"Gossip Girl," the show that became a youth culture phenomenon with its trend-setting fashion and chronicling of the romantic lives of elite New York teens, is on its way back to television, this time in a new series for upcoming streaming service HBO Max.

HBO Max, owned by WarnerMedia, said on Tuesday it had ordered a new, 10-episode series that will be set eight years after "Gossip Girl" ended its original run in 2012, and will follow a new generation of private school kids.

There was no word on casting or whether any of the original stars, including Blake Lively, Penn Badgely, Chace Crawford and Leighton Meester, will return.

HBO Max said the new series will explore how much social media and the landscape of New York itself have changed in recent years.

"Gossip Girl" ran for six seasons on youth network CW, becoming one of the most popular shows on television, winning 18 Teen Choice awards and inspiring fashion, hairstyles and beauty lines.

The news has made some splash on the Chinese social media as well, as the show garnered quite a large fan base when it was aired from 2007 to 2012.

A hashtag #GossipGirlremake appeared on Chinese social media Sina Weibo only hours after the plan was unveiled, and many fans start to discuss their regrets and most loved characters online.

With the rapid development of social media, mobile devices as well as live streaming broadcast in recent years, the landscape has changed significantly in China as well, and so has the lifestyle of the younger generations. 

"If everything happens today, Gossip Girl would be exposed the first day she appeared," a Weibo goer commented, which was echoed by many. There are also many wondering whether the spinoff would interest today’s teenagers, who are already so used to social media and the rules behind it.

The spin-off follows news last week that HBO Max will have exclusive streaming rights to 1990s TV series "Friends" – currently the second-most watched show on rival Netflix.

HBO Max is expected to launch next spring with a combination of new original content and programming from networks HBO, TBS and classics from the Warner Bros. film library.

It will join a string of other new streaming services including the upcoming Disney+ and other digital subscription options as traditional media companies seek to attract online viewers.

(With input from Reuters)