Above: Penn Badgley
Not sure what is going on over at Gossip Girl but it seems most of the cast seems to feel free to bad mouth the show or talk about how they want to leave. Between Penn Badgley, Taylor Momsen, Ed Westwick and Leighton Meester, it seems most of the cast is publicly talking about how bad the show is or how they want to leave.
Now I have not watched Gossip Girl since season 1. I did a series of posts on FH about how I loved the show after watching the first season. As quickly as it got my attention however...it lost it. One of the reasons might have been the cast. Talented bunch though they may be, there was also an arrogance about many of them. I could not help but feel when watching the show, that some cast members could not hide feeling they were above the material.
Above: T.R Knight & Katherine Heigl.
Television actors seem to quickly forget what struggles some of their predecessors went through after leaving successful TV shows. Whether they left on their own (Shelley Long,Cheers) or stuck with the show til the end (Kirstie Alley, Cheers), Hollywood is riddled with actors praised with Emmy's one year to being unemployed the next. Most actors on successful shows never find the kind of fame they had once their show has ended. Katherine Heigl and T.R Knight might have felt relief when leaving Grey's Anatomy, but they still had Grey's money in the bank. We will see how they feel a few years from now. Heigl in particular had some powerful story lines as Izzie Stevens. She has not exactly been challenged as an actress in the mediocre movies she has been in since.
Above: David Caruso
The tale of David Caruso should be the blue print for television actors. After receiving critical acclaim and celebrity for season 1 of ABC's NYPD Blue, Caruso -- promptly left the show to seek a movie career. One film Jade made a minor ruffle then pretty much nothing. Caruso quickly beelined it back to TV and has spent almost the past decade playing one of the most boring characters on one of the most successful, yet unwatchable shows on TV,CSI Miami.
Suzanne Somers is another great example of what can happen when you leave a popular TV show. Although Somers is a successful multi millionaire today, her money did not come from acting jobs. Although she did not leave voluntarily, Somers move to get a salary more on par with co-star John Ritter did end her time on Three's Company. Although Somers had a very successful Vegas career there were many dry years before she rebounded with The abdominizer. We don't even need to mention poor Joyce DeWitt...
so....
The cast of Gossip Girl take heed, there are many actors from many shows like Gilligan's Island and literally hundreds of other shows over the past few decades with cast members, briefly popular, never got another decent acting job and many were never heard from again.
Think hard cast of Gossip Girl before you spew sarcastic comments about your show and the quality of the writing. Even if there is validity in your comments, those of us heading out to work each day don't want to hear it. I am sure the cast of Eight Is Enough (below), some of whom had mental break downs, drug issues, alcoholism, unemployment, bankruptcy and even death (Lani O'Grady) would kill to be in your shoes.
