Hilary Duff co-stars this fall in various episodes of GOSSIP GIRL (Note: Season Two now available on DVD)

Updated July 2, 2009...

Duff signs on to be a Gossip Girl this fall

NEW YORK (AP) — Hilary Duff is joining the cast of "Gossip Girl" — but not on a regular basis.

The CW series' spokeswoman, Melissa Burton, says the 21-year-old singer/actress (and Houston TX native) will guest-star next season as "a movie star looking for a typical college experience," over several episodes.

Duff's character, named Olivia Burke, enrolls at New York University and becomes roommates with "Gossip Girl" hipster Vanessa, portrayed by Jessica Szohr (ZOR).

Oh, what a tangled web: Burton says Olivia will spark a romance with aspiring novelist Dan, played by Penn Badgley. As fans know, Vanessa used to have eyes for Dan — then they dated other people.

Duff begins her "Gossip" arc on Oct. 5, during next season's fourth episode.

Season three premieres Sept. 14, as the prep kids head off to college.

Source: Associated Press
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You're nobody until you're talked about.

Pssssst... Did You Hear?

GOSSIP GIRL: The Complete Second Season »
— now available on DVD

Just in time for the Season Three Premiere on The CW!

Burbank, CA — The sophomore season of one of television's hottest properties graduates to DVD with the release of Warner Home Video's Gossip Girl: The Complete Second Season (DVD Set released August 18, 2009).

Developed for television by Josh Schwartz (Chuck, The O.C.) along with Stephanie Savage (The O.C.), GOSSIP GIRL stars Blake Lively (New York, I Love You), Leighton Meester (Entourage), Penn Badgley (Forever Strong), Chace Crawford (The Haunting of Molly Hartley), Taylor Momsen (We Were Soldiers), Ed Westwick (Children of Men), Jessica Szohr (What About Brian), with Kelly Rutherford (Melrose Place) and Matthew Settle (Brothers & Sisters). The even more popular second season of GOSSIP GIRL enjoyed a 43% increase in ratings among women 18–34.

The seven-disc set includes all 25 episodes from the second season and nearly four hours of special features, including all-new featurettes, unaired scenes, gag reel, and a downloadable audiobook of "Gossip Girl: You Know You Love Me by" Cecily von Ziegesar, read by Christina Ricci. Gossip Girl: The Complete Second Season is priced to own on DVD at $59.98 SRP.

It's senior year for our beloved Upper East Siders, and the drama is at an all-time high. Applying for college is only one small part of the story, as new romances (and some not-so-new romances) bloom and fade, scandals erupt at every turn and alliances shift even faster than Gossip Girl can send an update. Families and reputations are destroyed and made; so are fortunes. And even the strongest friendships are tested. In this sizzling season two, you never know what's next for Serena, Blair, Dan, Nate, Jenny, Chuck and Vanessa. Good thing Gossip Girl is always there to provide us with the latest, juiciest info!

The series is from College Hill Pictures, Alloy Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Paramount Television Inc. GOSSIP GIRL is based upon the popular series of young-adult novels by Cecily von Ziegesar. The show's executive producers are Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage, Leslie Morgenstein (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies), Bob Levy (the forthcoming The Vampire Diaries) and John Stephens (Gilmore Girls, The O.C.)

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES:
• 5th Ave. meets Gossip Girl: Click icons on a graphic map and tour the Gossip Girl crowd's favorite haunts
• Faces Behind the Design: Creative forces behind the show's art and fashion
• Unaired Scenes
• Chasing Dorota Webisodes
• Gag Reel
• Downloadable audiobook of the bestselling novel "Gossip Girl: You Know You Love Me" by Cecily von Ziegesar (read by Christina Ricci)

• NOTE: For a limited time, the DVD release of "Gossip Girl: The Complete Second Season" will also include an exclusive excerpt from the upcoming book Gossip Girl: I Will Always Love You by Cecily von Ziegesar (which will be released on November 3, 2009)

EPISODES:
- Summer, Kind of Wonderful
- Never Been Marcused
- The Dark Night
- The Ex-Files
- The Serena Also Rises
- New Haven Can Wait
- Chuck in Real Life
- Pret-A-Poor Jenny
- There Might Be Blood
- Bonfire of the Vanity
- The Magnificent Archibalds
- It's a Wonderful Lie
- O Brother, Where Bart Thou?
- In the Realm of the Basses
- Gone With the Will
- You've Got Yale
- Carnal Knowledge
- The Age of Dissonance
- The Grandfather
- The Remains of the J
- Seder Anything
- Southern Gentleman Prefer Blondes
- The Wrath of Con
- Valley Girls
- The Goodbye Gossip Girl

GOSSIP GIRL — Explore further:
—> Visit the show's Official Website »
—> The 10 Sexiest Gossip Girl Moments »
(from Zimbio, with brief YouTube clips)

"A sparky pleasure... It's trashy and scathing, but with enough heart to counterbalance the rich-kid partying."
—Kat Brown, Empire

Series Synopsis:
Privileged teenagers attend an elite private school in New York City. (Based on Alloy Entertainment's book series.)
You're nobody until you're talked about.
Want to know a secret? A really juicy secret? Look no further than the latest message from Manhattan's notorious blogger Gossip Girl. She keeps tabs on the city's most elite teens as they make the rounds from the preppiest school events to the most lavish, decadent parties.

And between Serena and Blair's explosive friendship, Dan and Serena's budding romance, Nate and Blair's fairytale relationship (or is it?), Chuck's escapades and Jenny's introduction to the glamorous life, there's a lot to track! In this 5-disc, 18-episode Season One, friends, lovers, rivals and enemies abound. Even the darkest secrets don't stay hidden for long. You know you love it. XOXO!

Everyone reads her scandalous Internet commentary on the lives of Manhattan's most privileged teenagers. But exactly who is Gossip Girl? No one knows, but she certainly adds spice to the lives of these fashionable prep schoolers, divulging some of their most closely guarded secrets.

The first season of this glossy series begins when party girl Serena (Blake Lively) returns to the Upper East Side from boarding school. Though she seems to have changed her ways, she still has to navigate the icy waters of her social world, including her fragile friendship with Blair (Leighton Meester), the wrongs of her past, and of course the caustic commentary of a mysterious blogger.