coming reporter following her for a story. In Gossip Girl's version of this, Blair is given an assignment for her job at W Magazine to follow an "It Girl" for a day. She chooses to profile Chuck's new girlfriend Raina on a romantic Valentine's Day date night between the two of them.
18 Yes, Then Zero
In the first episode of season 5, the title references Less Than Zero. This movie is about a man returning to his hometown L.A. for the holidays, and this is one of the few episodes of Gossip Girl that do not take place in New York. The title was most likely chosen mostly because of the allusion to L.A., but it also incorporates Blair agreeing to marry Prince Louis.
19 Memoirs of an Invisible Dan
The episode, "Memoirs of an Invisible Dan" is a play on Memoirs of an Invisible Man. There are many moments in the series where Dan is described as invisible in one way or another. So, it makes sense to name an episode centered on his novel about his experiences on the Upper East Side after a movie about a man who is literally invisible. Additionally, in this movie the characters realize that being invisible would be very helpful in regard to espionage, matching the way Dan was able to learn so much about those around him while going unnoticed.
20 Con Heir
Later in the season, we have a reference to Con Air, which seems to be largely in service of the pun it creates. Chuck invites his Uncle Jack into town with a scheme to gain control of his father's business in mind, they are both heirs to the Bass company — hence "Con Heir." There is not much going on in the episode that links to the actual events of Con Air, in which Nicolas Cage is trapped on a plane full of criminals.