As we inch closer and closer to the May 11th launch of the Gossip Girl spin-off, creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are starting to fill out the cast for the still untitled series (although some sites refer to it already as “Lily”).

The spin-off, featuring the teenage days of Lily in 1980s Los Angeles, will be introduced via a backdoor pilot in the penultimate episode of the CW hit’s second and current season.  The network has previously said that the spin-off will or will not be turned into a full-blown series depending on how the particular episode rates.

In addition to Brittany Snow bagging the lead plus Andrew McCarthy landing the role of her dad, Lost alum Cynthia Watros is being eyed to play Lily’s mom.  Also joining Snow, McCarthy, and Watros is Veronica Mars star Ryan Hansen, who’ll play Owen’s (Shiloh Fernandez) pal, Shep.  He’ll reportedly be crushing on Carol, who’ll be played by Confessions of a Shopaholic star Krysten Ritter.

Watros, 40, played Libby, one of the tail section survivors on the ABC series Lost.  Libby was a reasonably well-liked character on the series, especially after her death, since it added some mystery to her character (she didn’t have a centric episode that detailed her back story before the crash).

Creators Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof said Libby’s back story will probably be explored in the fifth season, after they originally promised that it will be done in the fourth.  Her character was supposedly killed off after Watros had a tiff with the Hawaiian police, where Lost was being filmed.

Meanwhile, Hansen, 27, will also star in the untitled spin-off of the hit 90s show Melrose Place, which is set to premiere on the CW in the 2009 fall season.  On Veronica Mars, he played Dick Casablancas, a character who wasn’t exactly nice to Veronica.

Ritter, 26, had recurring roles on Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, and will appear on the critically acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.

– Glenn Diaz, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Entertainment Weekly
(Image courtesy of ABC)

Glenn Diaz

Staff Writer, BuddyTV