‘Gossip Girl' Spin-Off Lands First Character

The “Gossip Girl” spin-off has its first character.

Krysten Ritter has been cast to play Carol Rhodes – the older sister of Lily van der Woodsen aka Lily Rhodes in the new prequel series, a rep for The CW confirmed to Access Hollywood.

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The spin-off will follow Lily (played by Kelly Rutherford on “Gossip Girl”) in her teen years in Los Angeles in the 1980s.

After a falling out, the privileged Lily is forced to move in with Carol – her sister and family black sheep. Having spent her childhood as a “have,” attending a high-priced boarding school in Montecito, Calif., Lily must now adjust to life as a “have not” living in the much less posh San Fernando Valley and enrolling in public school.

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Ritter stars in the upcoming big screen release “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” alongside Isla Fisher. Her TV credits include the AMC series “Breaking Bad,” as well as recurring character Lucy on “Gilmore Girls,” Gia Goodman on “Veronica Mars” and Allison on “’Til Death.”

She also appeared in the films “27 Dresses,” “What Happens in Vegas” and “Mona Lisa Smile.”

The as-of-yet- untitled prequel will debut on May 11 during the second-to-last episode of this season’s “Gossip Girl.”

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“They actually don’t tell us much,” Blake Lively recently told AccessHollywood.com about the new series. “But our second-to-last episode is going to double as their pilot. So a lot of our show will be flashbacks of the young Lily and the young Rufus, which you’ll be seeing in the new series… I think it’s a great idea!”

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