COMING UP NEXT | After a brief opening act to tie up some of the loose ends from last May’s cliffhanger, the show’s final 10-episode season jumps forward four months and promptly launches into a new mystery. “Serena is missing,” reveals exec producer Stephanie Savage. “No one has heard from her, not even Gossip Girl. She’s truly off the map. So the gang has to get together to try and find her.” S eventually resurfaces on the arm of a new, more mature beau, played by 7th Heaven vet Barry Watson. “He lets Serena be herself,” notes Savage, “which is something that she really needs right now.” Blair, meanwhile, finally realizes she needs Chuck — and vice versa. “They now understand what it would mean for them to be together,” says exec producer Sara Goodman, adding that they first have to figure out “what they need as separate people” before they can fully commit. The main theme of the season is “adulthood,” says Savage. “High school is long in the past and they’re thinking about who they want to be and how they want to be.”

TVLINE BONUS SPOILER | Although she won’t technically be a series regular, Michelle Trachtenberg will have a bigger presence as Georgina than in any previous season.

RETURN DATE | Monday, Oct. 8 at 9/8c (The CW)

source: tvline.com